I have started writing reviews for games with a science or environmental theme.
Each game is rated for
Cost: out of 5 (5 being free)
Fun: out of 5 (5 being super dooper amazing)
Education: out of 5 (5 being very informative)
Contribution to science: out of 5 (5 being very important)
FINAL SCORE= sum of cost, fun, education and contribution to science (/20)
My reviews, in order of Final Score:
12.5 Climway
11.0 Catchment Detox
10.0 Benthic Love- the Anglerfish Dating Game
09.0 Disaster Detector
For a few years I have been compiling a list of games with a science or environmental theme. The list now has over 200 games! Check them out!
SCIENCE SCORES: 1 (Vaguely Scientific), 2 (Entertaining science game), 3 (Very entertaining science game with good sources), 4 (Contributes to actual scientific research).
All prices are in AUD.
Engineering & Physics (14 games)
Mathematics (7 games)
Computer Science & Programming (5 games)
Chemistry (10 games)
Cells & Proteins (11 games)
Psychology & the Brain (15 games)
Viruses & Disease (14 games)
Medicine & the Human Body (13 games)
Genetics (8 games)
Ecology & Evolution (16 games)
Marine and Freshwater Biology (13 games)
Zoology- Invertebrates (8 games)
Zoology- Vertebrates (20 games)
Botany & Mycology (7 games)
Environmental Management (17 games)
Meteorology & Disasters (10 games)
Geoscience & Astronomy (14 games)
The History & Practice of Science (8 games)
Various themes (4 games)
Water management issues have been topical in Australia and around the world for a long time. With an increasing global population, and a changing climate, education about this is most important of resources has never been more valuable.
In Catchment Detox you play as a catchment manager, who has 100 turns (representing 100 years) to change the landscape with the aim of benefiting industry, biodiversity and water quality.
The game was developed with the eWater CRC, CSIRO, ABC, Australian Government Department of Innovation, Industry, Fisheries and Science (circa 2008 when the game was published).
The key values of the game are:
To play the game you will need an internet connection and a computer that has Flash 9 at least.
Visuals: For the type of game that this is (a simulation game), the visuals are as good as can be expected. The icons are easy to identify and there is a nice colour scheme.
Music: Some sound effects but pretty minimal.
Gameplay: In each turn of the game, you can use your available budget (starting from $100 000) to make changes to land use along the catchment, and this continues for 100 turns. Different land use practices will gain you points which contribute to the end game score. The game is pretty easy to get into, but deceptively hard to master. As an adult I didn’t find the gameplay to be particularly thrilling like other simulation games that I have played before.
There is no hidden ‘game god’ that will step in and stop the game if things get out of hand, so there is no reason why you couldn’t cause massive salinity problems in your catchment and still receive a positive score (I tried this in one iteration), or just cover the whole place in beef farms (as in the first image). I also successfully played the game by covering the whole catchment with a National Park (it was certainly a serene game). In real life I believe someone would step in and reassign you to a different department if you were so biased against one or the other type of land management.
One interesting element is the variability of rainfall from year to year. Your catchment might be able to sustain lots of industry one year, but not the next. Options to help address this include building dams and larger forests. This element is something that occurs in real life, and that needs to be taken into account by real water managers.
Impact: As well as the game itself, the Catchment Detox website has lots of other information on water issues within Australia. There is a section which gives information for Teachers to use in class.
Top scores are listed on the website, but after I few looks I think they are the product of glitches or hacks to the system. This is disappointing as I wanted to see what made a genuinely successful catchment on the game.
It might not be the most entertaining simulation game that can have children playing it for hours on end, but as something that has been locally produced to address education on a nationally important issue, it is alright. It would be a great addition to other resources on the issue.
Cost: 5/5 (free!)
Fun:2/5
Education: 4/5
Contribution to science: 0/5
FINAL SCORE=11.0
You can play Catchment Detox here
All images courtesy of Catchment Detox.
The Blood Typing Game was produced by Nobel Media with the aim of communicating Nobel achievements to younger audiences. The game was the 2012 winner of the Best Game at the Swedish Learning Awards and was designed for teenagers aged 14-17. The company also develops other broadcast, digital media, events and published content.
