14 DAY TRIAL // Indie games developer Red Redemption and Alif-Aleph UK have revealed yesterday the launch event for their "Operation: Climate Control," at the House of Commons 3rd July 2007. In this game, the choices made by each player are the ones worldwide governments have to face: juggling the competing demands of national energy and personal energy, how does your personal transport affect the world around you, can you adapt to a changing environment etc.?
Operation: Climate Control is a multiplayer game aimed at GCSE school children between 15 and 16, in an effort to make them aware about the elements and impacts of climate policy and help stimulate a change in their attitudes and behavior towards environmental sustainability. A unique combination of climate science models and fun gaming will be presented to the players, that builds on the success of Red Redemption's previous "Climate Challenge" game.
As climate change and our response to it are the most vital issues mankind has to face, people of all nationalities are welcome to join in and help solve the problems affecting food production, water resources, ecosystems, energy demand, insurance costs and so on. It is all too well known that the Earth is getting warmer, as the ozone layer is getting thinner, due to our burning of fossil fuels. Thus, Operation: Climate Challenge allows players to simulate that and see the effects of global warming.
Gobion Rowlands, Operation: Climate Control producer says "We are very excited about the launch of Operation: Climate Control. When developing our previous game "Climate Challenge", we realised that there are a very limited set of resources for school kids that deal with climate change in a way that teachers can build it into their lesson plans. Operation: Climate Control builds on our experiences and feedback from the Climate Challenge game to give these kids some difficult scenarios to deal with in a fun way."
The "Operation: Climate Control" is funded by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Climate Challenge Fund - "Tomorrow's Climate - Today's Challenge."
Maybe it's the only way to keep our planet blue... Either this, or the depletion of oil resources. Let's just hope it's not too late then.