Games for Systems Thinking and Collaboration
The Future for Beginners at Somerset House London
Image by Timothy Eliot Spurr
What We Do
Melanie Frances (UK) and Nathan Harrison (AUS) are game designers who create interactive experiences and hands-on workshops about the complex systems we find ourselves embedded within. Our work supports organisations to face the complex and chaotic nature of our present moment, finding new, dynamic and transformative strategies that recognise the reality we are in.
Our games and workshops are designed to boost collaboration and increase literacy in systems concepts such as tradeoffs, tipping points and feedback loops—dynamics that define the structure and resilience of our organisations.
Best Festival Ever at Arts House Melbourne
Image by Bryony Jackson
Who We Are
We have over a decade of experience working with researchers and organisations to communicate complexity, disaster preparedness, climate adaptation, resilience and more. Our work is presented in conferences, boardrooms, town halls, universities and theatres, in contexts ranging from strategy development to community engagement.
In the UK, Mel is part of Mod Collective, a group of game designers, writers, performers and artists who use games and playful experiences to modify our world.
In Australia, Nathan leads Boho Interactive, a collective of artists who create games in collaboration with researchers and communities.
Our international collaboration also includes the work of David Finnigan, who has written about our practice and a field guide for organisations embedding game designers into their process.
Our previous clients include The World Bank, United Nations, Chatham House (UK), Earth Observatory Singapore, Australian National University’s School of Cybernetics, London Design Biennale, as well as government agencies and NGOs.
Systems Mapping Workshop at Proud Archivist, London
Image by David Shaw
Our Work
Our projects include:
The Future For Beginners: A game about climate adaptation and community strength over the coming years, made in collaboration with Chatham House, the London Design Biennale and Coney.
Best Festival Ever: Players explore complex systems and model processes through attempting to run a successful music festival. Developed with research scientists from University College London, the Stockholm Resilience Centre and CSIRO.
A Week in the Bush: A series of games for health researchers working in Indigenous communities, made in collaboration with The Lowitja Institute.
Collaborate with us
We’re visiting Vancouver this April to present a Discovery Session at TED2026. Get in touch to discuss how we might work together.
“Our experience was nothing short of exceptional and has left a lasting impression on our team’s approach to collaborative work.”
“We sorely need this kind of experience because many of the show’s systems concepts are missing from our public discourse, and yet we cannot hope to navigate the challenges facing humanity without them.”
Please contact Melanie Frances at melaniefrancescontact@gmail.com for bookings and more information.
Photo by Shamphat pro
ABOUT
Melanie Frances
Melanie Frances (UK) is a game designer and writer. She makes interactive experiences - books, performances and games - that travel to unknown places, speculative futures and alternative realities. Her work is for people who like adventures, probing rules, and finding hidden possibilities.
Melanie’s work spans from collaborative climate decision making games, such as Future for Beginners, created with David Finnigan and Becky-Dee Trevenen, in collaboration with Chatham House, and the London Design Biennale, to escape room books, published by Ammonite Press.
Much of Melanie’s work is concerned with play as a tool to explore climate decision making, with a focus on climate justice. Melanie has worked on climate education tools with Greenpeace, community card games about flood risk, funded by DEFRA, and immersive installations about the environmental impact of AI.
Photo by Jamie Simmons
Nathan Harrison
Nathan Harrison (AUS) is a writer, performer and game designer living on Bidjigal Land in Sydney, Australia. He creates games and theatre that translate complex ideas into playful, personal contexts.
As part of Australian science-art collective Boho Interactive, Nathan collaborates with research scientists, governments and communities to create games used for training, science communication and community outreach.
Boho Interactive projects include Best Festival Ever, a game about climate systems created in collaboration with University College London, the Stockholm Resilience Centre and CSIRO Australia, and Found in Translation, a game about interdisciplinary collaboration made with Australian National University’s Population Health Exchange. With The Lowitja Institute Boho created A Week in the Bush, a series of games about Indigenous health research. Boho’s work has been presented globally in universities, galleries, theatres and conferences.
Nathan’s other work includes plays about ecology and wildlife conservation, and games about speculative futures.