Interactive choose-your-adventure game on climate change

Players decide on different daily-choices presented in the life of the avatar & how these choices impact the planet & people around them

The pace at which we are using our existing resources, polluting the land & oceans, and contributing to Co2 emissions, climate change catastrophes are inevitable. One thing that’s predictable for 2050 is that there will be a high demand for jobs in renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure, climate science, environmental policy and education. According to LinkedIn’s VP Product Management Allen Blue: “Half of all jobs will be redefined by climate change”. With $370 billion subsidies provided by the Biden government in solar, wind and electric vehicles, nearly 537,000 new jobs will be created every year for a decade in this sector in the US alone. However, governments and companies fear that there will not be enough trained human resources to fill these new jobs.

On the other hand, it is becoming evident that the choices of the generations of the past have led to young people today experiencing the most devastating impacts of climate change all over the world. While a large majority of young people are concerned about how it will shape their lives and futures, they don’t feel fully prepared to participate in the green economy. According to a study published in 2021 by University of Bath and the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health that surveyed 16-25 year olds, more than half of young people experience climate anxiety on a daily basis & 61% were critical that governments were not protecting the planet or their future.

If we assign responsibility of preparing students for the environmental stressors and jobs of the future to the schooling system, the teachers are not well-prepared about climate science or realities of the future & neither does the course outline cover the topics emphatically. Even in developed countries like the US, only 36 states teach students about the reality of human-caused climate change in their course outline while other states exclude the topics completely. The teachers who do cover the topics spend only 1.5 class hours per school year on it in a course called “earth science” which is only taken by 7 percent of high schoolers. 

The question remains: are we building the capacity of kids for the jobs of the future, the actions they need to inculcate in their lifestyles today and helping them stay optimistic about the future? 

Research has proven that the principles of gamification like progression paths, strategy, novelty & competition, can promote pro-environmental behaviours in teenagers.  

In our mobile-game, “Home” players decide on different daily-choices presented in the life of the avatar & making sustainable choices throughout the adventures of the avatar & solving puzzles/challenges expands players climate awareness and saves the planet in the virtual & real world before it’s too late. 

How does the game functionality work?

The game presents timed 30-minute challenges everyday where a new avatar’s identity is revealed and the player gets to make choices into different aspects of their life such as work, school, commuting, hanging out with friends & family, gardening, shopping, exercising, traveling, sports or watching television. If the player helps the avatar choose planet-positively in their everyday life, they can help the avatar contribute to transformational change, course-correct the future and have a butterfly effect on the planet. 

When the gameplayer engages in the “Home” game app for the timed duration, they get “points”. These points can be “cashed” for donations to charities, to start/join an offline group for climate activism, route existing resources (laptop, phones, solar power, clothes) available at their own home or neighborhood directly to the cause, or find engaging opportunities to volunteer on the cause in question. 

Why is the game timed?

The reason is twofold. One reason is that having timers adds aspects of challenge, urgency, which makes the game exciting and engaging. Once they complete the challenge within 30 minutes, it gives a sense of progression and accomplishment. On the other hand, we don’t want the game to have endless addictive gameplay that pulls the player away from other important tasks like schoolwork or actually making a difference in the offline world. The game is meant to promote a healthy usage of mobile technology. 

The name for the game “Home” takes inspiration from the idea that all of the planet, the people, the animals and sea life, are our home. It's also about bringing the planet back to its natural beauty and humans back to their higher consciousness. We plan to make a game that’s educational, action-oriented, and has real social impact.

Home is built for young adults and teenagers 12-18-year-olds in countries and regions of Europe and North America who have easy access to mobile phones. We chose this audience not only because young people enjoy playing games but also because climate change is likely to significantly impact their future. Young people may experience extreme weather events (heat waves, droughts, and floods), challenges like food and water insecurity, changes to biodiversity, resource shortages like gas and energy. Having young people aware of the present, leads to them developing innovations in clean energy, using existing resources efficiently, choosing actions that lower greenhouse emissions and playing a role in policy development. 

Young people from Europe and the US are more concerned about climate change. That’s because they have more access to information and resources to understand science and impacts of climate change. With financial safety and social security, they have more capacity, time & resources to take action. With access to education and unbiased news, they are more likely to be exposed to discussions to understand the problem. 

