An Arctic Scientific Adventure
Sunnyvale, CA
2023, Senior, Interactive & Multimedia
Climate Hero: Garry B. Stenson, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Project Description: Once the game runs, the player takes on the role of an Inuit scientist, and is given the task of geo-tagging Arctic Char fishes. By controlling the geo-tagging device and canoe using the up, down, left, right keys, the player’s objective is to maximize the number of Arctic Char Fishes tagged before the polar bear reaches the edge of the iceberg. These harmless geo-tags attached to the fish enable scientists to gain a comprehensive understanding of how the impacts of the warming Arctic waters are affecting the native fish. Through this game, the player gains awareness about one of the available technologies for monitoring and reversing the drastic effects of climate change.
Reflection
Reflection
Just like many young people my age, I spend a lot of time playing video games. I wondered how I could share that message about climate change with other people who also have a passion for gaming. That’s when I came up with the idea of creating a video game set in the Arctic Ocean of an Inuit scientists’ quest to help protect his environment. While brainstorming ideas for my game, I thought back to an episode of Frozen Planet II, in which I was fascinated by Dr. Garry’s Stenson’s strategy to harmlessly use a satellite tracking device to monitor the movement of a Harp Seal. As I conducted research for my game, I came across research articles that went into much more scientific detail compared to a lot of the news articles I had read before. I hope that when others play my game, they will be inspired to create their own games that raise awareness about the damage we are doing to our fragile planet.