The Game Needs to Change

Towards Sustainable Game Design
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-032-83619-5
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 224 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

This book shows how games can play their part in addressing climate change and how we can sustainably make games for sustainability. Based on both industry practice and research, the chapters within give voice to those who are working on sustainability in gaming and through gaming. From the ways we make games to the ways we design games that resonate with players, these perspectives offer pragmatic recommendations and concrete starting points for working towards sustainability, showing you how to get started no matter your role.

Divided into four sections, the first covers systemic approaches to this work, covering how change occurs at all levels of scale. Section Two explores how stories are told towards sustainable futures across organized communities, emerging markets, journalism, and more. Section Three critically examines ways of integrating sustainability messaging into games, with practical reflections from developers and researchers on the challenges and strategies unique to the context. Finally, Section Four highlights those who bring theory into action, with personal stories demonstrating what it can mean to be a game developer dedicated to sustainability.

The book will appeal to game makers who want to address sustainability through the content and message of their creative work, as well as members of the wider game industry who work towards more sustainable practices (including representatives of industry organizations, publishers, platforms, and policy makers). It will also be of interest to game design and development researchers, academics, and students eager to learn more about integrating sustainability into processes and outcomes.

Zielgruppe

Professional Practice & Development

Autoren/Hrsg.

Whittle, Clayton

Prax, Patrick

York, Trevin

Fachgebiete

• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik Programmierung | Softwareentwicklung Spiele-Programmierung, Rendering, Animation

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1 It’s Dangerous to Go Alone! Take this Book!, Chapter 2 Introduction Part 1 - Towards Systemic Sustainability and Games, Chapter 3 Introduction Part 2 - Designing With Theories Of Change, SECTION 1: Systemic Approaches, Chapter 4 Section 1: Systemic Approaches, Chapter 5 Systemic and Collective Change in Practice—Examples and Inspiration, Chapter 6 Opportunities for impact games in social movements and campaigns, Chapter 7 Together We Stand, Divided We Fall: How Can Game Developers Navigate the Economic, Social, and Environmental Sustainability Challenges of the Game Industry?, Chapter 8 Making Every Game Green, SECTION 2: Telling Stories from a Sustainable Future, Chapter 9 Section 2: Production, Processes and Material Conditions, Chapter 10 How Can Sustainable Game Makers Get Journalists To Pay Attention?, Chapter 11 Building a Green Game Movement: An overview of pro-environmental efforts in the game industry and beyond, Chapter 12 Exploring Sustainable Gamemaking Through an Artgame Residency, Chapter 13 “Changing the Question: What Is an Ecological Game?” On the Three Definitions of Sustainable Game Design, Chapter 14 Sustainable Game Design in China: Pioneering Practices and Future Directions, SECTION 3: Integrating Environmental Messages into Game Design / Mechanics, Chapter 15 Section 3: Design for Environmental Messaging, Chapter 16 Sustainable Game Design Beyond the ‘Nature-as-Franchise’ Paradigm, Chapter 17 From Exploitation to Restoration: Rethinking Management Games, Chapter 18 Terra Nil: reclaiming the wasteland through affective play, Chapter 19 Empowering Communities to Define Climate Goals, Chapter 20 Critical game design paradigms as tools for environmental action, SECTION 4: From Theory to Action, Chapter 21 Section 4: From Theory to Action, Chapter 22 Rendering Resistance: Making Defiant Games, Chapter 23 Reflections from a Game Dev Activist, Chapter 24 Take Care of Each Other: Cultural and Personal Frameworks for Surviving the Games Industry, Chapter 25 Conclusion

Über Autor(innen)

Patrick Prax has a PhD in Media Studies and is Professor in Game Design, Uppsala University. Beyond scientific publications, he has been presenting at GDC, giving keynotes at game industry conferences, and presenting at the Swedish Democracy Festival. His work is focused on critical game literacy, sustainability, and anti-fascism.

Clayton Whittle is a sustainability educator, serious games designer, and climate psychologist. He received his Ph.D. from Penn State in Education. He was the lead author of the Environmental Game Design Playbook and has worked with the Arsht-Rockefeller center, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, UN Environmental Programme, and IGDA.

Trevin York has been leading game development teams for over 15 years, making games which bring together engaging entertainment and real-world impacts. His recent work focuses on the ways games and play can be effective interdisciplinary interventions in complex contexts (like, for example, the climate crisis).