Not living everyday in survival mode (contexts like Pakistan, Sudan & Afghanistan) and not having to deal with as much intergenerational trauma, provides them with more risk-taking ability, and a sense of urgency & innovation to address these topics. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, they are in a place where they can  think about the collective benefits for society and also be able to not push blame on others (government, past generations & non profits) but instead take responsibility for themselves. They also view being climate aware as an economic opportunity because it allows them to prepare and find jobs of the future.

Suha Suleman - Team Lead (Sales & Marketing Specialist) 

I am a 21-year old TMU student in Canada in my final year of a bachelor's degree who immigrated as a teenager from Pakistan. As a biomedical science student who is on the Dean’s list consistently, many of my courses, mentors & professors have pushed me to research & understand the impact of climate change on healthcare.

I’ve always been passionate about social impact and worked primarily with social enterprise Aurat Raaj, and developed the country’s first reusable menstrual pads designed by rural women for rural women, which had a larger goal to push for sustainability.

My work with Sunnybrook Hospital in Canada gave me further understanding how climate change disasters affect different races, countries and economic backgrounds disproportionately. With a full-time offer with Microsoft Canada starting in July, I’m learning how Microsoft products and services can be leveraged for the game. For instance, advising on using Azure and/or using Power BI to create interactive data visualizations that can be included in the game.

Having raised 10K for the reusable pads project in Pakistan, I want to design monetization strategies and distribution plans for the game. My knowledge of the tech industry and existing contacts have already helped me identify potential distribution partners, sponsors and customers for the game. As a healthcare specialist, having led many customer calls with several hospitals has prepared me to market & lead pitching calls. I’m also applying currently for Microsoft startup educational programs, incubators or initiatives which can support the development of the game.  

Saba Khalid - Narrative Writer

When the pandemic happened in 2020, I kept waiting for some climate heroes to take back control from ineffective & corrupt politicians and bring us back to a cleaner, greener world.That’s probably because I had grown up watching Captain Planet.

With a background in journalism & corporate communications, I set up a women’s education and empowerment platform in Pakistan with many different projects to tackle taboos, especially health, digital literacy, human rights, community development and sea protection. A jewellery line designed with women from fishing villages with retrieved fishnet was selected by WWF for its Plastic Innovation Challenge. I wrote a cartoon series about honor and menstrual health that was showcased at the Bafta and won the Empowering the future award. I’m a Solver from 2019 who has piloted and scaled an award-winning chatbot across Pakistan and Ghana on various aspects of reproductive health. Utilized by some of the largest non-profits like UNFPA, SRSO, NRSP and TRDP, and schools in Sindh, I learnt how to write for conversational agents about topics like gender violence, child marriages, choice & consent. I learnt how to work on native content with our sponsors while keeping it engaging and interactive through its dialogue and narrative. Through my work using different forms of media, I know how to convey complex information about climate change in a way that is easy for players to understand and interact with. Since 2019, I’ve been publishing creative writing with a pseudonym and have the skillset to create compelling characters that audiences can connect with.

Joerg Hilger - Game/Software Development 

At 15, while living in Germany, I remember vividly watching a climate activist being interviewed on TV who was talking about what the world could look like if we stayed on the same path of nature destruction. I remember having panic attacks because I just couldn’t understand that everyone wasn’t waking up everyday to the potential reality that was approaching us at breakneck speed.

I’ve been vegan for 25 years now, tried to build a net zero home, and tried to reduce my own consumption as much as possible. While I’ve worked in the Bay Area as a software engineer with Agilent Tech, Siemens, HP, Keysight Technologies, only now do I have the flexibility, time and capacity to use my years of UX programming, C# / WPF and the .NET Framework, OOA/OOD, C, C++, XML, HTML5, Javascript,Typescript, Google Dart and Flutter SDK to develop something that is crucial to my vision of the world. I’ve led multiple large teams. 

Aasif Iqbal - Fundraising specialist

For 10 years I’ve worked in the Pakistani and then the Omani Corporate banking sector picking up sound credit due-diligence, risk advisory, financial projections, business-feasibility analysis and structuring expertise while managing a 1 billion dollar portfolio. I have seen firsthand how difficult it is to raise capital for underrepresented entrepreneurs who focus on social good. As a Pakistani, the floods were a wakeup call for me. Pakistan contributes 0.8 percent to the global carbon footprint, but is one of most climate-stressed countries on the planet. Every other year, the monsoons leave the country financially hemorrhaged. Remittances and donations from expats like myself to flood affected families only tackle the devastation left behind but fail to build an ecosystem that can prepare, respond or mitigate the next disaster. This is why I feel that I am ready to shift my energies and offer my expertise to promising ideas.

