Playable Lab

Ceiling Fan Field Lab

A hands-on repair simulation about making work safe, reading the system, and proving a fix before you trust it.

By Eric Rhea GameLab prototype Status: Live field lab

This is a training simulation, not electrical advice. Real ceiling fan work still depends on the fan manual, local code, verified power isolation, and a licensed electrician when the situation is unclear.

What It Is

Ceiling Fan Field Lab turns a familiar household repair into a compact systems exercise. The player moves through lockout, component identification, harness mapping, assembly, and a bench test inside a browser-native 3D workbench.

The point is not to gamify risk away. The point is to make risk visible, slow the sequence down, and teach the habit of proving each assumption before the next step gets more expensive.

Why It Exists

The lab is built around the Independence Engines idea: practical agency grows when people can inspect a system, name the parts, understand the failure path, and make a bounded decision without pretending they know more than they do.

A ceiling fan is useful because it is ordinary, physical, and unforgiving. Support, wiring, switching, labeling, and testing all matter. The simulation gives those constraints a shape you can manipulate before touching the real world.

What You Do

  • Clear the safety gate by walking through breaker, tag, tester, and fan-rated box checks.
  • Inspect the fan as an exploded model and learn what each part contributes to the repair path.
  • Choose a fan profile, map the ceiling conductors, and land simulated harness leads on the right connector groups.
  • Run the bench test only after the safety and wiring contracts are satisfied.

Design Notes

The experience uses progressive disclosure on purpose. Wiring controls stay hidden until safety work is complete. The 3D model starts exploded, then collapses toward assembly as the job becomes more certain. The Agency Meter rewards demonstrated understanding rather than speed.

The sources are visible in the lab itself, including manufacturer installation and troubleshooting references, OSHA hazardous energy guidance, and energy-use context. The simulation is intentionally narrow so the lesson stays concrete.

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