Game designer Sam Alfred is acutely aware of the challenge he faces in creating a video game centered on climate change. The market is dominated by best-selling games that focus on destruction and violence, rather than constructive environmental engagement.
Despite this, Alfred’s strategy game “Terra Nil,” released in March last year, places players in the role of ecosystem rebuilders. According to publisher Devolver Digital, the game has attracted 300,000 players.
“I’ve lost count of how many people have dismissed or mocked the game because it doesn’t revolve around shooting or rampant expansionism,” Alfred said. “The environment was the focus. We wanted to show players and developers that it’s possible to create a strategy game without exploiting the environment.”
True to his vision, the 30-year-old South African designed “Terra Nil” to include tasks such as decontaminating radioactive zones with sunflowers and saving the Great Barrier Reef.
Alfred is not the first to incorporate an environmental message into a game, nor the first to face criticism. In 2017, the city-building game “Cities: Skylines” introduced the “Green Cities” expansion, allowing players to create eco-friendly metropolises.
Mariina Hallikainen, managing director of Colossal Order, the Finnish studio behind “Cities: Skylines,” recalled the polarized reaction: “We received feedback accusing us of ruining the game by going political, though players could choose whether or not to make their city green.”
Other studios have continued to embed climate themes in their games. The renowned strategy game “Civilization” included climate change elements in its sixth edition’s 2019 expansion.
With an estimated three billion gamers globally, climate campaigners see the gaming community as a significant audience. Even the United Nations has ventured into climate gaming with “Mission 1.5,” which has reached over six million people.
Industry figures have joined forces to incorporate climate themes into games. The “Playing for the Planet” alliance, supported by the United Nations, has hosted an annual “Green Game Jam” since 2020. Additionally, the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) established a climate branch in 2019.
“You have a superpower: you’re game makers,” Arnaud Fayolle, artistic director at Ubisoft and a key figure in IGDA’s climate branch, said at a conference. “You can engage three billion players globally, teaching complex problems in fun and engaging ways that schools can’t match.”
The IGDA climate branch includes nearly 1,500 industry professionals, university professors, and climate specialists who collaborate to integrate climate issues into games and motivate gamers to take action.
“The goal is to create a positive cultural impact through aesthetics, storytelling, game mechanics, and technology,” Fayolle explained. This is where developers like Sam Alfred excel.
“A lot of our game mechanics try to translate real-life natural processes or ecosystem restoration practices into gameplay,” Alfred said. “This involves oversimplifying and taking some creative liberties.”
Alfred’s work on “Terra Nil” exemplifies the potential for video games to address serious issues like climate change, providing an engaging and educational experience that challenges the traditional norms of the gaming industry.
