“Off the Map enabled our team to experience in a single session what we hadn’t achieved in years of training. The conversations afterward were different, more open and more honest.”
Case study
Turning D&I training into real behaviour: how Diverselinq built a game that changes how teams work
average satisfaction scores across pilot sessions at Tata Steel, Schneider Electric and CGI
%
average productivity increase reported by pilot teams after completing the game
%
Reduction in workplace conflicts measured after the programme
%
increase in innovation output reported by participating teams
The project at a glance
What if you could change how a team actually works, in just 60 minutes?
Most organisations know diversity matters. Yet turning that belief into daily behaviour is where things fall apart. Diverselinq (an enterprise of Experts in Balanced Teams) had seen this gap up close: a new hire who challenged team stereotypes would often be so unwelcomed that they left within months. Leaders backed inclusion in principle, but employees struggled to feel its value day to day.
Together with &ranj, Diverselinq built Off the Map: an AI-driven serious game in which players survive together on a desert island. In seven scenarios, they discover how psychological safety, inclusive habits and honest communication shape the outcome, not just for the characters on screen, but for how they work back at the office.
Want to turn a real-world behavioural challenge into a game your people will actually play?
Our approach
Why inclusion meets resistance
Diverselinq spotted a recurring pattern in their field. Organisations would run D&I workshops, tick the box, and return to the same dynamics on Monday morning. The problem was not intention. It was experience.
When people only learn about inclusion, the message rarely survives contact with daily habits. What was needed was a way to make the cost of exclusive behaviour tangible, and the benefit of inclusive behaviour impossible to ignore.
The challenge was also practical: any solution needed to scale. Hiring a facilitator for every session was too expensive and too slow. The answer had to work independently, at any time, for any team.
Three specific barriers kept coming up:
- Leaders believed in diversity in principle, but middle management and team members struggled to feel the tangible benefit in day-to-day decisions.
- Traditional training formats were too long and too expensive to roll out broadly, and their impact faded quickly after the session.
- No facilitators available to run sessions across all teams and locations without significant overhead.
What the solution needed: something that created genuine experience, not just awareness. Something personal and measurable. Something that could run without a trainer in the room.
Our approach
Why inclusion meets resistance
Before writing a single line of code, Diverselinq and &ranj worked with leading experts to build a solid psychological model. Neuroscientist and clinical psychologist Dr. Marcia Goddard and behavioural psychologist and group therapy specialist Dr. Karin Remmerswaal helped define the key behaviours that shape inclusive cultures.
That foundation, built on the work of Amy Edmondson (psychological safety), Scott E. Page (cognitive diversity), Beau Lotto (embracing uncertainty) and Celik, Storme and Forthmann (creative thinking), guided every character, every conversation and every feedback moment in the game.
From there, &ranj designed the gameplay and AI conversation architecture. We ran pilots with Tata Steel, Schneider Electric and CGI, using those sessions to validate the learning model, test the AI characters and sharpen the coaching feedback. The results shaped the final product.
The solution
Off the Map: AI-driven gameplay that improves how teams connect, decide and deliver
Off the Map puts players together with five distinct AI-driven characters on a desert island. Survival depends on collaboration, so the consequences of exclusive behaviour become visible fast. In seven scenarios, players make real choices: how to respond to a colleague who feels sidelined, how to build trust with someone whose perspective challenges your own.
Because the dialogue is open-ended and powered by AI, no two experiences are the same. Every player makes it personal.
Key features of the game:
- Natural, open-ended dialogue: Players type their own words. &ranj's proprietary AI engine orchestrates responses so characters react with believable body language, shifting emotions and evolving viewpoints, making each conversation feel real.
- Seven scenarios: Situations range from persuading a sceptical colleague to accept help he'd normally dismiss, to rebuilding the confidence of a teammate who has gone quiet and withdrawn.
- Three learning dimensions: The game measures belonging and connectedness, constructive work climate and appreciation for diversity, giving players and organisations a clear picture of where they stand.
- Adaptive gameplay: Choices carry consequences. Characters remember what was said and respond accordingly, which means players who exclude or dismiss teammates will feel the effect on group trust and team performance.
- AI coach Robby: At the end of each scenario, the AI coach helps players reflect on their choices, surface blind spots, and set concrete intentions for back at work.
- Personal and team reporting: Individual insight reports are available after each session. Team reports (available in the Professional and Premium packages) give L&D and HR a shared view of team dynamics.
- No facilitator required: The game runs independently, making it scalable across locations, time zones and team sizes.
- An Off The Map player
The impact
Pilot results that made the business case clear
Off the Map launched with pilots at Tata Steel, Schneider Electric and CGI. Across all three organisations, satisfaction scores came in between 8,0 and 8,6 out of 10. Players reported that the game created direct awareness, improved communication and led to concrete action in their teams.
Key results from the pilots:
- 8,0–8,6 satisfaction scores across three major organisations, showing consistent player experience regardless of sector or team composition
- +10–15% productivity increase reported by participating teams in the period after completing the programme
- –10% reduction in conflicts measured within teams that completed the full programme
- +20% increase in innovation reported by pilot teams, consistent with PwC research showing diverse, inclusive teams generate 19% more innovation revenue
- 200+ players completed the game during the pilot phase, providing validated data on engagement and learning outcomes
- No facilitator needed for any session, making large-scale rollout financially viable from day one
The next steps
Where we are now
Diverselinq and &ranj are continuing to develop Off the Map together. Following the successful pilots, the game is rolling out to additional teams and sectors, with new scenarios being built for specific workplace contexts and expanded language support in progress.
Services we provided:
- Concept and learning strategy
- AI conversation architecture and prompt design
- Game design and development
- Visual design (AI-assisted art direction)
- Behaviour change framework and validation
- Scientific content development with domain experts
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