Global warming game
Encyclopedia
A global warming game, also known as a climate game or a climate change game, is a type of serious game
. As a serious game, it attempts to simulate and explore real life issues to educate players through an interactive experience. The issues particular to a global warming video game are usually energy efficiency
and the implementation of green technology as ways to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and thus counteract global warming
. Global warming games also include more traditional board game
s, video games, as well as other varieties.
The first objective is universal to global warming games. The issues surrounding global warming commonly included are
emissions and the emission of other greenhouse gases, the melting of the polar ice cap
s, sea-level rise, natural disasters and massive changes to lifestyles caused by global warming. Games that do not go beyond the objective of knowledge and familiarity tend to be designed for younger audiences. Games designed for young children often only have the goal to engage the children enough to excite their attention to focus on these basic concepts.
The second objective is integrated into games in a variety of ways. Sometimes demonstrating the challenges of confronting global warming
are put directly into the style of gameplay, e.g. to demonstrate the difficulty of international cooperation, players are made to represent different countries and are required to negotiate to fulfill game objectives. Other times, the game includes the challenges as a part of the mechanics, e.g. building 'green factories' is more expensive than building 'black factories.'
The final objective is shared by the most interactive and engaging global warming games. Developing solutions to global warming
includes two major types of response: mitigation of emissions and global warming's
effects, and adaptation
to live sustainably
in a new climate
. Typically players are given a variety of different options so that they may come up with a number of different creative solutions. Sometimes players are even allowed freedom to create their own unique options to integrate into their strategy.
, and to give participants a basic understanding of the tradeoffs involved in responses to climate change. The participant's goal in DCCS is to maintain the carbon dioxide concentration stock within an acceptable range around the goal value of 938 GtC. The participant decides on emissions of two different types: deforestation and burning of fossil fuels. The participant sets the fossil fuel and deforestation emissions. The DCCS moves autonomously by a number of time steps to a future year and calculates carbon dioxide concentrations and absorptions from making the emissions. The software is available to download for free to academics, subject to the attached license agreement.
, an English charity
. The game is set in a 3D virtual city with five main activities where players are set the task of reducing the carbon footprint
of an average resident. The activities comprise:
- a race against time around a virtual reality office switching off equipment left on by careless users;
- finding and selecting energy efficiency
and renewable energy
options in a home, but with a strictly limited budget;
- answering a quiz about features they have to find in a low energy building;
- taking part in a role playing game to select the best travel options for three generations of a family; and
- choosing a holiday from a virtual travel agents - but with the risk that climate change may have led to unexpected changes at the destination.
As players work their way through the game they attempt to cut their carbon footprint
from a typical English figure of 5.5 tonnes to a level of 2.0 tonnes. At the end of the game they are taken forward to 2066 to see if they have done enough to save England from the worst problems associated with global climate change
. The game's conclusion and focus on 2066 is designed to bring home to players the reality of the changes they may face in their lifetime.
The game is part of Defra’s (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
) Climate Challenge programme to increase public awareness of Climate Change across the country. The National Energy Foundation
, Logicom and British Gas
also provided support to the game's development. LogiCity is designed to be used both by individuals and in an educational context. It is stated to be suitable for most children from the ages of 10 or 11 upward (English KS3+), although the main target group is young adults aged 16–26.
The game can either be played online
or distributed across a network from a CD-ROM
. There are no licensing implications as it has been publicly funded, although all PCs being used for the game do need to meet certain technical requirements (notably being PCs not Macs, and using Internet Explorer
as a browser), and may require additional software plug-ins to be downloaded (a VRML
viewer and a recent version of Flash
player).
There has been some criticism that the game is only really applicable to England
, due to limitations imposed by its funders, so that it is unlikely to appeal widely in North America. The look and feel of the game concentrates on a near photo-realism for buildings, but the player is disembodied and lacks an avatar
. Firefox users are unable to run the game unless they switch to Internet Explorer
, and some users have commented that download times for each module can be up to a minute, although this may be overcome by using the CD-ROM
implementation. Logicity is on the cover disk of the February edition of PC Gamer
magazine.
produced by Princeton University's
Carbon Mitigation Initiative. The goal of the game creators, Stephen Pacala and Robert H. Socolow, is to demonstrate through this game that global warming
is a problem which can be solved by implementing today's technologies to reduce emissions. The object of the game is to keep the next fifty years of emissions flat, using seven wedges from a variety of different strategies which fit into the stabilization triangle.
You'll make Decisions to change the energies you use or use them in a different way, researching topic in the Glossary. You'll also answer Questions on Climate Change and respond to Natural Events (such as volcanic eruptions) which affect Climate, People's Choices (unpredictable, popular human actions which impact Greenhouse Gas emissions and tax revenues), and economic or political decisions by other countries that affect the level of greenhouse gas emissions.
