We are building an inclusive community of game developers, climate scientists, researchers, and enthusiasts committed to supporting grassroots climate action throughout the games and interactive entertainment industry.

Image Source: Beyond Blue by E-Line Media

How did we get started?

At the UN Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit in 2019, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), in partnership with GRID-Arendal and Playmob, established the Playing for the Planet Alliance (P4PA) - an unprecedented international effort with 21 video game companies to create a 30 million tonne reduction of CO2 emissions by 2030. Inspired by the original 2019 report written by Dr. Trista Patterson et. al., the alliance brought together major industry leaders, establishing public commitments that could help inspire the rest of the industry to take on the climate crisis.

As the work continued to evolve, so did interest throughout the game developer community. We quickly found that there were many opportunities to not only help spread the word about P4PA initiatives, but also forge more accessible entry points for individuals who are working at a grassroots level - or are still in the early stages of defining what climate action means to them. Late 2020, we established the Climate Special Interest Group through the International Game Developers Association - the world’s largest nonprofit membership organization serving all individuals who create games.

The IGDA Climate SIG, in partnership with Game Devs for the Future, gathered feedback and guidance from game developers, game writers, game financiers, games and media researchers, climate scientists, teachers, higher education professors, marketers, and video game enthusiasts. These wonderful humans provided their vision for a climate positive and resilient future for the industry; the challenges blocking progress towards that future; and potential solutions that may enable us to get there. Working groups were facilitated to synthesize said feedback and define a path forward.

This community-based participatory approach has enabled us to establish 3 major workstreams for developer resources and - most importantly - a vibrant Discord community with accessibility and psychological safety at its core.

What are our community pillars? (i.e. how we do work)

Raise awareness.

Build industry knowledge of and community engagement around the impact of video games on the environment with an intersectional lens.

Enable great content.

Develop and advocate for creative design guidelines and best practices that support environmentally conscious elements in games.

Promote efficiency.

Collect, develop, and advocate for power-saving software design patterns so that development time is freed up for more creativity and experimentation.

Unlock behavioral transference.

Support player and developer understanding of how gameplay experiences can translate into real world outcomes.

Cultivate and protect each other’s self-care.

Most importantly, break the cycle of crunch and burnout - which is often made worse by major existential threats (like the climate crisis). To create resiliency, we support each other’s wellbeing and protect each other’s boundaries. Recognize that change doesn’t come overnight, and we can do this together.

Memorable Community Moments We Love

(Because climate action requires just as much fun and camaraderie as it does serious systems thinking and strategy.)

That one time @Dargan outshined Leonardo DiCaprio.

His main message, as a climate scientist talking to game developers: “Please don’t let only scientists talk about climate.”
That time it became clear that Arnaud is meant to be our branding expert.

We were trying to figure out a good tagline for the SIG. As you can tell, we’re still working on it (it’s an iterative process, really).
The first (of many) moments in which Grant and Chance facilitated a great opportunity to celebrate game developers making environmentally conscious video games.

There is sometimes the misconception that games tackling complex real-world issues break immersion and lack commercial viability. The 2021 Humble Bundle Earth Day Bundle is a phenomenal case study for the many ways in which we can raise visibility and support for climate conscious games in support of, not against, the bottom line.

Who is currently in the @SIG Crew?

Andrew Brennwald

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION LEAD
Shayne Hayes

CO-CHAIR, CLIMATE JAM LEAD
Arnaud Fayolle (He/Him)

CO-CHAIR
CLAYTON WHITTLE

CO-CHAIR, DESIGN PATTERNS LEAD
Megan Carriker (She/Her)

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS LEAD
(ECOFRIENDLYISH)
You!

Interested in taking on a leadership role or helping with community management? Join the Discord and let the @SIG Crew know!