Based upon research that won the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Karl Landsteiner. Landsteiner was an Austrian scientist who worked tirelessly throughout his life on immunology of syphilis and poliomyelitis, pathological anatomy and histology His career ended with a heart attack in his laboratory at the age of 75 (Nobel prize.org Karl Landsteiner – Biographical).
In the game you assist doctors in determining a patients blood type, and them administering them with the correct blood type.
Visuals: The visuals contain images of using needles, and lots of blood droplets, so the game might be a bit hard to handle if blood and needles aren’t your thing (READ: this game is not for people like my sister). Everything is easy to read and the symbols are repeated and easy to understand.
Music: The game has no music. Sound effects occur when you click on things and include blood pumping, blood splattering and dings for completing a mission. I found the loud “YES!” that the patients make after they receive the correct blood transfusion (and the opposite in case of a mistake) a little odd.
Gameplay: The game has two stages:
Once you understand how the test works and have done a few blood samples, the game becomes pretty repetitive, but with only 6 levels, you can get to the end quickly if you make few mistakes.
Impact: The Blood Typing game is a quite nice simple game that conveys its message in a quick and easy to understand way. It isn’t a game that you could spend a long time playing, but would be a good addition to teaching about the human body for upper primary or lower secondary students. It would also be good for children who see their parents going to donate blood and wonder why they do it.
A reasonable amount of information is provided throughout the game, especially in the tutorials. Most of the information is in short paragraphs of interesting facts which make them very easy to understand and get through.
There is a disclaimer in the second tutorial of the game which talks about people with RH- blood being able to develop RH+ blood if given transfusions of that before, and that they have not included it in the game. This is a nice insight into some of the shortcuts game producers make during production to make a complicated topic playable. I think this could have been included in the game, maybe by adding extra levels with this added information. Indeed the information says that there are many more blood group systems (other than the A,B,O, Rh one), but that these systems are not used in conventional medicine. These other systems could also be used for greater complexity and more playing time, but that might take the game away from the simple effective one that it currently is. A more complex spinoff for teenagers and adults could be a good way of including this, and is something that I would very much be interested in playing.
Cost: 5/5
Fun:1.5/5
Education: 3.5/5
Contribution to science: 0/5
FINAL SCORE=10.0
You can play the Blood Typing Game in English here eller på svenska här
UPDATE: As of 01/10/2018 the game was no longer available on the Nobelmedia website, I could not find any information on whether anything else was going to be done with it.
If this game has got you enthused about blood types, and the importance of blood donations, you can follow these links to find out where to donate.
Asia/Pacific:
Europe:
Americas:
Welcome to my first science game review!
In Code Fred Survival Mode you are Fred, who is lost in the wilderness and needs to use different parts of his body in order to survive the night. You can watch the Code Fred: Survival Mode Game Trailer for another look at the game, which was created by the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. The target age group is 13-18 year olds. I was left with some unanswered questions like who is the person with the huge long white beard? How did Fred come to be lost in the forest? Doesn’t the wolf have better things to be chasing than poor Fred?
Visuals: While the game is very simple in its design, the designers have done a great job. The location is based on Yosemite National Park (which I was happy to be able to recognise due to watching many rock climbing videos). According to the Yosemite National Park website wolves don’t live in the park, so that inclusion is a slight mistake.
I quite like the use of geometric patterns that make up a natural landscape, something that has been used in other games as well (Shelter series). The design team Helpful Strangers have produced other works, all which look very visually interesting. You can see some early Code Fred Design Sketches from the project on their website.
The game makers have done a good job at keeping simple icons and making every challenge easily understandable.
Music: Catchy and interesting. Good choices.
Gameplay: The game consists of a series of simple challenges that use different parts of Fred’s body (Heart, liver, lungs etc.). It is a linear storyline with the ultimate aim of helping Fred to survice all night. Code Fred isn’t a game that you can really play many times. I have played it 3 times now and that is probably enough for the moment.
