About half the global population spends some amount of their leisure time playing games, whether it’s a board game after dinner with friends or online role-playing experience through an alternate world. While many video and board games have long incorporated elements we can imagine in a climate-altered future — such as resource scarcity, conflict, and survival — some in the industry are working to shift players’ mindsets towards protecting nature and reducing their own climate impacts in the process.
Daybreak is a cooperative board game about stopping climate change. Cities: Skylines lets players do urban planning with climate-friendly policies such as offering free public transportation or implementing congestion pricing. And the UN’s Environment Programme is backing the Playing for Planet Alliance, which awards games that spark engagement while delivering an environmental message. How can games encourage people to explore climate realities and possible futures in a way that allows greater engagement, rather than anxiety and despair?
Guests:
Jacob Geller, Author; Video Essayist
Laura Carter, CEO and Founder, TreesPlease Games
Sam Barratt, Chief of Youth, Education and Advocacy, UN Environment Programme
For show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/podcasts
Highlights:
00:00 – Intro
00:30 – Kousha and Ariana play a video game
05:00 – Jacob Geller on video games and climate themes
11:00 – World-building games that employ climate solutions and strategies
21:30 – Laura Carter on her early love of games and environmental issues
26:00 – LongLeaf Valley and storytelling in games
33:30 – Why build tree-planting into the gameplay
40:00 – Sam Barratt on why video games medium is so critical for engagement
46:30 – Playing for the Planet Alliance and Green Games Jam
52:00 – Why it’s important for games industry to decarbonize
58:00 – Climate One More Thing
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