"How can we provide comprehensive, engaging education about climate change?"
I created a game that integrated and linked players to educational sources, and made narratives about those topics personal.
Competencies
- Created a paper prototype of my dialogue to quickly test its effect on different users
- Wrote branching dialogue for 6 characters where the player learns about and then re-teaches their knowledge on climate change
- I conducted usability tests and administered surveys weekly with several unique users. I used the data and feedback to plan and implement improvements weekly.
Findings
- Narrowing the scope of the game and testing frequently created a more focused project that met its goals.
- It was a struggle to bridge the game from player experience to real-world action: I would find over the coming years that this is not an easily solved problem.
- There's too much dialogue to read, especially for lack of player agency in conversation.
Context
I made this game as a solo project for an independent study, guided and mediated by my professor who is also invested in transformational games and climate justice. I had 14 weeks to research the problem, prototype, produce, and get the game ready for DigiPen's technical requirements for its Game Gallery platform so players could download and try it themselves.