While our team comes from different ages, racial backgrounds and countries, we are comfortable with working remotely on topics that we are all passionate about. While we are all equal stakeholders with equal responsibility in the idea, it is and has to be led by a youth leader like Suha who can inspire young people around the world.

Currently we’ve done secondary research for our concept. Playing games that are text-based narrative adventures. Some of the most inspirational games we found that capture similar complex social issues are: 

1. “Bury Me My Love” about the Syrian refugee and migration experience

2. "Papers, Please" which is a dystopian-era game about moral dilemmas and difficult choices faced by border security guards

3. "That Dragon, Cancer" which recounts the story of a family dealing with the terminal cancer diagnosis of their young child. 

We also have been studying environmental games of the 90s which include:

1. SimEarth (1990) in which players take on the role of a planetary god and try to create a sustainable planet managing the balance of the planet's ecosystems and resources & dealing with issues such as pollution, deforestation, and overpopulation.

2. Eco Quest: The Search for Cetus (1991) is a point-and-click adventure game in which players take on the role of a young boy who must find a way to save a town from pollution caused by an industrial plant.

3. The Global Dilemma: Guns or Butter (1992) is a strategy game that simulates the global economy and the challenges of balancing economic growth with environmental protection. The game encourages players to think about the trade-offs between economic development and environmental sustainability.

4. Magic Carpet (1994): a first-person shooter game, players flew around on magic carpets while casting spells and destroying enemies. The game had a feature that players have to balance the use of magic and the environment, if magic was overused the environment will suffer.

5. Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1994): An action-adventure game based on the animated TV series of the same name, players take on the role of the Planeteers, a group of young people with the power to control the elements of nature. The game teaches players about environmental issues such as pollution, deforestation, and endangered species.

What kind of topics will we address in the game? 

• Plastic pollution

• Rising sea levels

• Frequent and severe heat waves

• Changes in precipitation patterns, 

• Increasing acidification of the oceans 

• Global warming 

• Floods

• Water shortages 

• Electricity shortages

• Deforestation

Here you can see different storylines

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We plan to break through the clutter with:

Innovative gameplay mechanics which is extremely unique and memorable. This could include creative use of controls, unique abilities or powers for the player character, or interactive elements that allow the player to shape the game world in interesting ways.

Original setting or stories which are inspired by real-world people, locations and situations which players can't experience outside of the game. 

We plan to have well-developed and memorable characters with their own personalities and motivations that players can empathize with so they become more invested in the game world and story.

Developing a unique art style through the use of unusual visual elements, a unique color palette, or a specific art style.

Unpredictable plot twists that keeps players on their toes with unexpected plot twists and turns that keep players engaged and interested in the story/ 

1. Increased awareness: One of our goals could be to increase awareness among players about the issues and themes addressed in your game. This could involve educating players about a specific topic or helping them understand the impact of certain actions.

2. Encouraging pro-social behavior: You could also aim to encourage pro-social behavior among players, such as taking action to address social or environmental issues, or making more sustainable choices in their everyday lives.

3. Inspiring change: Another goal could be to inspire players to advocate for change on the issues addressed in your game. This could involve encouraging them to get involved with organizations or causes related to the game's themes, or to speak out about these issues in their communities.

4. Providing entertainment and enjoyment: Finally, you may want to consider providing players with an enjoyable and immersive entertainment experience as one of your impact goals. This could involve creating engaging gameplay mechanics and an engaging storyline that keeps players coming back for more.

In the first phase of our development especially while building our prototype, we rely mostly on platforms like:

• Mocking tools like Figma, Invision Studio, Prott, or Marvel for creating rough mockups without writing code and have pre-designed UI elements and animations, making it easy to create realistic prototypes for mobile, web, and desktop apps with realistic transitions and animations helping us test them on real devices.

• For images, MidJourney, DeepArt, Dall-E, Deep Dream or Art Breeder or Prisma, can automatically generate images by uploading a reference image and selecting a style simply by describing them in natural language.

• For videos, we plan to use Synthesys, Synthesia, Pictory,  Elai.io for transforming text scripts into dynamic videos. 

