Nov 9: Game Design for Empathy and the Environment
Our next GDT lunch seminar event will be Wed Nov 9.
Location: Rm 122, Old Union, Stanford
Time: Noon – 1pm
Guest Speaker Kulan Tarnas, GoEco
“GoEco is an active effort to reduce negative human impact on the environment by symbiotically engaging individuals and communities in their respective ecosystems. In it’s fully realized form, GoEco is envisioned to be an app-based adventure game that is played actively in the real world. Similar to Pokemon GO, its users would be encouraged to go outside and explore; however, rather than catching Pokemon, GoEco players would explore local natural and man-made ecosystems. Ecostations mark places of interest (e.g. a natural park or biodynamic farm) near a player at which they can learn about, interact with, and/or impact their ecosystem in some manner unique to that ecostation. Ecostation activities are designed to deliver pragmatic information about living sustainably and foster a relationship between individuals and their ecosystems through which compassion and empathy may grow.
We look forward to discussing how we intend to design specific activities and overall gameplay to foster empathy between players and their ecosystem, as well as how this empathy, when paired with pragmatic knowledge about living sustainably, can actually facilitate impactful change in behavior.”
