Behind The Scenes

The Development of the Elysia Simulation for Conflict Lab
by Peter C. Hart

California Cult - The idea for the Elysia story has its origin in a personal experience. In the summer of 1990, our son was recruited into a religious cult. We knew nothing about cults. We soon learned we needed an effective strategy to keep the channels of communication open and not become strangers to our son. In our search for one, we learned about language reversals, loaded words, mirroring, love-bombing, milieu control, cognitive dissonance, phobias and mantras. We eventually understood how we could support our son in making decisions for himself. The experience of working through the issues made a deep and lasting impact on the lives of everyone involved. I thought it would make a great film script.

Waco - On April 19, 1993, we watched the worst law-enforcement debacle in U.S. history on live television. A 51-day standoff with a small religious community near Waco, Texas ended when the community’s wooden complex burned down, killing 74 people trapped inside, including 21 children. Why did this conflict end so badly? Why weren’t the FBI’s professional negotiators more successful? What lessons were learned? As we watched the congressional hearings, it seemed to me that the U.S. government at the highest levels showed little interest in changing policies and procedures to prevent a repeat of the Waco tragedy. The government-sanctioned violence did not sit right with me. How could I make a convincing case that the violence was avoidable?

“What If” Scenarios – I decided to probe deeper into the reasons why the Waco tragedy happened, how a conflict with an unconventional religious group could be resolved without violence and how people could be persuaded to adopt the non-violent way. I designed a virtual environment that portrays different conflict scenarios involving a community of imagined characters. Players could find out for themselves how they would react to each scenario, what decisions they would make and what would be the outcome. My first prototype scenario builder was designed using Apple Computer’s Hypercard™ software. For scenario planning rules and cases, I turned to The Art of the Long View by Peter Schwartz, President of the Global Business Network. To craft distinctly different but representative characters, I applied the sixteen Jungian personality types systematized by Myers-Briggs and David Keirsey. For methods and process, I studied the Getting to Yes books by Roger Fisher and colleagues. I attended a negotiation workshop at Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation with Roger Fisher and took a number of Alternative Dispute Resolution courses in California with Nancy Yeend (Foothills College), Gary Friedman (The Center for Mediation and Law ), Randy Lowry et al (Pepperdine University School of Law) and Bill Lincoln (National Center Associates). These courses gave me additional insights into process and the value of role-plays. My interest in role-plays increased as I participated in a U.N. sponsored group simulation to prepare for peace negotiations that eventually ended 35 years of civil war in Guatemala.

Religions at War – In January 1993, William Swing, the Episcopal Bishop of California, pointed out in a sermon at Grace Cathedral that there had been few wars between nations since the UN was formed in 1945 but that many wars were now being waged between religious and ethnic communities. Although religions promote peace and condemn violence, religion was being used by extremists to fan hate, demonize opponents, recruit combattants and justify terrorism. Where, he asked, was the voice of the great religions? Was it not time for the religions of the world to form an organization similar to the UN? This idea moved me. He invited me to explore with him how religions could work together to end violence in the name of religion. Eighteen months later, on June 26, 1995, during the 50th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the United Nations, we gathered with Interfaith leaders at a conference in San Francisco to form the United Religions Initiative. The URI’s purpose is to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence, and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings.

The experience of participating in the founding of the URI increased my appreciation for the role of religion in conflicts between communities of identity. It seemed to me that relations between communities would benefit from a better understanding of the religious dimension. Religion is ambivalent and capable of being both a divisive force and a force for reconciliation and peace.

Immersive Media - In January 1995, Apple Computer introduced QuickTimeVR™. It converts photographs into three-dimensional computer environments through which a person can navigate. The environments may be combined with scripted animations, video, audio and text to provide an immersive medium that is ideal for the conflict laboratory I was interested in developing. As a photography and video hobbyist, I could now create an interactive CD-ROM adventure similar to the immensely popular MYST® computer game. Like my prototype scenario builder, the initial prototype for MYST had also been developed as a Hypercard application. I formed Scenorama Studios and decided to write a detailed treatment for a first-person struggle through conflict scenarios. My friend Thomas Bishop, a successful board-game inventor, agreed to be my worst critic as well as a patient and generous business partner.

The Power of Myth – I selected San Francisco as the setting for the proposed drama. Finding interesting scenes to photograph in the San Francisco Bay area was one of the easier tasks. Creating a script for an interactive experience that would also be a valid laboratory experiment was more challenging. I studied Joseph Campbell and learned how the principles of myth are used by writers to craft adventures that are psychologically true. This led to my discovery of The Writer’s Journey, a movie script recipe book by Christopher Vogler. It explains how screenwriters like George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg use mythic structures to create powerful stories that connect with the mythological core in each of us. The structures are a good fit for the conflict scenarios I was developing and provide a natural path for players to follow.

The Internet as a Lab - It took the better part of a year to complete the initial treatment for the conflict simulation. It looked good on paper but the technology that players would need was not ready for use on the scale and at the speed required. Additionally, the market for single-player CD-ROM adventures was waning. I put the treatment on a shelf and changed my focus to other ventures. In April 2000, I sold my San Francisco business interests and moved to Michigan to operate Scenorama Studios with my two sons. We took a new look at the simulation treatment and the state of technology. The Internet had matured over the previous four years into a ubiquitous social medium. We saw an opportunity to use Internet technology to create a group conflict simulation with twenty participants playing the roles of the characters. The scenario variables would be too numerous for a computer program to control, so we set the players free to improvise their roles, advance the interests of the characters in all the ways the players think best and work through the conflict situation and its counter-balancing dynamics. To facilitate “out of the box” thinking, experimentation and learning, players maintain personal anonymity. Player-instructors participate as news reporters and editors who mediate and guide the interactions among players and keep the process grounded. To give each simulation a reality show or documentary feeling and maintain the suspension of disbelief, we use photography and familiar Internet technology - email, web browsers and discussion forums. Each group has an independent Web site that appears real. The entire Internet is available to players as a resource. During a year of research and testing, we designed a general-purpose, new medium for interactive, experiential learning and experimentation by members of a group. We incorporated Conflict Lab as the publisher and operator of simulations that utilize the new medium.

9/11 - Since the tragedy of September 11, 2001, ongoing conflicts between religious communities have become headline news. The U.S. experienced what it is like to be a victim of violence by terrorists. Despite its overwhelming superiority in wealth and military might, the U.S. is discovering that it cannot build walls high enough nor hire armies big enough for Americans to feel safe from future attacks by terrorists who are prepared to die for rewards in another world. What can we do to diminish the dangers and promote conditions for peace?

A Shrinking Globe – There are many communities of identity around the world with incompatible worldviews. With a shrinking globe, conflict among these worldviews is inevitable. Conflict Lab’s simulations provide players with an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the nature of this conflict and experiment with the strategies available to address the issues involved. The scale of the Elysia simulation is a personal one to give players a stronger personal connection to the issues, the decisions they make and their consequences. The nature of the conflict, however, is the same .

Dialoggers – To facilitate dialogue among simulation players, we created a set of many-to-many communications tools and called it a Dialog Dashboard™. On March 1, 2006 Conflict Lab, Inc. changed its name to Dialoggers, Inc. to recognize the opportunity we have to make Dialog Dashboards available to real organizations and communities for dialogue, negotiation and collaboration. What all the users have in common is dialogue – thinking together in relationship.