Each of the following games offers some engagement with environmental practice or activism. Some of them, like Greenpeace’s Whale Flip, are straightforward children’s games with clear objectives. Others, like the search engines Ecosia, are not “games” at all, but nevertheless share some features with game play. Still others, like “World of Greencraft” and the “Something Awful” spoofs, don’t even exist, while others, like Jane McGonigal’s “World without Oil,” offer a sophisticated and intricate gaming experience about resource management in the age of the Anthropocene. In spite of their differences, and perhaps because of them, they collectively manage to raise several questions about strategies for environmental practice: How effective are these games? How fun are they? What do they do well? What could they do better? Would you play any of them if they had no connection to environmentalism? Do they contribute positively to the “bottom line” of your vision of a successful and productive model of conservation/activism/practice?
Feel free to explore each of the games below and share some of your thoughts, especially about the game’s efficacy within the context of environmentalism and how you felt while playing them. I’m especially curious about your impressions of the Greenpeace games (Whale Flip, Mr. Splashypants) and the concept video for “World of Greencraft.” Complete sentences, brief impressions, comments, keywords, and associations are all welcome.
