EIT Climate-KIC building climate awareness through videogames
Change Game, a videogame financed by EIT Climate-KIC and designed by CMCC Foundation, confronts the complexity of climate change, and how it interacts with society and natural ecosystems.
As soon as they enter ‘Change Game', players are put in control of the world and their destiny. They have to decide how to use resources to advance their civilisation while dealing with the consequences of their decisions. They can invest in research, education and entertainment, and have to be mindful of the health, happiness and prosperity of their community. The higher the level of emissions players generate, the greater the challenges they will face, as all game scenarios are based on real climate data and scientific research. Just like in the real world, their cities may then encounter heatwaves, droughts, floods, rising sea levels and/or the spread of new diseases. Every action taken has consequences, positive or negative, on the planet: everything is governed by the climate emergency.
Change Game allows people to learn, while playing, about many aspects of climate change, even if they are not very familiar with its impacts or with strategies to reduce emissions. Players do so by managing the production and consumption of energy, water and food, while coping with natural disasters. They also have the opportunity to adopt innovative solutions, to exploit the technologies of the future, to influence people’s behaviour while interacting with nearby cities and to face scenarios that we already see happening in the real world.
Eleonora Cogo, Senior Scientific Manager at the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (CMCC)
Change Game represents the complexity of the climate system and its interactions with humankind and natural ecosystems. To translate this complexity in an accessible way, teachers and educators can use accompanying materials, which can help them foster a better understanding of the underlying assumptions that govern the climate change process. Scientifically grounded, the video game aims to encourage a debate among players about what innovations are necessary to create resilient and zero-emission societies.
Developed by Melazeta Srl, Change Game aims to leverage the potential of videogames to process climate-related information in a fun, educational and interactive way that will increase climate literacy among children (age 12 and up) and young adults. Already available on Google Play and the Apple App Store, Change Game, is now available on Game to Human, a platform created by the Italian Interactive Digital Entertainment Association (IIDEA) to promote the positive impact that videogames can have on the lives of gamers, their families and modern society in general.
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