You win “The Climate Change Game” – and your delighted citizens re-elect you - if you can help reduce global Greenhouse Gas emissions to the level required by the Kyoto Protocol AND are not spending more money than people pay in taxes, AND maintain Voter Support of at least 51 percent AND Earth’s Temperature is “comfortable" for life.
in which players explore and live in a house that is built to mirror their own. Players begin the game by building a profile including variables such as water use and transportation behaviors, heating and cooling practices, food purchases, and electrical appliance usage. Once the profile has been built, the player can begin the simulation which introduces different scenarios ranging from heat waves to mad cow disease. The player adjusts their lifestyle according to how they would react to these events in real life. All the while, the players' decisions are being measured and recorded, and their overall contribution to N2O
,
, and CH4
to the atmosphere
is measured.
created by Klaus Eisenack and Gerhard Petschel-Held of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and published by the German
company Spieltrieb in November 2004. The game can be classified as both a serious game
and a global warming game. In Keep Cool, up to six players representing the world's countries compete to balance their own economic interests and the world's climate
in a game of negotiation
. The goal of the game as stated by the authors is to "promote the general knowledge on climate change and the understanding of difficulties and obstacles, and "to make it available for a board game and still retain the major elements and processes."
and Munich Re
have launched a climate game called Winds of Change, which is a board game
for 2-4 persons. The game illustrates the climate challenge in a playful way and it can be used in team learning, schools, focus groups, etc. It includes several features, which are hotly debated in climate policy-making. These include among others: investments in R&D, technological learning and innovation, de-carbonizing the economy, ocean uptake of , the 2 degrees limit, and insurance against extreme weather
events.
for 2-4 persons ages 12 and up takes 30–40 minutes. The game has players collect groups of like-minded countries in order to hold conferences. The bigger the conference the better. Country cards show indicators on -emissions per capita as well as figures on consequences of extreme weather
events (deaths and damages). While no knowledge is needed to play the game, players will learn a bit about who is causing climate change and who is suffering from it. On the game side, Climate-Poker requires bluffing and closely watching what the other players are aiming at. the 2 degrees limit, and insurance against. The figures in the game stem from the World Resources Institutes' Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT) and from Munich Re
.
and Allianz
is a rather complex simulation that allows one player to run a company over a period of 20 years. Players can chose from four industries (automobile, chemicals, insurance, utility). They have a limited budget and can chose from a variety of business decision like investing in smart grids or carbon capture and storage (utility). Their target is to reduce CO2 emissions significantly until 2030 without going bankrupt. Advisors (environmentalist, investors, researcher) offer help but their suggestions can be one-sided. The game is based on the RECIPE study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
.
and Mac OS
game developed and published by Red Redemption
, the developers of Climate Challenge. It focuses on global governance, with goals ranging from improving living conditions in Africa
, to preventing catastrophic climate change
, to exacerbating it. It is based around an intricate model of populations, economic production and greenhouse emissions based on real-world data.
technologies and brand." The game enables players to improve the health of their plants by learning about and applying industrial and infrastructure products and solutions from Siemens
. Gamers will be measured on a number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), including safety, on time delivery, quality, energy management and employee satisfaction.
Games for Change Challenge is a collaborative effort between Microsoft
and Games for Change
(G4C), a subgroup of the Serious Games Initiative. The challenge is a worldwide competition to develop a global warming game with Microsoft's
XNA Game Studio Express software. Winners will be awarded scholarships from Games for Change
and Microsoft
, and the winning games will have the possibility of being available for download on the Xbox LIVE Arcade
service. The Xbox 360 Games for Change Challenge has been cast by Microsoft as a "socially-minded" initiative, joining the larger serious games movement. Suzanne Seggerman, a co-founder of Games for Change
, shared these comments in a radio interview:
Serious game
A serious game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The "serious" adjective is generally prepended to refer to products used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion,...
. As a serious game, it attempts to simulate and explore real life issues to educate players through an interactive experience. The issues particular to a global warming video game are usually energy efficiency
Efficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
and the implementation of green technology as ways to reduce greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
emissions and thus counteract global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
. Global warming games also include more traditional board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
s, video games, as well as other varieties.
