More and more studios are addressing environmental themes in their games. But that’s not the only change facing the industry.
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The numbers are staggering. A report by the UN environment agency estimates that no less than 50 million tonnes of electronic and electrical waste are produced each year, the total weight of all aircraft built since the beginning of aviation. .. and only 20% is recycled. The value of this waste? Over US$62.5 billion. In addition, according to a study carried out in 2019, the video game industry annually consumes as much energy as… five million cars or 85 million refrigerators.
“Three billion people play video games. Nearly one in two people on the planet is either on their phone or on their console. This medium is therefore the most powerful in the world,” explained Sam Barratt on ABC. The man is the head of the United Nations Environmental Program, it was he who came up with the idea of Playing 4 The Planet (literally, “Playing for the Planet”), a global initiative.
And the operation is a success. In its annual report, the Program thus underlines that more than 32 studios have joined the movement and have thus contributed to the planting of a million trees in addition to having sensitized a total of more than 970 million “gamers” to various environmental issues since its launch in 2019.
All green…
The Games for Change Festival highlights and rewards titles that promote environmental values. In 2017, “Walden, a Game” won the Game of the Year trophy in New York. Designer Tracy Fullerton puts the player in the shoes of American naturalist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau in his first year alone in the woods. The player must therefore learn to deal with the vagaries of “natural” life in the 19th century and manage food, habitat, clothing, in short, everything that is essential. You will also have to go fishing, collect wood and perform a number of actions via mini games.
Every year, the “Green Game Jam”, a competition between game developers held in July, rewards titles highlighting ecological content. “Anno 1800” from Ubisoft – a studio which has a sustainable development manager in France – won a prize there. Why is that? Because the simulation title takes place just before the industrialization of the West. The player therefore has total latitude in the development of his world and can choose a resolutely ecological path by refusing polluting technologies. In addition, last December, players could buy an ornamental tree in the game in exchange for which Ubisoft paid part of the price to Ecologi, an association that finances reforestation campaigns and greenhouse gas reduction projects.
Created for phones, “Monument Valley 2” follows a mother named Ro as she explains to her child the mysteries of a beautiful valley while exploring magical environments. The title includes “The Lost Forest,” a chapter developed specifically for the Green Game Jam that focuses on saving forests.
In a less poetic and resolutely apocalyptic genre, “Fate of the World” proposes to avoid the end of the world, nothing less. Strategy game, the title for which three expansions are available places the player in a situation of governance of the whole world, from 2020 to 2200. It is up to him or her to determine which policies are put in place to fight against climate change. Integrating scenarios developed by scientists, “Fate of the World” illustrates in a very concrete way how critical the situation is and how fragile the planet is.
And finally, “Alba”, from the Ustwo studio, makes players of all ages aware of the animal world. Alba, an adorable little girl, is on vacation with her grandparents, on a sunny Mediterranean island. As she prepares to explore the place, she sees an animal in danger and then takes action. The game is a wonderful way to encourage gamers to take action and protect wildlife.