Learning about the environment through video games. An Oxymoron?

Wow, the last 2 weeks of school has left me guilt ridden. I mean, the lesson highlighted the fact that part of the reason why people are losing touch with our environment is due to their increased exposure to media, in particular television (though i feel that kids these days tend to play more video games than they do television). So,it may seem kind of ironic that i am sharing about environmental issues through video games. With that, i felt that i should probably clarify in this post about my entire reason behind discussing environmental issues through video games.



Can video games actually be effective when trying to promote environmental issues?

Writer of  Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, Richard Louv (2005) describes how our children is losing direct contact with nature. He identifies indirect interaction with nature through the media as Vicarious environmental experiences. He argues that this is one of the less effective interaction with nature a children can have.

Video games would definitely fall under this category. However, my goal of writing this blog has never been about providing the sort of experiences that we get directly from nature. Those kind of experiences are irreplaceable. There is definitely some regret that i feel when i think about the fact that i did not spend as much time as i should outdoors when i am younger.

However i truly believe that videogames can still be an effective way to communicate environmental issues. Afterall, much of the video games that i have discussed thus far has some basis in reality. If we can harness the interactive nature of video games, I believe that interest can be generated about the environment. And it is clear that i am not the only one who thinks this is the case

One of the most interesting papers i have read recently is titled " Why conservationist should heed pokemon"(Balmford et al., 2002). In the paper, it was found that children were better able to identify pokemon characters as opposed to commonly found fauna in their local environments. The paper concludes that more should be done to engage children. Sadly, growing up, no one ever introduced to me the idea of environmental issues through games. Much of my opinions of the environment was shaped by reading news articles, movies and television shows. Video games are inherently different from other forms of media because it has an interactive element to it. It can show players how their actions have a direct consequence to the environment. It is unsurprising that video games have been used to taught other subjects in schools since it is such an effective medium. 

Fortunately it would seem, there are organisations that are working on such a project. The Science for Nature and People (SNAP) organisations is working on their "Gaming for future of environmental communications". This is clear indication that people are exploring new unique ways to bring across the message about saving the environment.

Come on companies, there is gold to be made in making video games with an environmental message and it would also be the right thing to do to ensure that there are children in the future to play your video games.


References
Louv, Richard (2005). Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.

Balmford, Andrew & Clegg, Lizzie & Coulson, Tim & Taylor, Jennie (2002). Why conservationist should heed pokemon. Science magazine volume 295, number 5564 pg 2367

SNAP (N.d). Gaming the future of climate communications.
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