There could probably be a greater explanation of all the various bodily processes. Links to explanations outside of the game might have been nice, but as it is you get a good snapshot of what they do. I was using a laptop with no mouse, and it would have been more fun using a mouse as clicking things is very important, as is coordination. I thought that the game became a bit more about clicking the mouse than using the science in some levels.
It took me 7:10 to save Fred, with a few tries in some of the various challenges. On my first try I kept dying because I didn’t understand what to do. There is only a limited amount of time in which to complete each task, but if you fail you can repeat the task without going back to the start. On further tries I began to understand exactly what the game makers were going for, and found they challenges easier. Some better feedback could have been more useful.
Impact: The topic of Code Fred is inherantly important for players, as it involves things that are happening constantly in their bodies. The use of the physiological processes and the highlighting of the interconnectedness between systems are things that players can learn from the game. While the examples given are simplified, they act as a starting point for learning about these topics.
For a short, fun game for a wide range of players, Code Fred: Survival Mode is one of the few games that deals with the topic of human body processes. If it included more educational content, or links to explanations I would have learnt more, but as a gateway game into the human body, Code Fred is good fun for a few plays. It is a pity that the beautiful graphics aren’t backed up with more educational content.
Cost: 5/5 (free!)
Fun:3.5/5
Education: 3.5/5
Contribution to science: 0/5
FINAL SCORE=12.0
I discovered Code Fred: Survival Mode through the Games for Change website. Games for Change is a non-profit corporation which convenes, highlights, incubates and channels investment into social impact games that aid humanitarian and education efforts.
You can play Code Fred: Survival Mode yourself and see how many times you allow him to die, or how long it takes you! Enjoy!
Disaster Detector was produced in 2015 as an aid for teaching US middle school students about disaster prediction and management. Created by the Smithsonian Institute Science Education Centre and funded by the US Department of Education. Disaster Detector can be played online or downloaded.
In the game there are 5 cities that need your help to predict disasters (earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes and hurricanes) by using a range of tools.
Visuals: The game features a simplified simcity-eske map, with tools on one side. The animations of the disasters are nicely done, especially the hurricane which is my favourite. Everything is pretty simple and easy to identify.
Music: I thought that the music was a little annoying (mostly just the part with the saxophone, the piano section is quite nice), but there are options to turn down or remove all audio and sound effects. When disasters are occurring there are sound effects for that which I think add to the game well by providing an increasing sense of urgency.
Gameplay: The tutorial is easy to understand, you are helped along by a young American called Windy. She narrates you through the game using audio and text.
You can use the tools (anemometer, thermometer, barometer or seismometer) to try and predict what type of event will be coming. Each of the five towns have specific events that might occur, like just hurricanes, or all four disasters. Some events are easier to predict using the tools (hurricanes) and others are harder to predict (earthquakes). There is also the doppler rain radar and tip-offs from local residents that can give you extra information. There are some hurricanes which just pass by, similar to what might occur in real life.
To prepare for disasters you need to spend money on installations such as storm shelters and reinforced rooves. You can choose to spend money on cheaper installations, or save it and invest in preparation for larger events. There is a negative effect on the happiness of the population when you spend money on these preparations, so the best results are gained from waiting and seeing what is required.
The population prefer to spend as little money as possible on preparations, and get cranky at you if you over-invest. I wonder if this has been shown to be the case? I personally like seeing money invested in those kind of things.After each disaster you will need to repair or rebuild structures: they are not just a one time fix. You receive money at set periods in the game, so you need to choose your purchases wisely.
At the end of each scenario you are given a score based on your preparedness, population happiness and spending. This feature means that you can replay the game to try and get a better score.
Impact: I thought Disaster Detector was a nice short educational game. There are only 5 cities to choose from, and these can be completed quite quickly. I could only play it through once before becoming bored, but someone within the target age range of 12-14 could stay a lot longer.
Elements of the game that I liked were the idea of using historic measurements to predict intensity of future disasters, and the good level of description about each tool. There was not a large amount of information available on the topics, or links to places where children could find more information.
