Make HD assets optional during initial download The highest resolution is not unanimously desired! If you run an older PC, have a slow internet connection, or even […]
Reduce Internet Traffic Downloading data from the internet uses electricity, so game developers of all sizes would do well to minimize the amount […]
Build for light patches Prep your game so you can upload neat patches instead of having to replace huge chunks of the game each time.
Delicious plant-based food Cooking systems that dabble in plant-based food can both inspire and teach real recipes.
Repair, Re-use, Recycle In-game economies can be circular economies - build player habits of repair and re-use, and raise the value of junk.
Improve your data storage policies Data storage needs energy: the more data you store, the higher your emissions.
Reduce your studio carbon footprint Reduce the carbon emission of each step of the game industry lifecycle, from raw materials extraction to game data storage.
Reduce Electricity Use at Runtime Video games use electricity. But how much? Measure and act to drastically reduce your game's direct footprint.
Release on previous generation devices Fight device obsolescence and reduce e-waste by releasing games on previous generation devices as well.
Fold porting optimisations back into the main SKU Bring the extra optimization done for console or mobile ports back to high-end devices.
The Metagame Forums, fan groups, Let’s Plays, E-Sports commentary, UGC, and/or modding communities can add depth and meaning to the experience.
Facilitation & Communication Facilitators guiding the discussion after gameplay can prompt questions to guide thinking, mitigate confusion, and create deeper understanding.
Collaboration The act of collaborative problem solving (with players or NPCs) can greatly increase the effectiveness of a player’s learning experience.
Competition At worst, competition without meaningful context has the risk of actively encouraging anti-environmental behaviors and thinking.
System Realism Simulations that directly and accurately reflect a real-world system can build incredibly rich system knowledge.
Collecting Scientific Data Game designers can gamify the collection of data such as gas levels, electrical consumption, and water quality.
Locality & Local Knowledge While limiting in its scalability, local games are highly focused and have shown significant, measurable impact on communities in a variety of contexts.
Real World Action Real World Action Games (RWAGs) require players to take action outside of the game, such as engaging with nature or reducing their carbon footprint.
Investment in Specifics Including specific places or developing named, fleshed-out characters can encourage emotional investment in protecting those places or creatures.
Conflicting Goals Conflicting goals force the player to accept limited success, choose a goal to prioritize, or risk failure by riding the fence.
Transactive Learning & Transformational Play When player action significantly impacts the game world in ways that are visible and persistent, it can boost emotional engagement and sense of self-efficacy.
Sensory Affect Emotional connection to environmental issues can be approached through design of visual art, audio or force feedback.
No-Win Scenarios When used to consider real world situations, no-win scenarios can force a player to reconsider the validity of a solution they may take for granted.
New Goal Orientation By working towards new, unfamiliar goals, players build empathy, learn, and think critically about solving real world issues.
Forced Discomfort Players can be made to confront difficult truths or experience difficult situations by forcing discomfort through audio-visual elements, or social norm violation.
Experimentation & Inquiry Experiment-based gameplay leads to model-based reasoning and systematic knowledge.
Intrinsic Integration When understanding the target concepts is necessary to interact with the game, learning becomes fun.
Normalize Green Tech Showing how green tech increases energy security, prevents environmental disasters, and decreases harm to local communities can help players understand why this innovation matters.
Foster New Eco-Masculinities Healthy eco-masculinity can enable people to feel comfortable expressing their concern for the environment without fear of disrespect, isolation, or harm.
Incorporating Tradition Games can actively further the teachings of indigenous peoples, with great benefits for sustainability.
When Rivers Were Trails Beth LaPensée reinterprets The Oregon Trail from the perspective of a displaced native man.
The Rise of World Games Games can honor the cultures of indigenous peoples across the world, and bring them to life in a new way.
Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) is a cooperative platformer drawn from the folklore of Alaskan Native peoples, specifically the Iñupiat.
