SUMMARY

Requires Flash 8 to play

The producers' primary goal was to make a fun, challenging game. At times it was necessary to strike a compromise between strict scientific accuracy and playability. For this reason, Climate Challenge should not be taken as a serious climate change prediction.

Why make a game about climate change?

Currently there is a growing consensus amongst climate researchers that Earth's climate is changing in response to manmade greenhouse gas emissions. The main debate amongst scientists is focused on the amount of climate change we can expect, not whether it will happen. With the current level of debate in mind, the BBC decided a game might be a good introductory route into climate change and some of the issues this creates for governments around the world.

Wherever possible, real research has been incorporated into the game. This document describes the scientific sources used to create Climate Challenge and some of the compromises made by the producers. These sources are a good starting point for someone interested in learning more about climate change. This document also describes some of the compromises the producers made for the sake of playability.

GOALS

Game focus and aims

Apart from the primary goal of creating a fun game, Climate Challenge's producers aimed to:

• give an understanding of some of the causes of climate change, particularly those related to carbon dioxide emissions.
• give players an awareness of some of the policy options available to governments.
• give a sense of the challenges facing international climate change negotiators.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION AND TEACHING MATERIALS

Game Link >> http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/hottopics/climatechange/climate_challenge/ (click open, just below the image of the family -

You'll need >> Flash 8 or above to play the game)

BBC Climate Change Game - Background and Instructions

Game Instructions:

Your role in the game is as the President of European Nations.

Step 1: Select a character to represent you in negotiations and name him/her.

Step 2: You will be navigated to the "Policy Screen" where most of the game is played. You must choose policies that balance the need to lower carbon emissions with your responsibility to maintain vital resources (and serve the economic interests of Europe). You can choose policies from different aspects of government (national, imports, exports, industry, local, and household).

Step 3: Each house on the screen represents a different aspect of government (see above). Click on one to start with, such as the second house, Trade.

Step 4: Insert your card into the deck at the bottom of the screen. You'll now see your resources: money, power, water, and food. The size of each bar indicates how much of your resources are left. The red portion of the bar shows much of the resource was consumed in a decade. Green indicates how much the resources will grow outside normal consumption.

Step 5: Essentially, the cards show you how you're doing (too much red = bad, over-consumption; green = good, within normal levels of consumption)

Step 6: You'll see that some cards are more popular with voters/constituents than others. When you hover over the card a "swingometer" will appear, which indicates the cards popularity with voters. If you make too many unpopular choices, you'll be voted out of office.

Step 7: You can un-select a card by clicking on it. You can have any combination of cards from any of the policy categories.

Step 8: Some of the cards have a light bulb on them, which you can click on to open up more advanced policy choices.

Step 9: When you have selected all the cards you want, hit the green play button to view the results of your policy decisions.

Step 10: Next you'll get a chance to make decisions on the global level through negotiations with global leaders.

Step 11: By hitting subsidize, you can donate money to a delegate for a green policy. You can subsidize as many delegates as you want (based on the amount of money you have).

Step 12: Once negotiations have ended, you can decide whether or not to set your emissions target, which must be set in 3 turns. Good luck.

BBC Climate Challenge
Instructions for climate challenge game.
BBC_Climate_Change_Game.doc

TEACHING NOTES / CONTEXT FOR USE

See game instructions

ASSESSMENT

Please post your responses to the following questions:

1) What did you learn from playing each of the 2 climate games?
2) Do you think that they were worth doing?
3) What emotions did you feel while playing and now later, when you have a chance to reflect on them?

Please include your screenshots from the CEO2 game in your response we have a sense of how your company fared

REFERENCES AND RESOURCES

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/hottopics/climatechange/climate_challenge/ (click open, just below the image of the family - you'll need Flash 8 or above to play the game)

SHORT DESCRIPTION

Currently there is a growing consensus amongst climate researchers that Earth's climate is changing in response to manmade greenhouse gas emissions. The main debate amongst scientists is focused on the amount of climate change we can expect, not whether it will happen. With the current level of debate in mind, the BBC decided a game might be a good introductory route into climate change and some of the issues this creates for governments around the world.

Citation