This page lists specific game related practice from the research group "Games during and after the Climate Crisis" led by Dr. Adam Procter a practitioner-researcher at Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, Ludic Ecologies Lab.
Finistère (2023)
IMAGE credit Dave Gibbons
The concept for Finistère was created in a student workshop titled “designing for evil”. The workshop involves making a paradigm shift with your research, in this instance, exploring the intricate communication within tree ecosystems and the profound, yet often overlooked, benefits of trees.
Finistère is a satirical climate crisis game by Adam Procter made for the playdate and its unique controller interface, the crank. The climate crisis has become an ordinary part of our lives because of government inaction. Finistère plays on the individualistic framing of climate action as a lifestyle choice, rather than the scale and urgency of the climate crisis which calls for "rapid and transformative change" (IPCC 2015) and systemic action.
The core gameplay loop of Finistère revolves around players rapidly chopping down trees to achieve a level high score, the fastest time. However, this seemingly innocuous objective leads to a depletion of the oxygen level, ultimately resulting in your own death. As players grasp the consequences of their actions, a shift occurs, prompting some to voluntarily stop playing as they no longer wish to contribute to deforestation. Some players even requested the ability to plant trees, although the game's upgrade system, not present in the initial version, ironically only empowers them to become more destructive.
Finistère was launched at The Winchester Gallery, during the exhibition "Ordinary Things" in November 2023.
Finistère by Adam Procter (Concept, Design & Art Work, Code hacking), Mathew Louis Parker (Design and Programming) and RogueKenshi (Music / Sound Design)
Playing with the Climate Crisis (2023)
IMAGE Credit - Mads Berg
In April 2023, Adam Procter and Matteo Menapace organized a compelling 3-day festival focused on the intersection of Games and the Climate Crisis. The event, hosted by The Winchester Gallery, featured an engaging line up of talks by game developers who had created games addressing climate issues and themes. Additionally, attendees had access to an open library of tabletop games, providing an interactive and immersive experience throughout the festival.
A standout element of the event was a day-long workshop, where a diverse group comprising members of the public, policy makers, students, and staff actively participated in creating their own climate-themed games. This hands-on approach, described as "thinking through making," proved to be a powerful tool in fostering a deeper understanding of climate crisis topics. Participants left the festival with a renewed perspective, having explored new angles, gained enhanced comprehension, and been prompted to contemplate individual actions that could contribute to addressing the climate crisis.
University of Southampton news about the event
Talks
- Matteo Menapace and Matt Leacock
- Chloé Germaine and Paul Wake
- Laurie Blake
- Sabine Harrer
- Heiko Günther and Tobias Gohrbandt
- Hwa Young Jung
Game Library
- Kyoto (2020)
- Carbon City Zero World Edition (2020)
- Peak Oil Profiteer (2021)
- GigaWatt (2022)
- Solutions (2021)
- Tiny Footprint (2019)
- Terra (2003)
- PTown Bay MMXXX (2021)
- Daybreak (2023)
- Earth Rising (2022)
- Catan: Global Warming (2020)
- Climania (2021)
