Illuminate: A simulation game to instill grounded hope in youth for climate action

Abstract

Increasing negative media about climate change and ecological loss has evoked feelings of hopelessness and loss for the future in youth. We created Illuminate in response, a mobile game which leverages resource management and storytelling to instill grounded hope and inspire climate action for youth in Canadian classrooms through climate simulations. Illuminate tackles the under-explored topic of eco-grief from media in HCI and asks players to informatively invest in environmental strategies which reflect real life economic costs and environmental impacts in key Canadian contexts. This paper describes Illuminate's conception to release and presents a game designed to motivate learning through meaningful simulations for grounded hope and action.