• For music, several free AI-generated music options exist such as Jukedeck, AIVA, Amper, MuseNet, SonicPicnic that allow for custom AI-generated original music tracks according to the genre, length, and mood of the game.

• For game development, we want to utilize RPGMaker which focuses on story and RPG interactivity. 

While it is possible to build an interactive, immersive mobile game with no-code AI-based tools, capabilities of these tools are limited compared to using traditional coding methods. In the second stage of our development, we want to build more independently of these tools with more flexibility and control, advanced features such as natural language processing, decision-making logic, and real-time interactions. In that stage we plan to use the Flutter framework to create a high-performance, responsive and visually appealing user interface for the game. The Flutter framework allows developers to create cross-platform apps that run on both Android and iOS devices, which can help to reach a wider audience. Additionally, Flutter offers a large number of customizable widgets, which can be used to create interactive and visually engaging elements in the game, such as buttons, animations, and charts. Furthermore, it provides an easy integration with other technologies such as Firebase, which can be used to create a backend for the game and handle data storage, authentication and real-time updates. All of these features can help to make the game more engaging and interactive, which can help to convey information about climate change in a more engaging way.

Realisitically, in the first year, we will not be releasing the product.  

The process of getting a game into the market typically involves several stages, including development, testing, marketing, and distribution. During the development stage, a team of programmers, designers, and artists will work to create the game using specialized software and tools. Once the game is complete, it will go through a testing phase to ensure that it is free of bugs and performs well on various platforms. 

Once the game passes testing, it will be marketed to the public through various channels such as social media, advertising, and promotional events. Finally, the game will be distributed to consumers through online marketplaces such as Steam, the App Store, or Google Play, or through physical retail stores.

The time it takes for a small game company to build and release a game can vary greatly depending on a number of factors such as the complexity of the game, the size of the development team, and the resources available to the company.

For a small indie game like ours, it could take anywhere from several months to a couple of years for a game to be developed and released, depending on the complexity and scope of the game. For example, a simple 2D game with a small team and a limited budget could take as little as six months to develop, while a more complex 3D game with a larger team and a bigger budget could take up to a couple of years.

However, it's worth noting that the development process never truly ends, as games continue to receive updates and patches to fix bugs and improve gameplay.

Once the game development and testing is complete, it can take anywhere from a few days to several months to take it to market, depending on the distribution channels and platforms being used.

If the game is being released through digital marketplaces such as Steam, the App Store, or Google Play, the process can be relatively quick. These marketplaces have streamlined submission and review processes that can take as little as a few days to a few weeks, depending on the platform.

If the game is being released through physical retail stores, the process can take longer. This can include manufacturing and shipping physical copies of the game, which can take several weeks or months. Additionally, the game will have to pass through the retailer's own quality assurance process.

Marketing and promotion activities can also take time, depending on the scope and strategy, and will usually be done before the release date.

It's worth noting that there are also other factors that can affect the time it takes to take a game to market, such as localization, certifications, and compliance requirements.

Building a high-quality interactive choose-your-adventure game that raises awareness about climate change could present a number of challenges and barriers, including lack of funding as the technical expertise could be expensive and finding people who understand the vision might be few & far between. That's why having a technical person like Joerg Hilger in our team gives us early access to talent to create a compelling prototype.  

While climate change is a very present reality, it is hard to fund games on the topic as its still considered a niche, with a smaller target audience than more mainstream games. Climate change games often fall into the category of "serious games," which are games that are designed to educate or raise awareness about a particular issue. Funding for serious games can be more difficult to obtain than for more traditional, commercial games. Lastly, Climate change is a complex, multifaceted issue, and some people may be less interested in engaging with it through a game than through other means. This lack of interest can make it difficult to generate excitement and support for a climate change game, which can make it harder to secure funding.

That being said, climate change is becoming a more mainstream concern, and having someone on the team with a finance background like Aasif Iqbal who has worked with large and small business in the Middle East can help us realistically predict what kind of budget we need, how to secure the funding and how to financially project for the future. 

The issues we want to tackle are also complex and multilayered and gamifying them into unique storylines might be hard. Planning ahead for daily challenges might be difficult and would require constant creativity. It might be hard to measure if it is actually changing offline behaviors. 

Finding partners & getting their buy-in might be challenging, this is why our team member Saba Khalid who has worked with non profits like UNFPA, UNESCO and other large local and non profits might be best suited to build these synergies. 

