[Carolina Fautsch]

This is a fascinating discussion because I’ve always felt there’s some capacity video games might have that other mediums don’t that encourage us to see the environment as alive, respondent, essential to being what we are — but it’s obviously mostly used for sensationalist purposes and is probably counterproductive.

– I can also see games excelling at teaching the sort of big-picture thinking and strategy we need– and maybe cooperation, too, to judge by the Loftia game.

– More than strategy, I think they’re also harnessable in all kinds of storytelling ways. I have a lot of formative experiences with RPGs with environmentalist themes; there is something about ‘saving the world against evil empires’-type storylines that, while not as explicit as these climate strategy games (and going for something different), really cements in a convincing narrative about the environment, and that I think is what a lot of people are missing in Western society. None of that would have impacted me the way it did if I hadn’t been instilled with pro-environmental values to begin with, but my goodness did it make an impact.

– I do wonder if Augmented Reality games don’t hold the most promise here, when well-designed, since they get you out into the bigger world and working with others, but there’s still a long (and possibly carbon-costly) way to go before they’re sophisticated enough to bank on their potential.