Sustainable Gaming: How Gamers Are Caring For The Environment

The world is changing. The effects of human industry on the weather and climate are becoming increasingly apparent. It will take a lot of people, with a lot of energy and some creative ideas, to do something about the damage that society has inflicted on the planet.

Some experts have looked to gamers – particularly those who play video games containing collaborative multiplayer aspects – for that vital energy and creativity. After all, millions of gamers around the world are focusing a lot of time and effort on getting together to overcome challenges in virtual worlds. So how can those same skills be applied to the physical world?

Fixing Reality

Game designer Jane McGonigal proposed that games have much more power for social change than is currently being utilized, and we need to tap into it. Her book, Reality is Broken, discusses “why games make us better and how they can change the world”, and puts forward some intriguing ideas for how all that energy, from so many people, can be redirected from escapist entertainment, and aimed towards global issues such as climate change and poverty.

Evoking Change

In 2010, a social game called Evoke ran for ten weeks or so. Directed by Jane McGonigal, the Evoke website posted a weekly “episode” in the form of a comic page, and players were tasked with coming up with productive, creative methods of helping fix the problem portrayed, which might include famine, sustainability, natural disaster preparation or something similar. To gain more points, players were encouraged to actually go out and help their community with the ideas they came up with for the game.

Evoke was fairly successful, attracting attention from news outlets as big as CNN,  and drawing widespread praise for raising awareness.

The Recycling Game

Video games and the equipment used to play them can guzzle power while they work, and add dangerous chemicals to landfills when they don’t. Simply throwing out old or broken video games, consoles, phones or computers can be harmful, but thankfully there are systems in place to ensure that as few electronic items as possible are disposed carelessly.

The cycles of second-hand products in the games industry mean there’s really no reason for people to throw out old games or machines that still work. Sure, you may have moved onto something with more bells and whistles, but there are almost definitely people who would buy the devices and games that others no longer have use for.

Collectors might be seeking that very item, or people who might have missed out on the game when it was first released might be having trouble finding new copies in stores. Most games retailers offer trade-ins as well, so you can put the value of your unwanted games towards something new.

These cycles ensure that functioning copies of games stay in circulation longer, and are far less likely to end up in landfills.

If a game or device is broken, there’s little point in trying to sell it. When electronics do finally need to be disposed of, there are services that do so properly. Some major electronics companies, such as Toshiba, Apple, Dell and Sony, provide “take-back” programs, in which they will allow customers to send their old products back to the company for proper recycling.

Other third-party companies, including Earth911, offer similar services. Items will be dismantled, useful elements may be recycled into new products, hazardous materials will be handled correctly and the waste disposed of safely.

Sarah Paige

Sarah Paige is a tech and video game blogger interested in researching ways to make her hobbies and work more sustainable. Energy Smart Finance has been a good start.

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