Role-playing simulations have gained in popularity in recent years as a novel method of engaging researchers and stakeholders in a variety of social and environmental issues. While academic interest has grown on this topic, knowledge remains sparse on the underlying theories that may guide the design of such games. Thsi article introduces a new game design framework - Com­pleC­Sus (Com­plex­ity-Col­lab­o­ra­tion-Sus­tain­abil­ity) - built on the concepts of social learning and procedural rhetoric. We describe and discuss the conceptual basis for our framework, giving a detailed account of its application through the recently developed the Water–Food–Energy Nexus Game (Nexus Game) as an example. We illustrate the process involved in designing the Nexus Game through initial scoping, prototyping, and design decisions, and how game structure and debriefing have been crafted to foster social learning focused on the understanding of the underlying social-ecological system as well as fostering collaboration between stakeholders. We also provide the analysis of qualitative data collected during recent gaming sessions across three continents to evaluate the Nexus Game’s potential learning effects.

近年来，作为使研究人员和利益相关者参与各种社会和环境问题的一种新颖方法，角色扮演模拟已广受欢迎。尽管对此主题的学术兴趣在增长，但对于指导此类游戏设计的基础理论的知识仍然很少。这篇文章介绍了一种新的游戏设计框架-CompleCSus（Complexity-Collaboration-Sustainability），该框架建立在社交学习和程序性措辞的概念上。我们描述并讨论了我们框架的概念基础，并以最近开发的水-食物-能源Nexus游戏（Nexus Game）为例详细说明了其应用。我们通过初步的范围界定，原型制作和设计决策来说明Nexus游戏设计过程，以及如何设计游戏结构和汇报以促进社会学习，重点是对基本社会生态系统的理解，以及促进利益相关者之间的合作。我们还提供了对在三大洲最近的游戏会议期间收集的定性数据的分析，以评估Nexus游戏的潜在学习效果。