Saving the Planet One Game at A Time

Abstract

Several scholars suggest that games offer playful ways to think about environmental problems and their solutions. Drawing on postcolonial and decolonial studies, environmental humanities, ecofeminism, and ecogames studies, this paper explores some of the ways in which games can theoretically raise awareness of the ecological crisis and of the need for a quick paradigm shift. It also identifies game elements that theoretically risk reinforcing false beliefs about climate change, masking its root causes, perpetuating the outdated nature-culture dualism, or feeding a blind faith in technological solutions.