Over the years I’ve written extensively about games that are designed not only to be enjoyable, but to have a deeper social purpose to them.  From medical research to mental health, there are a wide range of games that facilitate social good.

The latest of these was developed by British games studio Preloaded for The Natural History Museum of Utah.  The game, known as the Utah Climate Challenge, aims to help players explore a range of sustainability, biodiversity and general population based issues.

“We know from large-scale studies that Utahns want clean water and air, a productive economy, plenty of food, and places for recreation. But we also know the state’s population is rapidly growing, many resources are finite and the climate is changing, which requires a careful balance,” the museum say. “Utah Climate Challenge invites individual choices, illustrates cause and effect, and ultimately encourages collaborative decision making, all rooted in some very complex content.”

Immersive gaming

Visitors to the museum are faced with a vibrant panorama that represents Utah.  Teams of up to five make various changes to their environment, with the system designed to provide age-specific feedback via the cause-and-effect reward system, but it’s crucial that the team work together.

“Games are a brilliant – perhaps the best – medium to present complex systems to a novice audience,” the developers say. “Games can show in real time the interplay and causal effect of complex dynamics, and by doing so make this complexity understandable, and often more relatable. Utah Climate Challenge is a perfect example of the use of games to deliver transformational experiences for a mainstream, non-gaming audience.”

Several thousand players have logged on already, with the majority to date adopting the ‘Eco Warrior’ style that ensures they’re playing to reduce the impact of climate change as much as possible.  What’s more, the stickability of the game is good, with 40% completing through to the end.

“We have witnessed an extraordinary level of collaboration and group strategy among game players, even when the players are strangers”, the team say. “Young people especially become invested in their choices and are eager to share their strategies with other players entering the gallery space. While Utah Climate Change is only a game, it’s one in which the players have a good deal of agency to make positive change. Our hope is that visitors will take away these ideas – that their choices matter, that collective impacts are critical, and that we can all work together to make the future we want in Utah.”

It’s a nice example of using games to encourage people to think about a situation in a new way.