The world of games has played out the scenario of a disease or mutated virus infecting humans and taking over the world — pretty much what is happening now. There are three crucial lessons we can learn from games with regards to responding to the Covid-19 outbreak. 

There are two major issues with BCP. First, it tends to be static and based on assumptions. Imagine possible infection scenarios like a series of acts in a movie. BCP can predict the first act, but all subsequent acts become increasingly difficult to forecast.

This is because we cannot plot how things will develop based on a hunch or prediction. So, BCP helps to formulate a response to the first act, but anything beyond that tends to be a reaction.

Second, BCP is what the name suggests — a planning exercise. It is all about planning and executing those plans in crisis when there is no room for error. However, we know this very well: in a crisis, there will be errors.

Enter the world of simulations. Simulations are designed very differently from BCP. Simulations essentially create an environment that mimics reality where participants can play out scenes.

Why is this important?

Bill Gates spoke in a TED Talk titled “The next outbreak, we are not ready” in 2015. He mentioned that the greatest threat to humanity would not be a nuclear war but a highly contagious pandemic (such as Covid-19). 

In his talk, Gates identified running simulations as one of the key response systems — Germ Games, he called it. He mentioned that the last time a Germ Game was played was in 2001. And the humans did not fare so well.

A simulation does two key things really well. First, it trains people to be more prepared to respond. 

Simulations are designed for planning, but more importantly for execution. Participants will be able to train themselves with the right type of competencies and intelligence needed in a safe but real environment, which they will rarely encounter. The case in point would be a simple fire drill — it is a simulation.

Second, simulations find holes. As a simulation is run, the simulated environment is fully VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous). This helps to create many different permutations or scenarios that cannot be done through predictions. It is in these new permutations that we will find gaps. Participants will then be able to identify the root cause and plug those gaps.

However, we have got the antagonist wrong. I believe the antagonist is people’s reaction to the catalyst (Covid-19). A catalyst has a fixed set of behaviours, rules and conditions required for reactions to happen. The Covid-19 virus needs a certain environment to operate, a channel to transmit and a duration of survivability, depending on the types of surfaces.  

A great antagonist usually displays more complex behaviours, can break rules and change preset conditions. The behaviour of panic, indifference and unwillingness to cooperate is creating very stark differences in terms of increased infection rates. 

Depending on which level of infection, a country’s biggest defences are not immigration or medical infrastructure (some Third World countries are doing a much better job than First World ones). It is the way the government can regulate extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, which ultimately changes behaviour. The right behaviours can stop the spread. It so happens that the science and study of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are core concepts in gamification.

An example would be Taiwan. Consider this: it is just next door to China and has numerous people commuting between the two countries. And yet, it only had 376 cases (as at April 7) compared with China’s 81,740 cases, which is just 0.46%. While credit should be given to both early action by the government and excellent medical infrastructure, China did this as well. But Taiwan had something else.

It is in the form of community and financial support. Local village leaders would bring bags of basic supplies like food for those under quarantine. The Taiwanese government also rolled out a welfare programme that provides a NT$30 daily allowance to those affected by the two-week quarantine. While on the surface, it would seem like physiological and monetary support, it goes deeper than that.

“This has given the Taiwanese more incentive to report their symptoms honestly,” says Dr Jason Wang, a health policy expert at Stanford University.

When people are stigmatised, there is a fear of them reporting their infection. This falls under the “Black Hat” Motivation of social pressure in gamification. No one wants to be ostracized from the community and be labelled an outcast — hence, why people would rather suffer in silence than put themselves and their family through such humiliation.

A small daily allowance also helps the quarantined patient know that his family will be taken care of. This falls under the “Black Hat” Motivation of avoidance. They would want to avoid putting their family under financial stress, especially those whose families rely on them for income. The financial allowance enables them to feel at ease and willing to report themselves.

Lesson 3: Creating a strong response
In multiplayer games, the easiest way to die is to go it alone. It does not matter how strong or skilled an individual player is. He or she is no match for an enemy that is strong in numbers.

Here is the problem with Covid-19. Everyone is in the fight, but not everyone is fighting. A number of people feel that just turning up to the fight is enough. But it is not.
 

A call to organisations
Most companies are managing the situations and not leading while waiting for the government to effectively take the lead. In times like these, we need companies to rise up to the challenge and not simply manage. Managing is, “When I see it, I will take action on it.” Leading is, “I have yet to see it, but I will take action on it.”

The side effect of devastation on many industries is far reaching. A lot of companies stand by and watch their suppliers and vendors literally implode under the brunt of necessary lockdowns.

Some of us are stopping because fear has taken a hold of us. The currency of trust is ever more important now, instead of the currency of fear. Cash flow has become an issue for a number of smaller companies. 

However, those clients can help by pre-booking (and paying deposits) for services/products that can be resumed when the situation gets better. This will help smaller companies get through this unprecedented challenge. 

This is the time for companies to extend leadership and the trust they have in their suppliers and not let fear rule their thoughts and decisions. At the end of the day, in this cruel Covid-19 game, we only have each other. #kitajagakita brings a new meaning. 

We are all in this together.