Online games and conservation

Following my last post and after a quick search on the web, I found the following onlinegames related to conservation and environmental issues.

Can you think of another game that is related to nature conservation?



Videogames

Ecco: And in this time of crisis lived a young dolphin named Ecco. He was destined to become the only hope for humans and dolphins. Ecco, defender of Earth´s future. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJsB25fJOpk

Duck Hunt: One of the first Nintendo games. Produced on 1984, it is basically about killing as many ducks as possible, with a special Nintendo gun.

Online games

- Ecotopia: Advances the popular city-building game model as it aims to wrap fun and compelling gameplay with philanthropy and real-world involvement. Produced by Talkie in alliance with Conservation International.

- How wild are your guesses?: A WWF game to test your knowledge of the natural world and see if you can get to the end of the third level of our game. Play

- Bycatch Bonanza: Another WWF game. Move your boat using the arrow keys, and catch as many fish as you can. But be careful - the accidental capture of other marine animals such as sharks, octopi, turtles and dolphins is seriously damaging the world's marine ecosystems. Play Bycatch Bonanza and help protect the world's oceans

- The Seagull Strikes Back: Our oceans are being seriously over fished. So much so, that unless action is taken some of our favourite fish may disappear from the seafood counter and restaurant table altogether. But it is not just our supper that's at stake. Unsustainable fishing is decimating the world's fisheries, as well as destroying marine habitats and incidentally killing billions of fish and other marine animals each year. Play WWF The Seagull Strikes Back and help blast the unwanted politics out of fisheries management

- Toxic Blaster: Every person, every animal has been exposed to a cocktail of dangerous man-made chemicals. WWF, the conservation organization, needs your help now to fight the chemical threat. Available in English, French, Dutch, Danish, Polish and Finnish.

- Rescue the Russian Leopard: Your goal is to significantly increase the endangered Far Eastern leopard population from 30 to at least 100 animals, or ensure that several leopard families live in the Ussurian Range reserve. You will have 30 years of game time in which to achieve either of these objectives. The best player's strategies are able to be implemented by WWF for its real conservation activities. Play Rescue the Russian Leopard.

- Poacher Peril: Poacher Peril, the nail-biting game that puts you in the position of an endangered animal and challenges you to pit your wits against a dastardly poacher. The globetrotting chase is on as you and up to three friends try to keep one step ahead of the poacher. Play Poacher Peril

Games for smart phones and iPod applications

- Angry birds: A game that at the price of USD$0.99 has conquered the world, being the first paid application in most of the countries. Clothes, gadgets and even a Hollywood movie are based on the game. As stated in Rovio´s website: “The survival of the Angry Birds is at stake. Dish out revenge on the green pigs who stole the Birds’ eggs. Use the unique destructive powers of the Angry Birds to lay waste to the pigs’ fortified castles. Angry Birds features hours of gameplay, challenging physics-based castle demolition, and lots of replay value. Each of the 120 levels requires logic, skill, and brute force to crush the enemy. Protect wildlife or play Angry Birds!” Now also available on PCs and Playstation.

Environmental related videogames

• The Climate business game: CEO2 is a game that puts players in the role of a CEO of one of four major industries from 2010 to 2030. The game was produced by WWF and Allianz, the latter being a leading global financial services providers. It was developed by LGM interactive. The game offers options to decide the future of the company considering scenarios which include climate change as in important factor influencing the market. http://knowledge.allianz.com/ceo2/en.html

• World Without Oil: The players have to try to deal with an oil shortage and be able to survive. In order to vanish the line between the real and virtual world, gamers have to give personal information to make explicit our dependence on oil (eg. Type of cars used and average miles driven per day). Blogs and virtual forums were developed for people to exchange knowledge and experiences. The aim is to make that “virtual knowledge” become a “real world habit”.

• CityOne: IBM recently announced plans to release “CityOne,” a simulator aimed at giving gamers the chance to “discover how to make cities and their industries smarter by solving real-world business, environmental and logistical problems.” So think of it as “SimCity” with a serious makeover aimed at educating customers, business partners and students. Game missions will deal with stuff like managing strained, polluted water supplies and balancing the city budget. It’s not exactly “Gears of War 3,” but that’s the point. Video games are no longer a mere entertainment medium. You can see some gameplay footage toward the end of this video.

• Power House: This free game from Stanford University, Seriosity and Kuma Reality Games takes things down to the household level. Power House gives you the task of managing the power usage in a game world home and even incorporates your actual home’s utility data if you have smart meter technology such as Google Powermeter or TED 5000. By lowering your real energy consumption below the national average, you earn higher scores. Yep, your home essentially becomes the joystick for the onscreen gaming experience. Players can compete against friends’ households and earn their way onto the nationwide leader board. Here’s the official website.

• Power Planets: This free flash game from the Science Channel is quite addictive. It puts you in charge of a whole planet, where you build cities and power plants for an adorable little race of cartoon people. You can advance through more than 50 technologies and build various commercial, industrial and residential buildings. Will you be content to crowd every inch of your planet with super mansions and oil refineries? Or will you build solar plants, parks and universities? It’s a surprisingly robust game world for a free flash game. Explore it for yourself right here.

• Energy Elf: This U.S. Department of Energy game is just one of several aimed at children. You help a friendly elf fend off the energy-sucking ways of a villainous Power Goblin. In a race against time, you turn off lamps and use natural lighting to protect the homestead.

• Earth hour game: Produced by WWF as part of the Earth hour campaign. You have to run and jump your way along this scrolling game, switching off lights (and collecting points) as you go. Play the Earth Hour Game

• Switch em off: Also from WWF. Basically, dirty power stations are polluting our atmosphere, causing climate change and global warming. Switch them off as fast as possible to save our planet! Available in English, German, Spanish and Italian.

Other games online from WWF (but not very impressive)
• Clean Air Kids - 16 games and puzzles for 5 to 11 year olds
• Conservation / Environmental Issues - Java Games - 5 games by Mr. Bowerman
• Conservation / Environmental Issues Concentration Game - uses conservation terms and definitions
• Conservation / Environmental Issues Flashcards Game - java version
• Conservation / Environmental Issues Flashcards Game - non-java version
• Conservation / Environmental Issues Matching Game - match conservation terms to definitions
• Conservation / Environmental Issues Word Search Puzzle - find conservation terms from definitions
• Dumptown Game - learn about waste reduction and recycling
• Ecological Footprint Quiz - from Earthdaynetwork
• Ecology Strikes Back! - game from The Headbone Derby
• Environmental Science Education Quiz Activities & Games - 29 activities from Syvum
• Global Warming Games - 6 different games from the EPA
• Top 10 Countries - Cleanest
• Top 10 - Places (Polluted)
• WWF Quizzes - 24 animal quizzes