In summer 2020, the founder of Change Games and Greening Deserts started a new project development for “Trillion Trees: The Game”; a future game and an innovative platform for gamers, climate, nature and environmental games. Especially casual and full-time gamers, game developers and game publishers can use the game platform and Trillion Trees Community to exchange ideas and experiences. The aim is to promote topics such as biodiversity and sustainability as well as species, climate and environmental protection. The game is intended for mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles. An extra version which can be played directly online on websites should also be possible.
The main game design will of course implement various tree planting actions and options in a playful way. This means that the game can be used for advanced learning, ecological education and for planting many trees through in-game actions. For example, achievements, specific items, quests, points and game objectives can realize real tree planting actions in the real world. International partners and sponsors can help improve and support this system. It does not only depend on donors, financing models or monetization. The main thing is ecological and sustainable thinking, which can lead to real environmental action and sustainable living. Another important point is the will of politicians and certain economies to really transform the old systems into more sustainable systems. This means, for example, making production processes and supply chains cleaner, more ecological and more sustainable; including tree plantations and forestry.
Gamification and serious games for environmental, nature and sustainability issues can support these processes, such as social learning, engagement and real ecological change. The game can promote environmental awareness and a more sustainable lifestyle. Human intervention in the natural environment and man-made climate change are causing more and more hazards, disasters, risks and extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, soil erosion, storms, air and water pollution. Greening and reforestation on a global scale can reduce these effects of climate change and extreme weather events. The computer and video game industry could contribute significantly to improvement. It would make sense to use a collaborative serious game environment to enable better relations between society, the economy, the environment and the sciences. Gamification is interesting in almost every field. Games can make it easier to adapt, learn and understand things in a playful way. Climate and environmental games would be good for many industries, but especially for education and research in the areas of climate adaptation, reforestation, deforestation, desertification, ecological education, ecosystem restoration, resource conservation, sustainable development, waste reduction, energy efficiency and water scarcity. If more game developments include these concerns into game design and gameplay, games with a truly positive impact on humans and the environment can be created.
Biodiversity and environmental concerns can also be combined with ecological education and environmental science in games. The Trillion Trees game should not only be about environmentally friendly tree planting. It can be a game platform and community for many important questions and issues related to climate change, ecology, environmental protection, nature conservation, species protection and sustainability. The game, related platforms and partners can bring together players, game communities and game developers to focus more on the Global Goals or Sustainable Development (SDG) Goals, especially in relation to the important issues. AI and deep learning technologies can help to improve these developments and support the development of better community applications or games in this context. To this end, the use of good cloud services and cloud game solutions can improve sustainable game developments and gaming experiences in the future. Machine learning algorithms can be used to encourage people in algorithmically controlled areas or rooms to adopt better or more environmentally friendly habits. Gamification can improve human behavior, especially in terms of sustainability and environmental awareness.
Platforms like DeepMind and OpenAI use games to develop strategic AI, for example to solve complex problems in open world games or even in real environments. The platform AIcrowd, for example, strongly promotes AI development in various working environments and developments. Competitions are awarded with points, badges and rankings. Advanced training, game mechanics and gaming experience can take real sustainable games to the next level ! Games can promote awareness, concentration, challenge, happiness, joy, cheerfulness, ease, logic, sustainable thinking and environmental awareness; as well as many other positive qualities or incentives.
The Global Game Jams are another great opportunity to exchange views on climate change, the environment and the sustainability of game development. At these Game Jams many nice and small games were developed every year, now they could focus on the important questions and issues related to climate change, environment and sustainability issues. It would be great to exchange ideas about possible reforestation, greening, forest, nature and plant games, maybe they can be called green games or greening games.
More information about the project and the topics can be found on the official pages of the Trillion Trees Initiative (https://trilliontreesinitiative.com) or on the game project pages of TrillionTreesGame.com (http://trilliontreesgame.com).
