Play.
The first few years of our lives are dedicated to it almost exclusively. There then comes a time when we’re expected, at least by the last generation, to give it up completely.
These days, things are a little different. Games are EVERYWHERE. From Warcraft to Farmville, Mortal Kombat to Wii Yoga, and every iPhone app in between (looking at you, Angry Birds-addicted grandma), what began as a hobby of basement-dwelling tinkerers in the 70s is now a truly mainstream pastime. But can games be used for more than just escapist entertainment?
Al Gore, "Gaming for Good"
Many believe that gaming in the name of social good is the next frontier for the industry. Being faced with challenges to overcome in the real world is something that often causes people a great deal of stress. But games present us with the same thing in such a way that we actually embrace the experience instead. So could “gamefying” the real world be a way of taking on greater challenges in a fun, accessible way? Many seem to think so. After all, who better to enlist in a problem-solving exercise than designers –that is, folks who create objectives, obstacles, and parameters– and gamers –the people who live to explore those parameters, overcome the obstacles, and accomplish the objectives?
Recently, in fact, a group of gamers spent 3 weeks tackling complex DNA puzzles, which eventually led to a breakthrough in an HIV research problem that had stumped scientists for a decade. Playing games is very serious business.
Last week, PSFK hosted an event with Al Gore to discuss his Climate Reality Project, where creative thought leaders were tasked with developing concepts to use “gaming for good” to raise global awareness of the effects of climate change. A team comprised of W+Kers from New York and Portland presented their idea for conveying the harsh, dramatic realities within the virtual worlds that millions of players log into every day.
- Erik Hanson presenting “Climate Reality”
“To raise awareness and drive home the true impact of climate change, we will create our own virtual climate change events in some of the most popular games in the world. By working with top publishers like EA and Rockstar, a wide range of games could be affected simultaneously, ensuring we can reach a critical mass and stimulate a conversation about climate change. on Earth Day, we will take the gaming world by surprise by introducing new mechanics that completely alter the game world and how players interact with it.
The overnight appearance of these changes changes will spur conversation about the real world implications of climate change while informing gamers of possible consequences.“
It seems simple. Rather than market an educational game about the world’s toughest problems (who wants to play that?), we can force gamers to see how the world in which they live is changing by imposing those changes on the world in which they play.The problems in the game world, like those in the real one, therefore, cannot be ignored.
No more escapism. On to the problem-solving.