Notes

Save the Planet, Play the Game: Conservationists Target Video Gamers

By Hereward Holland



NAIROBI (Reuters 5 June 2015) -- Chilli, one of the Borneo gibbon will soon be jumping from tree to tree in parks in New York and Nairobi as the character in a new augmented reality game which aims to protect endangered species.



Internet of Elephants, a Kenya-based software company has created a computer-generated facsimile of Chilli, a live primate, and three other animals from the jungles of Asia and Africa.



Their game, Wildeverse, is one of a number of games developed by companies around the world who are seeking to harness the increasing popularity of video games on mobile phones to encourage people to lead more environmentally-conscious lifestyles.



Wildeverse users are junior scientists who are studying the habits and habits of animals in the rain forests of Borneo, Congo Republic. They use their smartphones cameras to observe virtual forests and primates such as Chilli superimposed over the surroundings.



The rising popularity of smartphones means that gaming is accessible to one in three people across the globe. It has the potential to be a powerful instrument for behaviour change like a public broadcaster in the digital age. Sam Barratt, from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), said that the gaming industry is a powerful tool for changing behaviors.



Barratt said to Reuters that the industry's reach was "incredible." "We would like to assist people to think differently about the natural world and how they can lead a in a (environmentally) more peacefully."



Gaming is the most loved form of entertainment in the world. According to UNEP's report of 2019 titled "Playing for the Planet" it is the leading industry in the world, generating more revenues per habitant than Hollywood, Bollywood, and music sales worldwide.



In addition, mobile phone games surpassed consoles in 2015 and as the speed of data increases, they are projected to be $91.2 billion by 2021, the gaming consultancy Newzoo estimates.



Internet of Elephants plans to launch Wildeverse as a no-cost app for Android and Apple smartphones in the third quarter of 2011. There are also options to purchase in-app purchases to unlock bonus features.



Jake Manion (head of production at the company), stated that the game was designed to be non-prescriptive, and not hinder change in behaviour.
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"It's easy to fall into the trap of tropes about burning forests and animals that have been stranded and all of that," he said.



NOT JUST FOR KIDS



The video game user-base is growing, and demographics are growing beyond gender, age, and geographical location.



The UNEP report found that only 22% of gamers are younger than 21 and 46% of them are females. Five of the 15 countries that have most gamers per capita reside in lower-income countries, such as Nigeria and Indonesia.



Gautam Shah, founder of Internet of Elephants, stated that people automatically believe that games are made for children when they talk about them.



The conservation industry is slowly waking up to gaming as a method to get people to participate in the same way it took time for them to recognise the power of social media, he said.



Some of the biggest gaming companies are promoting green messages, just as Shah and other conservationists hope to profit from the opportunities offered by the industry.



Minecraft the blockbuster building game has released new versions that let users design national parks and sustainable cities.



Ban ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, appointed a Rovio character from the wildly popular Angry Birds franchise as an honorary ambassador in the year 2016 to inspire young people to go "green" to tackle climate change.



Rovio also collaborated with the World Wide Fund for Nature to promote International Tiger Day.



Minna Eloranta is Rovio's senior communications manager. She has stated that Rovio has worked with businesses to combat climate change in the past, and has advised players to consider it in their games.



Niantic is the company that developed Pokemon Go with Nintendo Co Ltd organizes clean-up events all over the world from South Africa to Singapore on Earth Day every year.



"Games that link sustainability initiatives to their primary gameplay mechanics have the potential to not only increase the success of their playerbase but also make an important impact on climate change," Yennie Solheim Fuller is the senior manager of social impact at Niantic. (Reporting by Hereward Netherlands; Editing by Maggie Fick, Toby Chopra).


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