Can an iPod game convince kids to care about the planet? A York software studio seems to think it could play a part.
Runoff Studios, a game studio that focuses on environmental issues, recently developed a game called Face the Waste, in which the villain Toxic Tim tries to turn the earth into a massive dump. Players fight him by sorting items into the right recycling bins. In about a week, plans call for the game to be submitted to Apple so it can be played on an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.
Runoff Studios worked with the Software Productization Center at Millersville University. Stephanie Elzer, a member of the center’s faculty steering committee, says it was interested in the project because it’s an example of “serious gaming,” which basically means video games with a higher purpose. That term applies to educational games, video games used in military simulations and surgical simulations, she says.
Jacob Walker, chief creative officer at Runoff Studios, says the game he initially discussed with Millersville put players in charge of cleaning up after oil spills — and he thought of the idea before this spring’s Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But Face the Waste would be quicker to make, so developing that was the first project.
Millersville students performed a lot of hands-on work with Face the Waste, such as programming and designing the graphics. Business students came up with a marketing plan for the game.
Walker plans to develop other environmentally-focused games, possibly by working with schools to come up with games that augment what students learn about the environment in class. And he hopes to keep working with Millersville, too.
“The students I’ve been working with have been awesome,” Walker says.
Source: Dr. Stephanie Elzer, Millersville University, and Jacob Walker, Runoff Studios
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen