From gripping plots to exciting quests, here are examples of how video games spread positive messages about topics that affect us all
Imagine you’re in the middle of a barren land that you have to somehow transform into a lush grassland. No, we’re not having you imagine a potential post-apocalyptic world caused by climate change. Rather, we are talking about a simulation in a video game called Terra Nil, that is described as “city builder in reverse”. In Terra Nil gamers score points by cleaning polluted oceans, planting trees and creating an ideal habitat for animals.
It’s one of many such games that’s gone beyond mere entertainment, and are spreading awareness on diverse topics such as mental health and climate change. As part of the booming gaming industry—which is projected to grow by more than 18 per cent by 2030 according to New York-based Zion Market Research—these video games make important social issues feel more approachable and compelling by presenting its core message in entertaining and immersive ways.
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This trend of conveying important messages in video games is nothing new though. In the last two decades alone there have been such video games, for example, Darfur is Dying, a simulation game developed by a team at the University of Southern California that sheds light on the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005) by putting its gamers in the shoes of a Darfuri person displaced by conflict. Between its launch in April 2006 and September that same year, Darfur is Dying had attracted 800,000 players.
Not long after, in 2007, the US’s Independent Television Service launched its own thought-provoking game: World Without Oil, an alternate reality game that helps players understand how an oil crisis might affect their lives.