You can see that it is designed for a western context, where governments have the resources to be able to put in effective measurements against disasters. I hope that this game can educate young people, as well as make them appreciate funding of disaster prevention investment. It would have been nice to see some references to how climate change might change weather patterns and influence disasters, but that has been covered in other games, and we should not expect too much from a governmentally produced game.
For disaster games, I preferred to play Stop Disasters rather than Disaster Detector, but Stop Disasters is designed for an older audience, so it makes sense that I would enjoy it more.
Cost: 5/5 (free!)
Fun:2/5
Education: 2/5
Contribution to science: 0/5
FINAL SCORE=9.0
I discovered Disaster Detector through the Games for Change website. Games for Change is a non-profit corporation which convenes, highlights, incubates and channels investment into social impact games that aid humanitarian and education efforts.
You can play Disaster Detector here
All images are the property of Disaster Detector.
What is not to love about the title “Benthic Love: An Anglerfish Dating Simulator”?
Created by Mike Joffe in 2013, the game claims to be the ‘ONLY LGBT-friendly fish dating sim! and surely only a game creator of ill repute would want to take that title away.
I have been meaning to try this game for a while, since I started writing about games (a few years). My father always said that if he won a sufficiently large amount of money in a lottery, he would buy a deep sea submersible and explore the Mariana Trench. I always thought that this was a great idea.
When looking through my Science and Environment Game List there are always topics that are more popular like others. Anglerfish was not a popular topic. Also most of the online games that are on the list were produced by governmental organisations, museums or educational companies, and not smaller groups of people.
Gameplay: The gameplay is text-based where you are able to choose from multiple options of what to do next. Choices make a difference in the story and may lead to different endings. There are only a limited number of endings (5) so you should definitely give this several play throughs. I always loved ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ books at school, and this is a nice little example of one.
Visuals: Each piece of artwork in the game has been created by Sonya Halett, a Scotland based science and natural history illustrator. I think I could write at least several blogs about her work. The animals have been recreated in a way that mimics how they might look in real life (if you could see them in their natural environment.)
The game should be playable to anyone who can read the text and make mouse clicks. I would probably say anyone over the age of 10 would be appropriate. It is no more raunchy than watching a David Attenborough documentary.
Music: The music is Erik Satie – Gymnopédie No. 1 (which I felt great for knowing), a lovely choice and it fits the game theme very well. There are some other sound effects, but everything can be turned up or down.
Impact: I learned some facts about benthic food webs, and the ill-fated life of the male angler fish, but what I most ended up thinking about after playing the game were the more psychological elements. Your anglerfish has very human thoughts about love and the meaning of life, and this made me think about my own life, and also how I think about my own death. In gaming characters are constantly dying, but this felt very different.
In your journey underwater you meet a number of sea creatures and gain a glimpse into their lives as well. It is not fast paced, but I that works really well with being in a dark underwater place.
To sum up, if you are in the mood for a short, melancholic game with beautiful artwork, where you learn about the life of the Anglerfish- this game is for you!
Cost: 5/5
Fun:2.5/5
Education: 2.5/5
Contribution to science: 0/5 (I am rethinking using this category, or changing it somewhat)
FINAL SCORE=10.0
You can also check out the creators blog ‘Video Games of the Obsessed’ where he discusses creating the game here or other games that he has produced here.
You can also check out the work of Sonya Hallett, the illustrator here
In Climway you have 50 years to reach a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 4, cut energy consumption, develop renewable technologies and adjust the city to new climatic conditions. Your actions are rewarded points based on how effective they are at contributing to the objectives. Actions also have their own different levels of Action Points required to complete, some using many more Action Points. Some actions have immediate effects (like installing solar power on the school roof) and some have effects that run over a longer time period (like removing 5% of emissions from a power generator each year). Some actions have disadvantages as well as advantages (for example solar panels reduce emissions, but have a energy and resources cost in producing them new).
Produced by ADEME, Casse D’Epargne, Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Engie, Cap Sciences and Objectif Prod originally in French and translated into English. The French version of the game has links to over 300 documents (videos, interviews, graphs) that would be amazing educational materials. This extra information is not yet avaliable in the English version, but the links that they do provide in the game are already numerous. There are still some titles in French, but these are mainly not necessary, so it is not required to speak French in the English version of the game.
