Pretending to be a wizard or warrior can be a fun way to escape reality. But fantasy role-playing games are also being used to engage young people with real-world problems like climate change.
Brown: “Gaming creates a really cool space for people to actually talk about issues in a way that is less intimidating.”
Marcy Brown coordinates the Gaming for Justice initiative with Mycelium Youth Network, a climate education nonprofit based in Oakland, California.
The group leads online and in-person role-playing adventures with storylines related to climate change.
In one, players work together to infiltrate a toxic potions factory that’s polluting their town. In another, they confront a wizard who planted invasive trees that are making wildfires worse. The adventurers need to decide which steps to take to reduce the danger.
Brown says the stories help get kids thinking about environmental problems in the Oakland area …
Brown: “ … as they’re also swinging swords and casting spells.”
And she says it’s an approach that could be used anywhere to get kids talking about climate change and imagining how they can be part of the solution.
Brown: “Games are a great way to practice visioning because … when we’re in the game space, everything is possible, and we need to be able to dream bigger in order to plan bigger for the future.”
Read: A gamer’s quest to prepare kids for climate change
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
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