LET'S PLAY!

Passionate teachers already know: kids learn best when they are having fun. It has something to do with the way our brains work. Information is faster and more effectively distributed, connected to other data and stored in our brains when we enjoy what we are doing. Furthermore: we even dig up the information better afterwards. So?

Well, bare me with me.

Half a year ago I was doing research for a potential customer who was into social gaming. Not knowing the ins from the outs, I decided to join the social game that was best known to me: Farmville. Starting the game it was clear how I was being dragged in and tied to the game by many ropes. There were cute little rewards for time spend playing, bringing on new farmvillers and connecting to other players (peer pressure being one of the strongest forces to make people do things) and having the opportunity to every day send gifts to all neighbours. Being aware of all these little tricks, I still got to be a fan. Because it's fun.

So?

Well, let me ask you. How much fun are we all having with living a more sustainable life? The general complaint I hear is that it's oh so serious, it's a must, it's five to twelve and we'll all be extinct if we do not act immediately. In short: no fun at all. Our brains shrink of fear and our ability to grasp meaning, connect new information to what we already know and come up with new and creative solutions, diminishes to almost non existence.

Not smart.

Playing Farmville, my appreciation for farmers grew. However far from what farming is really about, I have gotten a notion of how much hard work goes into it. The English names of trees, vegetables, fruits, animals and buildings have become part of my vocabulary effortlessly and I even found out that my sister-in-law is very computer savvy. She’s modest, so I didn’t know before. In real life playing the game is thus of social value.

Now here is my point.

What we need is a social game that is all about sustainable entrepreneurship, co-creation and co-operation. A game in which we can choose our energy source (Wind, Water, Solar or Fossil), what to do with waste, how to optimize the supply chain for all participants, interact with nature and help it restore what was destroyed before, decide whether to go global or local and what to do with the problems that are too big to solve on our own. It should be fun to play, with graphics that please us and a fast and easy interface. Thus many people can learn about what is needed for a more sustainable world, without getting the feeling that they are stupid or downright 'bad' for not knowing what it's all about. And will start to care and want to join.

So who picks up this challenge I lay before you? My not so wild guess is that a game like that will be an instant hit.

Tessa Weber

Photograph by Rusty Boxcars