With a dedicated team, careful planning, and strong partnerships, we hope to overcome these challenges and create an effective and engaging game that raises awareness about the urgent need for action on climate change.

We plan to partner with nonprofits because we realize that globally they have the toughest time influencing actions of the public and raising funding for climate causes. That’s because: 

1. Most people don't fully understand climate change science or don't see the immediate short term benefits of taking action. 

2. Politicians have mocked, denied, or dismissed climate change for far too long. 

3. Currently the world is inundated with too many problems & it can be difficult to narrow down on one non-profit to focus on. Some are unable to make a deep connection with the audience and others rely on a sob-story or pity approach or showing suffering to elicit empathy but can sometimes feel manipulative to audiences.

While most non-profits understand the importance of using innovative means to influence audiences or raise funding for apps or games, there are challenges to building these apps themselves. That’s because:

1. Nonprofits are time, monetary & human resource stressed due to limited funding. 

2. They often don't have internal innovation departments, or existing human resource expertise & experience to develop games.

3. Many non-profits don’t have a tech-first, digital approach to their mission. 

Have some non-profits already experimented with interactive experiences?

Some climate change focused non profits like Greenpeace have created various interactive experiences, such as simulations and quizzes, to educate people about environmental issues and to promote their campaigns. An online quiz "The True Cost of Coal" educates people about the environmental impact of coal mining and the benefits of renewable energy. 

On the other hand, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) created a game called "Pandas in Peril" which was an educational game aimed at children teaching about conservation & protection of giant pandas and their habitat. WWF’s mobile game "WWF Together" takes players through the world's most iconic habitats, meeting endangered species and learning about the challenges they face and what players can do to help.

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has developed a number of apps aimed at raising awareness about environmental issues and promoting sustainable behavior. The "EDF Climate411" app gives real-time information on climate change and energy policy, tips and resources for reducing carbon footprint. EDF also developed an app called  "Pollution Detectives" to report pollution incidents using a crowdsourcing model to collect data & helps activists advocate for stronger environmental laws and holding polluters accountable.

EDF also partners with other organizations to create apps. For example, EDF worked with Google Earth Outreach on the Climate Watch app, which allows users to explore and compare historical data and projections of climate-related variables such as temperature, precipitation, and sea level.

How will we work with nonprofits?

Some preliminary research has showcased that nonprofits such as environmental organizations are interested in the following tools:

1. Communication and Outreach Tools for raising awareness, attracting volunteers & donations. 

2. Data Analysis and Management Tools to collect and analyze large amounts of environmental problem data and progress

3. Sustainable Solutions to promote sustainable solutions such as clean water tech, renewable energy and sustainable agriculture that could be used in communities they impact. 

4. Donor Management and Fundraising Tools that effectively manage and grow their donor base, and streamline the fundraising process, give fund allocation transparency. 

5. Virtual and augmented reality for raising awareness about environmental issues that people may not experience in their day to day. 

6. Volunteer management - assigning work remotely to the right expert from around the world and evaluate their performance. 

Out of all these options, the most popular one that many nonprofits have shared the need for most is an educational and awareness app with features such as push notifications about the latest news and events, and links to social media to share information with others. 

To design our first game, we plan to interview the top 10 environmental non-profits to better understand the tools and technologies that could help them work more effortlessly and effectively.

We want to explore multiple potential paths to financial sustainability for an interactive choose-your-adventure game that builds eco-consciousness in teenagers:

• Philanthropic funding: Non-profit organizations, foundations, and philanthropic donors willing to provide funding for the development and promotion of the game as a means of raising awareness about climate change and promoting action on the issue.

• Government funding: Government grants and funding may be available for projects that promote public awareness and education about climate change and sustainability.

• Sponsorship: Companies or organizations with an interest in promoting sustainable practices or raising awareness about climate change may be willing to sponsor the game.

• Grant: The game could be considered for a grant from organizations that support causes related to sustainability and climate change.

• Crowdfunding: The game could be financed through crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo, by raising funds from a large number of people.

• In-game purchases: The game could be made available for free, but with the option of in-game purchases, such as additional levels, characters or items, which would help to generate revenue and make the game financially sustainable.

• Advertising: If the game is successful, it may be possible to generate revenue through advertising, either within the game itself or through external marketing campaigns.

• Subscriptions: the game could be subscription-based where users pay a monthly or annual fee to access the game, this would provide a steady stream of revenue for the game developer.