14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists are fully aware that climate lectures are often boring and their message is not always understood or remembered by the public. Therefore, developers have thought about including games in the learning process. 'The Climate Trail', one of the finalists in 'Gaming for Good' contest, was designed to help people make smart environmental decisions while having a good time.
The eco-friendly video game is based on Oregon Trail gameplay template and involves an interesting quest in a small town affected by the activity of major industrial polluters. The player will become the mayor of a small town and will have to draw up the best decision meant to preserve both the environment and the wellbeing of residents, Treehugger reports.
As an eco-conscious mayor, the gamer will most likely feel a lot of pressure, since he will have to choose between green wind farm projects and dirty, profitable coal power plants. Moreover, he would have little time to decide if forests stand a chance of survival or have to be wiped off to make room for new roads of large commercial buildings.
The main objective is to conserve the balance of the community, keeping it financially stable and making it display a low level of pollution, at the same time.
This task could become rather difficult, since the well-intentioned mayor would have to analyze several requests coming from important industrial companies. The developers of this game say their product can improve the attitude of players, making them more eco-conscious and aware of the impact big polluting enterprises have on air quality.
Moreover, it helps them make smart decisions. This is one of the main reasons why the game designed by Zenoga has ranked among the first games selected during the 'Gaming for Good' competition.
The eco-friendly contest is a result of the partnership between PSFK and Al Gore's Climate Reality Project, both partners aiming to tackle climate change while making sure people understand the importance of their daily choices.
Al Gore has declared that 'The Climate Trail' is one of his favorite games at this point in time. If this game were converted into a iPhone app, its level of popularity would increase considerably, greening up the attitude of a larger segment of followers.