Game for Change

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This week’s assignment presented an unprecedented challenge for me. I am fairly bad with technology, or at least slow to learn it. Game for Change requires proficiency with Twine to express ideas, and that was a major restriction. Besides the technological learning curve, it required thought about how to format ideas in the format of a sort of webquest. I have no experience in that, so I felt like I had very little vision for the project.

On the other hand I am extremely passionate about the issue I presented. I believe that climate change is an existential threat to all humans, but especially to the disadvantaged. The more I read about it, the more there is to frighten me about what this phenomenon can do, if left unchecked. It is infuriating to see people unschooled in science rationalize the findings of scientists. It is also infuriating to see industries that stand to lose from action against climate change attempt to influence the political machine away from action. I believe they do it out of greed, and that there actions will have the most severe impact on my hypothetical children. It is the kind of issue that should force common people into action.

But the media has not spoken enough about its disproportionate impact on the impoverished. Perhaps this is because the media still has not been able to convince enough of the public that climate change is real at all. But examining its effect on various groups of people essentially makes it social issue (though not exclusively).

I wanted my game to be genuinely informative. It ultimately was probably too wordy. But I found it difficult to separate what information was crucial and what was expendable. I tried to choose alarming information. I do not think this was a sensationalist decision. The problem of climate change is an alarming one, especially for the poor. When we discuss it, we should be aware of its worst possible ramifications.

I also wanted my game to reflect the absurdity of choosing not to respond to climate change. This may have been somewhat mean spirited. Its a good thing to try to genuinely understand those who have a different point of view than yourself. However, its also truly insane that educated people want to prevent action against climate change, or refuse to believe there is any such thing. So I think it was a valid choice to reflect an absurdity in the opposition to my cause.