Celebrate Indigenous Wisdom Indigenous communities protect 90% of the planet's remaining biodiversity, with long-standing practices that enrich climate action.
Survival Without Fossil Fuels Survival games can think seriously about which methods of power generations are available to the player, and how they're portrayed.
Knowing is Half the Battle Transformers: Earth War added a new mini-campaign to talk about renewable energy.
Reclaiming History How can settler games avoid their colonial baggage and tell new stories about land and who owns it?
The Extinction Achievement Extinction mechanics, even when used ironically, are great at reminding players that no resource is limitless.
Settle With Care What does a settler game that takes environmental consequences into account look like?
Making Friends on the Fury Road Signs of the Sojourner understands that community is a renewable resource.
Grief as a Game Mechanic Signs of the Sojourner has an environmental grief system that both breaks us down and ties us together.
Meaning in a World of Ruin Game worlds can be "transapocalyptic" - places that have collapsed, yet they still exist and they are still worth fighting for.
Anthropomorphize Everything? Anything can engender empathy if you put enough human features on it - so when should you?
Save the Sperm Whales Beyond Blue has the player studying a specific pod of sperm whales and investigating sound pollution that disturbs their life.
Showcase a Climate Solution Normalize real-world climate solutions by incorporating them into your world lore, story, and/or game mechanics.
Reveal Costs of Extraction Challenge age-old gaming tropes to remind players that nothing lasts forever and that pillaging nature's pantry has consequences!
Put Down Your Tools When your release day coincides with the world's largest climate protest, what do you prioritize?
The Threat Multiplier Games like Battlefield 2042 embody the risk of climate wars being fought in the near future. Or are they already here?
Acknowledge the Climate Emergency "The most important thing you can do for climate - talk about it" Dr Katharine Hayhoe
Imagine a Sustainable Future Unlike dystopias featuring urban decay and corruption, solarpunk helps us imagine worlds where crises are solved with camaraderie and ingenuity.
Facilitate Grief for the World The climate crisis is a major existential threat that can be very overwhelming. Games and storytelling can help us process emotions into action.
Shinra: The Face of Colonialism Final Fantasy VII provided us with one of popular culture's most devastating caricatures of capitalism, colonialism and greed.
Dirty Politics Based on real events, Deal: A Green New Election puts players on a collision course with the frustrations of fossil fuel money in US politics
Oiligarchy Oiligarchy casts the player as an oil executive tasked with growing their business at any cost.
Fighting Oil Pipelines If you wonder whether your game is making a difference, the oil industry fighting back is the clearest signal you can ask for.
Thunderbird Strike A game steeped in Anishinaabe culture, celebrating the indigenous fight against oil pipelines in the Great Lakes region.
Erode Social License Call out the corruption, deceit and propaganda of polluting industries, real or fictional, and help ruin their hard-won prestige in the real world!
Abstraction Simplifying or removing the context can enable players to process new information - even if it’s not in alignment with their existing biases.
Roleplay Taking on the role of a character allows for low-risk experimentation with different points of view to which the player may otherwise not be exposed.
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure Charming environmental activist simulator about documenting and helping animals, running petitions and saving a wildlife reserve from land development.
Making an Activist Nobody has to face the crisis alone. Role-playing games have a long history of challenging individualism.
It Takes A Village Even in single-player, single-protagonist games, stories where communities act together for change can be powerful.
Onscreen Eco-lifestyles Players can try out less resource-intense ways of living with digital roleplaying.
Inspire Collective Action Remind players that changing the world takes more than gaming's usual individualist heroics - lasting change comes from whole communities acting together.
Elevate Environmental Champions Let players into the minds of heroes who stand up for the planet and future generations to inspire them to be courageous.
Highlight Sustainable Behaviour Enabling players to experience sustainable lifestyles in fictional worlds can prime them into bringing that mindset into everyday life.
Forge Emotional Bonds with Nature Helping ourselves feel connected to nature has been proven to help us feel happier, less stressed, and more creative.