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Game Over for Climate Change?

Communicating and Visualising Global Warming in Digital Games

Carolin Becklas    Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany    

Sabine Baumann    Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany

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abstract

Digital games are increasingly used as innovative tools for climate change communication. Our study uses the example of Eco to analyse, with the help of a validated set of criteria, how commercial games communicate climate change and the science behind it, which options for action are suggested to the player and how the interplay of the three pillars of sustainability (environmental, social, and economic) is presented in the game. The paper’s conclusions underline the potential for commercial, multiplayer survival games like Eco to act as educational tools for communicating complex environmental issues, bridging diverse player demographics, and fostering a deeper understanding of the challenges and solutions in addressing climate change and ecological sustainability. Our findings help test and advance existing concepts in environmental communication studies and sustainability studies.

Published
Feb. 6, 2024
Accepted
Nov. 24, 2023
Submitted
Sept. 11, 2023
Language
EN

Keywords: Climate changeDigital gamesAudience engagementSustainabilityClimate change communication

Copyright: © 2023 Carolin Becklas, Sabine Baumann. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.