Objectives
The primary objectives of global warming games are twofold:- To develop the player's familiarity and knowledge of the issue of global warming and related issues
- To make the player aware of the challenges and obstacles that are faced when addressing global warming
- Occasionally, the games encourage players to develop ideas and solutions to global warming
The first objective is universal to global warming games. The issues surrounding global warming commonly included are
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
emissions and the emission of other greenhouse gases, the melting of the polar ice cap
Polar ice cap
A polar ice cap is a high latitude region of a planet or natural satellite that is covered in ice. There are no requirements with respect to size or composition for a body of ice to be termed a polar ice cap, nor any geological requirement for it to be over land; only that it must be a body of...
s, sea-level rise, natural disasters and massive changes to lifestyles caused by global warming. Games that do not go beyond the objective of knowledge and familiarity tend to be designed for younger audiences. Games designed for young children often only have the goal to engage the children enough to excite their attention to focus on these basic concepts.
The second objective is integrated into games in a variety of ways. Sometimes demonstrating the challenges of confronting global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
are put directly into the style of gameplay, e.g. to demonstrate the difficulty of international cooperation, players are made to represent different countries and are required to negotiate to fulfill game objectives. Other times, the game includes the challenges as a part of the mechanics, e.g. building 'green factories' is more expensive than building 'black factories.'
The final objective is shared by the most interactive and engaging global warming games. Developing solutions to global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
includes two major types of response: mitigation of emissions and global warming's
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
effects, and adaptation
Adaptation
An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....
to live sustainably
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
in a new climate
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
. Typically players are given a variety of different options so that they may come up with a number of different creative solutions. Sometimes players are even allowed freedom to create their own unique options to integrate into their strategy.
Dynamic Climate Change Simulator
The Dynamic Climate Change Simulator (DCCS) provides a simplified model of climate change to be used as a tool for the study of dynamic decision makingDynamic decision making
Dynamic decision-making is interdependent decision-making that takes place in an environment that changes over time either due to the previous actions of the decision maker or due to events that are outside of the control of the decision maker...
, and to give participants a basic understanding of the tradeoffs involved in responses to climate change. The participant's goal in DCCS is to maintain the carbon dioxide concentration stock within an acceptable range around the goal value of 938 GtC. The participant decides on emissions of two different types: deforestation and burning of fossil fuels. The participant sets the fossil fuel and deforestation emissions. The DCCS moves autonomously by a number of time steps to a future year and calculates carbon dioxide concentrations and absorptions from making the emissions. The software is available to download for free to academics, subject to the attached license agreement.
LogiCity
LogiCity[ is an interactive Flash-based virtual-reality based computer game, produced by Logicom and The National Energy FoundationNational Energy Foundation
The National Energy Foundation is an independent British charity, established to encourage the more sustainable use and generation of energy.- Aims :...
, an English charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
. The game is set in a 3D virtual city with five main activities where players are set the task of reducing the carbon footprint
Carbon footprint
A carbon footprint has historically been defined as "the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person.". However, calculating a carbon footprint which conforms to this definition is often impracticable due to the large amount of data required, which is...
of an average resident. The activities comprise:
- a race against time around a virtual reality office switching off equipment left on by careless users;
- finding and selecting energy efficiency
Efficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
and renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
options in a home, but with a strictly limited budget;
- answering a quiz about features they have to find in a low energy building;
- taking part in a role playing game to select the best travel options for three generations of a family; and
- choosing a holiday from a virtual travel agents - but with the risk that climate change may have led to unexpected changes at the destination.
As players work their way through the game they attempt to cut their carbon footprint
Carbon footprint
A carbon footprint has historically been defined as "the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person.". However, calculating a carbon footprint which conforms to this definition is often impracticable due to the large amount of data required, which is...
from a typical English figure of 5.5 tonnes to a level of 2.0 tonnes. At the end of the game they are taken forward to 2066 to see if they have done enough to save England from the worst problems associated with global climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
. The game's conclusion and focus on 2066 is designed to bring home to players the reality of the changes they may face in their lifetime.
The game is part of Defra’s (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom...
) Climate Challenge programme to increase public awareness of Climate Change across the country. The National Energy Foundation
National Energy Foundation
The National Energy Foundation is an independent British charity, established to encourage the more sustainable use and generation of energy.- Aims :...
, Logicom and British Gas
Centrica
Centrica plc is a multinational utility company, based in the United Kingdom but also with interests in North America. Centrica is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the UK, and one of the largest suppliers of electricity, operating under the trading names "Scottish Gas" in...
also provided support to the game's development. LogiCity is designed to be used both by individuals and in an educational context. It is stated to be suitable for most children from the ages of 10 or 11 upward (English KS3+), although the main target group is young adults aged 16–26.
