Climate change is one of the biggest challenges that the younger generations are currently facing. This process, which started with the Industrial Revolution and the widespread use of fossil fuels, has elevated the earth’s temperature to 1.2ºC in the last 100 years. The scientists of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have pointed out that the limit to the increase is 1.5ºC. Surpassing that limit will mean that the planet will become uninhabitable.
Due to this pressing situation, it is necessary to educate on climate change and its consequences, what actions can be taken at an individual level, and how different socioeconomic inequalities are created by it. One of the best ways to teach this complex knowledge is through gamification, specifically with escape games. Escape games allow players to learn in an informal environment without the pressure of regular classes. They also help the students empathise with the scenario they are playing since they feel part of it. Lastly, for each completed puzzle in the game, they receive positive reinforcement and a feeling of accomplishment, which is amplified if they manage to solve the whole game.
In the project Save & Game, three escape games have been created to cover all the essential points around the climate crisis and sustainability education. The first one is called “Solve the Mystery of What Happened to Planet Earth” (Logopsycom), a digital escape game made 100% with Genially, which, through minigames, immerses the players inside a futuristic scenario where the most catastrophic changes have already happened. The most severe consequences of climate change are the main topic of this game, as well as how to avoid such catastrophic results. The second one is called “Trapped in the House!” (Work in Progress), a physical escape game aiming at reducing consumption at home. Its focus is teaching how not to waste energy and adopt more responsible consumption habits. The activities in this escape game are more focused on good practices to implement in our daily lives. The fact that the setting imitates that of a house increases the immersion in the story since you find yourself in a familiar environment. The last escape game is called “The Journey of the Eco-Explorer” (Green Istria), a physical escape game that teaches about climate justice and inequality. The players are embarked on a journey around the world to see how the climate crisis affects people differently according to where they live. This game emphasises on seeing the interrelation between seemingly unrelated events.
Young people are at the centre of the climate crisis. They will have to grow up facing its consequences, but they still have all the possibilities of the future. To raise their awareness about climate change is to give them agency to be able to fight it. Escape games are an opportunity to learn about climate change through gamification, making the subjects entertaining and providing them with green skills they can use daily.