Climate Change Game: The Fate of the World

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=VTA=Spax

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Aug 20, 2009
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Whilst browsing the BBC news website I happened upon a feature about a climate change game; The Fate of the World.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12615599

Fascinated by the video interview I googled the title which lead me to the games website;
http://fateoftheworld.net/



The lead text introduces the games premise as;
The year is 2020. Climate change has been ignored. Cities are underwater. People are starving. Nations brace for war. Species are dying. And you?ve got to solve the crisis. The fate of the world is in your hands.
Essentially this is a simulation game that uses real-world data from international bodies such as the UN and the IPCC to provide a foundation for the games objective: Save the world from climate catastrophe. The weapons at your disposal are, again, closely related to their real world counterparts so policies and initiatives are all part of your arsenal.

So is this a good example of "games" becoming more than just entertainment? (nods to Extra Credits).
Can this transcend its 'game' status and deliver an important education payload whilst still being used to derive enjoyment? (Is this doomed to become a class room game like the "Dustbowl" 'game' I played on a BBC Micro in Geography?).
Will there be calls from climate change denialists to ban it on the grounds of "Glorifying a scientific lie"? (that last one was strictly tongue-in-cheek).


I'm going to gather together some pennies and purchase this, it has a bearing on my current career path (Currently looking at Masters in Alternative Energy) and it may be an interesting study on how to raise climate-change awareness in a less apocalyptical manor.
 

King of Wei

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Jan 13, 2011
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Looks like a fun "what if" simulator. I think man made climate change is a load of crap and I'm still tempted to buy this so I guess that's saying something for its entertainment value. Doubt it'll get much more attention than an entertainment game though.
 

=VTA=Spax

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Aug 20, 2009
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I get the feeling that as a UK game it won't be getting much coverage in the US, that and the alarming polls* that are reporting more Americans are believing that climate change doesn't even exist, letalone a man-made problem!

*http://people-press.org/report/556/global-warming