Climate change game developed by Monash students
The Pacific Climate Challenge developed by Monash students
Combating climate change is a high priority for the Pacific region, where many countries are in danger of being flooded if sea levels rise. To educate the youth of the region on climate change and sustainability, UNICEF Pacific together with Monash University and Canada’s Commonwealth of Learning, have developed an innovative online game.
Under the guidance of the Faculty of Information Technology’s Associate Professor Julie Fisher, students Jun Zhu, Shaila Pervin and Sheng Cheng responded to the call from UNICEF Pacific to develop the game, accessed through UNICEF’s Facebook page.
Jun said the group felt that natural disasters around the world were getting more serious.
“We thought it was a very good idea to teach young people how the climate is changing and how we can all help to save this world,” Jun said.
Using theinput from UNICEF Pacific Facebook fans, the Monash students knew they had to develop a game the player would not easily tire of, would continually challenge them, and be exciting and easy to play. The game also had to have relevance to the youth of the region so they would be interested in learning more about climate change.
One anonymous fan said the game should be “something that is proactive and outlines things we can do now, rather than pointing fingers at what we should have been done. Also something that outlines the major concerns for each region.”
ThePacific Climate Challengewas first posted on the UNICEF Pacific fan page in July and since then has proved so popular there have been requests for the game to be translated into Pacific languages and for it to be included on the Madagascar UNICEF fan page.
The gamerequires the player to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, evacuate people threatened by rising seas and manage infrastructure to reduce the impacts of climate change. As the player moves through the various levels they learn about the challenges and individual actions they can take before it is too late.
While the player faces many challenges to successfully complete the game, there were challenges for the developers too, as several of those involved in the development were located outside of Australia. Two of the students were located at Monash University’s Gippsland campus, the other in Hong Kong, the key UNICEF Pacific specialist was in Suva, Fiji and the game was tested in young people in China and in Fiji.
All involved said the use of various social media platforms including Skype and chat sessions assisted with the success of the development process. It also proved how information technology is the key to the delivery of much of our learning these days.
“The exciting part for all involved is that thePacific Climate Challengecan now be accessed by 140000 plus fans worldwide,” Associate Professor Fisher said.
“The initiative has demonstrated that it is possible to use social networking as a participatory platform for developing interactive digital materials. Next - we need to figure out if our web platforms are also effective in promoting the use of the game and related learning outcomes.”
ThePacific Climate Challengeis now distributed through three Facebook sites: UNICEF Pacific, Unite for Climate and Voices of Youth - a UNICEF organisation designed to give young people the opportunity to learn more about their world.