MANILA, Philippines — Who doesn’t love playing video games these days?

Once stigmatized and stereotyped, video gaming has now become a staple of modern entertainment worldwide. Its growing influence has contributed to the rise of e-sports, YouTube gaming careers, Discord channels, and Hollywood’s latest trend of video game adaptations.

This development speaks to the power of video games to communicate and connect. They provide countless hours of entertainment to help escape from the grim realities of life. For some, it also provides empowerment to score achievements and overcome challenges. For others, it is to build either new friendships from around the world or new worlds bound by their imagination.

In the years to come, expect video games to become influential in another sphere: climate and environmental action.

A new horizon

A recent study by researchers from Yale University shows that video game players are more likely to take actions against global warming than non-players. Players with friends and relatives who either enjoy video gaming or have knowledge of global warming are also more inclined to discuss this issue within their social circles.

Such players tend to engage more in actions aligned with consumer activism, including boycotting products of companies associated with worsening climate change. They are also more motivated to engage in political behaviors, such as petitioning for stronger programs on protecting forests and biodiversity to their government.  

This points to the immense yet untapped potential of video gaming to engage more people towards greener behaviors and actions. Some of the most popular entries in recent years have featured strong environmental themes, ranging from prominent features in the likes of ‘Minecraft’ and ‘The Sims 4’ to subtler messaging, as seen in coral bleaching getting representation in ‘Pokémon’ or the pollutive, destructive tendencies of modernization in ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’.

Even adaptations of gaming franchises in movies and television shows also feature additional content to portray stronger messages on climate and environmental action. The most notable example of this is HBO’s ‘The Last Of Us’. which adjusted some of its original lore and timeline to better resonate with an audience that just experienced the COVID-19 pandemic and is increasingly worried about climate change impacts.

Yet it is not just the content of video games that can appeal to different people to act on environmental problems; its social dimensions also play just as important of a role. This can be seen through actions such as engaging fellow gaming fans through online chats and supporting initiatives of YouTubers on removing plastics from oceans and the like.

So much of the interlinkages between video games and climate and environmental communication remains to be investigated. Many of these can only be learned through real-world initiatives.

The Philippine frontier

Last March, the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), together with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) through its Biodiversity Finance Initiative, and Forest Foundation Philippines, launched a new local gaming app, ‘Animal Town: Cute City Builder.’

‘Animal Town’ seeks to raise nearly PhP 1 million pesos within the next year to strengthen biodiversity conservation in the Philippines. Although the game is free to play, users can contribute to the fundraising goal by making in-app purchases or watching ads. The collected funds will be directed to conservation programs DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau.

The gameplay itself is intended to be “chill-paced”, with the simple goal of building and managing a town populated by animals. Players can collect resources, complete quests, improve the attributes of characters, and earn enough currency to do so. 

Through its environmental undertones reflected in the quests or the trivia that occasionally pops up, the game also aims to raise awareness about the importance of the nation’s biodiversity and ecosystems. However, the way that the bits of information about endemic species, wetlands, stalactites, and the like are presented makes it difficult for these to stick in the minds of many players. 

Even with the relaxed nature of the game, the theme of biodiversity and ecosystem protection could still be blended better with the overall gameplay. For example, the dilemma between town expansion and forest protection could be more pronounced in the decisions the player makes; this feels like a missed opportunity that could be rectified in future updates on content, as well as on features like localization and monetization.

There is also the challenge of capturing the attention of Filipino gamers and sustaining their gameplay after the first few days or weeks. It is not only competing with other mobile apps or the short attention span of younger generations. 

According to the same Yale study, a good cause is not the only reason someone chooses to play a game; factors such as personality, genre of interest, or inclination to follow trends also influence this decision. For example, another UNDP campaign, ‘Mission 1.5°C’, aimed to educate people about climate solutions and collect their insights on what their governments should do about it. 

To help accomplish this, ads inviting people worldwide to answer a survey associated with the campaign were sent to popular games such as ‘Angry Birds’ and ‘Temple Run’. While 1.2 million people ended up participating in the survey, the ads only yielded a 4.6% response rate; this is a low turnout, despite ‘Mission 1.5°C’ taking place in the middle of the COVID-induced lockdowns.

Nonetheless, “Animal Town” represents an opportunity for climate and environmental issues to be communicated and connected to audiences like never before. With 30 million Filipino gamers [and counting], emerging technologies, an influx of creative ideas, the pending support of social media influencers, and a growing urgency to take better care of our world, the possibilities are endless.

Don’t forget to play responsibly and take care of your eyes.    

John Leo is also the National Coordinator of Aksyon Klima Pilipinas and the Deputy Executive Director for Programs and Campaigns of Living Laudato Si’ Philippines.