You will need Flash Player 8 and Adobe Reader to play the game.
Visuals: The cartoon style of the maps are really nicely done. After changes are made in the game, the features change in relation to what you have done. Fox example solar panels appear on a building after you have invested in them.
Music: The soundtrack is a collection of notes that is quite relaxing, and the sound effects include waves, seagulls and birds singing.
Gameplay: The game is played by choosing between management options and clicking them to start their effect. A large amount of reading is required, so the game would be more appropriate for lower secondary school age children or above. Like the real thing, managing for emissions reductions and adaption is tricky in this game. I have played this game at least five times and did not succeed, so it is definately not easy, and the continued failure might put off younger children.
When I played I tried to start with choosing options that would have the biggest long term impact, rather than short term gains as I thought I could use the short term ones better in the end. I never managed to win the game, so maybe this was not the best way of going about it. I would be really interested in seeing what a professional in the field would make of trying to win the game.
Impact: The thing I love about Climway is that it has a great level of detail in all aspects of greenhouse gas production. Rather than just addressing carbon emissions, it also includes methane, flourides and other gases from a range of sectors. As well as reducing emissions, the game allows you to invest in adaption actions that assist you to live at changed conditions. These additions add the realism of us having to live with some climate change even if we radically change our way of living now.
As it was released in 2008 it may not include some newer technological advances, but this should not impede the game from getting across the general purpose behind the technology. Some technologies that they describe in the game (for example, carbon capture and storage) are still not viable in 2017.
Cost: 5/5 (free)
Fun:2.5/5
Education: 5/5
Contribution to science: 0/5
FINAL SCORE=12.5
You can play Climway here and find the game manual here.
All images courtesy of Climway
In the wake of the highly WannaCry virus this week (and the good news for the moment). I thought that it would be appropriate to review a game that teaches you about cyber security!
As a regular internet user I should say that I have learnt about cyber security in order to efficiently protect myself, but to be honest the most I have ever learnt about the topic is from watching tv shows like Black Mirror, and reading fact-perfect Dan Brown novels like Digital Fortress. In reflection I am the perfect person to upgrade my own knowledge of cyber security, and in turn I can teach others.
Nova Labs describes itself as ‘a free digital platform that engages teens and lifelong learners in games and interactives that foster authentic scientific exploration.’ They have currently produced a range of games on various themes and were funded by the Argosy Foundation, Biogen, Lockheed Martin and NASA. I might cover other Nova Labs in future reviews.
The game is made up of four different challenges:
Visuals: The characters in the game are simple cartoon people and animals that talk to each other with text. The layout is simple and very minimalistic blacks and greys.
Music: No music or sound effects.
Gameplay:
You play as a cybersecurity engineer working for one of four companies that you choose at the start of the game. To protect your company from incoming attacks you need to gain stars which you use to buy different types of protective actions. You gain stars by correctly completing three types of challenges:
There are 3 levels of difficulty, increasing after completing each of the three challenge types. Most of the challenges are fairly easy, but some do require a little thinking to get the best result.
Anyone with any previous knowledge of cyber security or some street smarts will pass most of these easily. I failed only about 3 challenges, but passed them on the second try.
Impact:
The site includes extra links to information about what employment as a cybersecurity expert is like, quizzes and a video library of 4 videos. Compared to some other games that I have reviewed Cybersecurity Lab does not have as much extra learning content, but there is some if you want to use it.
The game is targeted towards teenagers 12-18 but I seriously don’t think that young people in 2017 will learn very much that they do not already know (especially not people on the upper end of this spectrum). Perhaps another age group that could use some of this knowledge is the over 65’s?
Cost: 5/5 (free)
Fun: 2.5/5
Education: 2.5/5
Contribution to science: 0/5
SCORE= 10.0
You can play Nova Labs Cybersecurity Lab here and find the educator guide here.
All images courtesy of Nova Labs
Science games with Tessa 