In a recent Nature article, Lingling Yuan (Southern Medical University) reflects on lessons learned from playing Green Pepper Simulator, a Chinese game that gamifies the life of early-career academics. The game, named for the similarity between the Mandarin word for green peppers and a term for early-career faculty, lets players manage papers, grants, reputation, and mental health to become successful researchers. Yuan says that the game, which has attracted over 600,000 players, illustrates three key lessons for early-career academics, including the metrification of goals, uncertainty, and that the humanity of science rarely counts. She adds that playing the game gave her a new sense of understanding for her early-career colleagues as, unlike in the game, “when they’re faced with game over, there’s no easy option to play again.”
