Popular mobile games are now dealing with essential issues. When you think of mobile games, you probably think on a red bird that you fire from a slingshot at a stacked structure that you want to hit as accurately as possible, or maybe on some great collection of free adult games. What you are probably not thinking about at the moment is climate change and saving the planet. Now that will change.
Developers of the popular mobile video game Angry Birds 2 and ten other major mobile game developers will now include messages on climate issues and environmental protection in their headlines. Apart from the popular birds, video games such as Subway Surfers, Transformers: Earth Wars, and Golf Clash are also part of this project.
Nearly every second person in the world owns a cell phone, and half play games. As an industry, we have a big impact in comparison to some other media. That is why we feel we have the opportunity and duty to do something.
John Earner, head of Space Ape behind the Transformers game
Scientists warn that the Earth is now one degree warmer than it was before mass industrialization. The 20 warmest years have been recorded in the past 22 years, with the period from 2015 to 2018 taking the top four places in the rankings. Melting ice has been around for decades, and by the summer of 2050, the Arctic Ocean could be complete without it if nothing is done. All this means that global warming is not an imagination like a sex simulator, but it is a real thing.
Therefore, with the UN environment program’s help, Earner organized the so-called “game jam” event where companies and developers discussed new ideas and ways video games can educate and encourage players to get involved in saving the planet.
The aggregate audience of the 11 participating companies consists of 250 million players. Each will present a new module, map, themes, story, and illustrations that will share information and messages about environmental problems. For example, in Angry Birds 2, players will collect seeds and plant trees and learn about the positive effect on the real world.
We want a company with a purpose. We’re trying to create an atmosphere that it’s a common goal for all the players, that they’re in it together and that it will result in rewards for them.
Ville Heijari, one of the developers for Rovio
Earner knows the ideas aren’t going far enough at the moment, but he believes they are a positive shift and a step in the right direction:
It’s a perfect start and a way to bring the problem closer to a huge number of people. If we can convince the video game industry that getting involved in this project won’t hurt the business model, it would be a great step forward.
John Earner
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