The game can either be played online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
or distributed across a network from a CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
. There are no licensing implications as it has been publicly funded, although all PCs being used for the game do need to meet certain technical requirements (notably being PCs not Macs, and using Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
as a browser), and may require additional software plug-ins to be downloaded (a VRML
VRML
VRML is a standard file format for representing 3-dimensional interactive vector graphics, designed particularly with the World Wide Web in mind...
viewer and a recent version of Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
player).
There has been some criticism that the game is only really applicable to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, due to limitations imposed by its funders, so that it is unlikely to appeal widely in North America. The look and feel of the game concentrates on a near photo-realism for buildings, but the player is disembodied and lacks an avatar
Avatar (computing)
In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
. Firefox users are unable to run the game unless they switch to Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
, and some users have commented that download times for each module can be up to a minute, although this may be overcome by using the CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
implementation. Logicity is on the cover disk of the February edition of PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
magazine.
Stabilization Wedge Game
The Stabilization Wedge Game, or what is commonly referred to as simply the 'Wedge Game', is a serious gameSerious game
A serious game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The "serious" adjective is generally prepended to refer to products used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion,...
produced by Princeton University's
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
Carbon Mitigation Initiative. The goal of the game creators, Stephen Pacala and Robert H. Socolow, is to demonstrate through this game that global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
is a problem which can be solved by implementing today's technologies to reduce emissions. The object of the game is to keep the next fifty years of emissions flat, using seven wedges from a variety of different strategies which fit into the stabilization triangle.
Climate Challenge
Climate Challenge is a Flash-based simulation game produced by the BBC and developed by Red Redemption Ltd. Players manage the economy and resources of the 'European Nations' as its president, while reducing emissions of to combat climate change and managing crises. Climate Challenge is an environmental serious game, designed to give players an understanding of the science behind climate change, as well as the options available to policy makers and the difficulties in their implementation.The Climate Change Game
The Climate Change Game is played by one or two people (sharing the Mouse). Each player is the leader of his/her country, hoping to be re-elected while trying to cope with the effects of climate change and, hopefully, reverse it.You'll make Decisions to change the energies you use or use them in a different way, researching topic in the Glossary. You'll also answer Questions on Climate Change and respond to Natural Events (such as volcanic eruptions) which affect Climate, People's Choices (unpredictable, popular human actions which impact Greenhouse Gas emissions and tax revenues), and economic or political decisions by other countries that affect the level of greenhouse gas emissions.
You win “The Climate Change Game” – and your delighted citizens re-elect you - if you can help reduce global Greenhouse Gas emissions to the level required by the Kyoto Protocol AND are not spending more money than people pay in taxes, AND maintain Voter Support of at least 51 percent AND Earth’s Temperature is “comfortable" for life.
V GAS
V GAS is a 3D serious gameSerious game
A serious game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The "serious" adjective is generally prepended to refer to products used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion,...
in which players explore and live in a house that is built to mirror their own. Players begin the game by building a profile including variables such as water use and transportation behaviors, heating and cooling practices, food purchases, and electrical appliance usage. Once the profile has been built, the player can begin the simulation which introduces different scenarios ranging from heat waves to mad cow disease. The player adjusts their lifestyle according to how they would react to these events in real life. All the while, the players' decisions are being measured and recorded, and their overall contribution to N2O
Nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas or sweet air, is a chemical compound with the formula . It is an oxide of nitrogen. At room temperature, it is a colorless non-flammable gas, with a slightly sweet odor and taste. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anesthetic and analgesic...
,
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
, and CH4
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
to the atmosphere
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
is measured.
Keep Cool
Keep Cool is a board gameBoard game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
created by Klaus Eisenack and Gerhard Petschel-Held of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and published by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
company Spieltrieb in November 2004. The game can be classified as both a serious game
Serious game
A serious game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The "serious" adjective is generally prepended to refer to products used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion,...
and a global warming game. In Keep Cool, up to six players representing the world's countries compete to balance their own economic interests and the world's climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
in a game of negotiation
Negotiation
Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties, intended to reach an understanding, resolve point of difference, or gain advantage in outcome of dialogue, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, to craft outcomes to satisfy...
. The goal of the game as stated by the authors is to "promote the general knowledge on climate change and the understanding of difficulties and obstacles, and "to make it available for a board game and still retain the major elements and processes."
