Scenario planning is a strategic foresight method used to envision and prepare for potential future scenarios. It involves creating and exploring multiple plausible and coherent narratives of the future to gain insights into uncertainties and potential outcomes. By developing driving forces and uncertainties, scenarios are developed as stories that depict different possible futures. The goal of this method is to determine future scenarios according to certain criteria and to anticipate the potential developments in each of them.

This method was used by the students to answer the question: “Based on technology and sustainability in video games, what could future health look like?”. To perform this scenario planning method, four steps were taken in this case: scoping the research question, identifying the key drivers (relevant trends and drivers), building four different scenarios, and assessing the implications of each of the generated scenarios.

Trend cards are a foresight tool used to identify and analyze emerging trends in various domains. They typically consist of individual cards representing a specific trend or development. Each card provides a concise description of the trend, along with key uncertainties and its relevance or impact on future society. Weak signals related to the trend are also described, serving as a comparison with the current setting.

Trend cards are designed to contain key information about a specific trend but also visualizations. Using trends cards is very useful for documenting technologies or scenarios that are projected in the future.

A trend radar is a visual tool that provides a concise overview of emerging trends within a specific domain or industry. It typically consists of a circular chart divided into sectors, with each sector representing a different trend. The trends are plotted based on their relevance and impact, with the most significant trends positioned closer to the centre of the radar. This tool enables individuals and organizations to identify, track, and anticipate significant developments and changes in their field, aiding them in making informed decisions and staying ahead of the curve.

The students adapted this method to their findings, creating a radar using the year in which the trend comes into action, according to the time depicted in the video games. The colour indicates how often the trend was mentioned by the games, better representing an overview of the content analysed.

While the trend radar can be visualized as a semi-circle, it can also be designed as a circle. In this use of the diagram, dots are placed based on relevance and impact.