Science and Culture: Can climate change games boost public understanding?

Abstract

In 2014, ecologist Josh Lawler watched as his 8-year-old son became engrossed in video games. The games’ hold made him wonder: Could researchers exploit the medium to teach players—both children and adults—about climate change? “I figured we’re having trouble getting the message about climate change out,” says Lawler, who is at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle. “The thought was that video games could play that role of being the messenger.” In the board game KEEP COOL , players must decide to build carbon-emitting or carbon-neutral factories to meet their countries’ economic targets while keeping global temperature below a critical threshold. Image credit: Keep Cool GbR. The following year, Lawler and his colleagues started EarthGames, a group that encourages students and professional software developers to produce environment-themed games, exploring topics ranging from soot pollution to the survival of small mammals called pikas in a warming world. EarthGames is one of a multitude of teams keen on incorporating climate change into board, video, and role-playing games. Some are creating simple prototypes at events called game jams. Others have devised elaborate simulations drawing on real climate modeling. The efforts are driven partly by a realization that traditional science communication methods based on the “information deficit model”—the idea that people simply need to be given more information about the topic conveyed in an understandable way—aren’t particularly effective (1). One-way transmission of information, such as reports or films, has failed to motivate international action to sufficiently reduce emissions, says Juliette Rooney-Varga, an environmental scientist and director of the Climate Change Initiative at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Studies by Rooney-Varga and others suggest that games can help participants grasp complex concepts, elicit emotional responses, and increase motivation to act. Soon after his climate-change–game brainstorm, Lawler approached Dargan Frierson, an atmospheric scientist at UW. …