Winds of Change
The European Climate ForumEuropean Climate Forum
The European Climate Forum is a platform for joint studies and science-based stakeholder dialogues on climatic change. ECF brings together representatives of different parties concerned with the climate problem.-Objectives and Vision:...
and Munich Re
Munich Re
Munich Re Group is a reinsurance company based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the world’s leading reinsurers. ERGO, a Munich Re subsidiary, is the Group’s primary insurance arm....
have launched a climate game called Winds of Change, which is a board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
for 2-4 persons. The game illustrates the climate challenge in a playful way and it can be used in team learning, schools, focus groups, etc. It includes several features, which are hotly debated in climate policy-making. These include among others: investments in R&D, technological learning and innovation, de-carbonizing the economy, ocean uptake of , the 2 degrees limit, and insurance against extreme weather
Extreme weather
Extreme weather includes weather phenomena that are at the extremes of the historical distribution, especially severe or unseasonal weather. The most commonly used definition of extreme weather is based on an event's climatological distribution. Extreme weather occurs only 5% or less of the time...
events.
Climate-Poker
Berlin-based Andrea Meyer, game designer with an environmental background published this card game in her company BeWitched-Spiele in 2009. Playing the card gameCard game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
for 2-4 persons ages 12 and up takes 30–40 minutes. The game has players collect groups of like-minded countries in order to hold conferences. The bigger the conference the better. Country cards show indicators on -emissions per capita as well as figures on consequences of extreme weather
Extreme weather
Extreme weather includes weather phenomena that are at the extremes of the historical distribution, especially severe or unseasonal weather. The most commonly used definition of extreme weather is based on an event's climatological distribution. Extreme weather occurs only 5% or less of the time...
events (deaths and damages). While no knowledge is needed to play the game, players will learn a bit about who is causing climate change and who is suffering from it. On the game side, Climate-Poker requires bluffing and closely watching what the other players are aiming at. the 2 degrees limit, and insurance against. The figures in the game stem from the World Resources Institutes' Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT) and from Munich Re
Munich Re
Munich Re Group is a reinsurance company based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the world’s leading reinsurers. ERGO, a Munich Re subsidiary, is the Group’s primary insurance arm....
.
CEO2 - Climate Business Game
The online climate game CEO2 from World Wide Fund for NatureWorld Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
and Allianz
Allianz
SE is a global financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core business and focus is insurance. As of 2010, it was the world's 12th-largest financial services group and 23rd-largest company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine.Its Allianz Global Investors...
is a rather complex simulation that allows one player to run a company over a period of 20 years. Players can chose from four industries (automobile, chemicals, insurance, utility). They have a limited budget and can chose from a variety of business decision like investing in smart grids or carbon capture and storage (utility). Their target is to reduce CO2 emissions significantly until 2030 without going bankrupt. Advisors (environmentalist, investors, researcher) offer help but their suggestions can be one-sided. The game is based on the RECIPE study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research is a research institute specialising in the fields of global change, climate impact and sustainable development.-References:* USA Today -Further Reading:* Study -See Also:* Climatic Research Unit...
.
Fate of the World
Fate of the World is a 2011 Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
game developed and published by Red Redemption
Red Redemption
Red Redemption is a serious game developer based in Oxford, UK. , Red Redemption produced two global warming games: Climate Challenge and Fate of the World.- Games :...
, the developers of Climate Challenge. It focuses on global governance, with goals ranging from improving living conditions in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, to preventing catastrophic climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, to exacerbating it. It is based around an intricate model of populations, economic production and greenhouse emissions based on real-world data.
Plantville
Plantville http://www.plantville.com/index.php is "an innovative, educational and fun way for Siemens to engage customers, employees, prospects, students and the general public while driving awareness of SiemensSiemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
technologies and brand." The game enables players to improve the health of their plants by learning about and applying industrial and infrastructure products and solutions from Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
. Gamers will be measured on a number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), including safety, on time delivery, quality, energy management and employee satisfaction.
Xbox 360 Games for Change Challenge
The Xbox 360Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
Games for Change Challenge is a collaborative effort between Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
and Games for Change
Games for Change
Games for Change is a movement and community of practice dedicated to using digital games for social change. An individual game may also be referred to as a "game for change" if it is produced by this community or shares its ideals...
(G4C), a subgroup of the Serious Games Initiative. The challenge is a worldwide competition to develop a global warming game with Microsoft's
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
XNA Game Studio Express software. Winners will be awarded scholarships from Games for Change
Games for Change
Games for Change is a movement and community of practice dedicated to using digital games for social change. An individual game may also be referred to as a "game for change" if it is produced by this community or shares its ideals...
and Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, and the winning games will have the possibility of being available for download on the Xbox LIVE Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
service. The Xbox 360 Games for Change Challenge has been cast by Microsoft as a "socially-minded" initiative, joining the larger serious games movement. Suzanne Seggerman, a co-founder of Games for Change
Games for Change
Games for Change is a movement and community of practice dedicated to using digital games for social change. An individual game may also be referred to as a "game for change" if it is produced by this community or shares its ideals...
, shared these comments in a radio interview: