Inaugural Green Mobile Game Jam mobilizes players for the planet

The Green Mobile Game Jam was born off the back of the video game industry’s commitments at the UN Climate Summit in September 2019. Eleven Playing for the Planet Alliance members gathered in London to find ways to leverage the power of the medium for greater impact.

‍

This first edition of the Jam was intended to prove or disprove the concept so that it could be rolled out more broadly in 2021 with the hope that participating studios could act as “first responders” within the new Alliance. It focused on mobile due to the expertise of the members running the Jam, and because iterating for mobile games is faster, more agile and allows ideas to be tested quickly with players due to shorter development cycles.

‍

What were the objectives of the Green Mobile Jam?

‍

The Alliance worked hand in hand with UNEP to create the following objectives for the Jam:

1. What individual commitments can be catalyzed to combat climate change through gameplay?
2. How can we activate players around the theme of reforestation and restoring nature through gameplay?
3. How can we educate people about renewable energy in our games?
4. Sandbox Mode: A wild card to allow teams the freedom to explore impactful ideas not captured in the above objectives

‍

As a result, we managed to bring together some of the biggest names in mobile gaming to deliver implementable pitches for in-game activations to 250 million players. Studios settled on a few common themes; reforestation, renewable energy, land and sea-life conservation.

‍

‍