Empathy – Green Media Mediography

Canopy: Evergreen

While its predecessor, Canopy, focused on the lush, dense tropical rainforest, Evergreen shifts the focus to a temperate forest ecosystem. In a functioning ecosystem, plants and animals rely on each other to survive and reproduce. Evergreen models the interdependence of trophic levels via a mechanical pairing system between the forest habitat and its wildlife. Players

Beyond Blue

Developed by E-Line Media, the creators behind Never Alone in partnership with BBC Studios, Beyond Blue (2020) draws heavy inspiration from the footage and eco-philosophies of Blue Planet II. The game frames its environmental representation through a near-future narrative starring Mirai, a deep-sea biologist leading a small, high-tech research team. Beyond Blue presents a relationship

David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet

“My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future”. The British filmmaker and naturalist, David Attenborough, has devoted his career to educating people about nature and, more recently, the climate crisis. The 2020 documentary David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet weights in on the climate crisis by aiming to subvert the traditional nature documentary

World of Warcraft (Ecological Succession activity)

“Ecological Succession” is a four-week-long activity during which players populate the Oasis with species from Azeroth, help these species thrive through storylines and daily quests, recruit three experts to assist in ecosystem management and earn pets, mounts, and achievements as rewards. This new world activity introduced in Patch 11.2 lets players collaborate with Ve’nari and

Ruth’s Journey

Ruth’s Journey is a short narrative ecogame developed in the Netherlands by Nifty Llama. The game shifts the player’s focus toward observation and documentation of natural phenomena, with bird watching, the core game mechanic, framed as an ‘escape’ from oppressive work experience. The game utilizes photography as the primary interaction method with the environment (rather

Fe

In Fe, your objective is to save the environment from disbalance - teaching an important lesson in interconnectedness and new nature-relationships.

Kelp: Shark vs Octopus

Kelp is a two-player asymmetrical game that offers players a unique opportunity to delve into the natural world of Pyjama Sharks and Common Octopuses, set in a South African kelp forest. Hide and seek meets bluffing and manipulation. Deck builder meets dice bag builder. As players take on the roles of these iconic sea creatures, they

Orchard

Anneliese Farkaschovsky. Art by Walter Matheis. HABA, 1986. 2-8 Players | 10 Minutes | Age 3-6 Anneliese Farkaschovsky’s Orchard is a collaborative game aimed at players aged between 3 and 6. As its name suggests, it is a game about fruit picking. The rule book tells us: ‘The four fruit-trees are full of fruit. The

Forbidden Island

Matt Leacock. Art by C. B. Canga. Gamewright, 2010. 2-4 players | 30 minutes | AGE 10+ Forbidden Island is a collaborative game during which players work together to collect four treasures from a fantasy island and escape before the island sinks under the water. Players take turns moving their pawns around the island, which

Hollow Knight: Silksong

After almost eight years since the original Hollow Knight, the long-awaited sequel has arrived: Hollow Knight: Silksong. Blending Action, Adventure, and Indie elements, it presents a world shaped by detailed, hand-made 2D artwork that gives the game its unmistakable look. You play as Hornet, a former boss and reluctant ally from the first Hollow Knight.

Warframe (Vallis Undermind Expansion)

This entry is still work-in-progress. With the Vallis Undermind expansion, Digital Extremes added a content update to its live-service ‘looter shooter’ game that, while not having an overtly educational or environmental focus, clearly taps into a heightened sensitivity and receptiveness towards human/nature themes in popular culture. Pertinent design choices include:

Herdling

The game invites players to "head out on a grand alpine expedition with a herd of loveable beasts, as you ascend a mountain path, encounter eerie dangers and surprising obstacles, and forge your way to the mystery at the summit".

Grow Wild

Grow Wild is a cozy sandbox style game in which players can discover new plants, find bugs, and watch the world change around them. Players discover the natural phenomena around them and document the different stages of plants and animals throughout the year.

Mission Amazonia

Adapted from BGG: “Mission Amazonia is a strategic deckbuilding board game, in which players are part of a Brazilian team of rainforest protectors. From their headquarters (e.g. Pôrto Velho) they go on different missions north and south of the Amazon to curb the illegal exploitation of the rainforest. The poaching of exotic animal species, the

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a 2023 action-adventure game developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft. The game is part of the Avatar franchise, and was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on December 7, 2023.

Never Alone

Never Alone, or Kisima Inŋitchuŋa, is a game developed in collaboration with native people of Alaska, called the Iñupiat. The game is about a young Iñupiat girl and a fox trying to find the source of a devastating blizzard that is threatening their world.

Out and About

In Out and About, the player character visits their grandmother and learns about the real world plants that surround a mountainside town. A natural disaster strikes while they are visiting the grandmother. In the aftermath, players find a lot of fallen trees and hard-to-follow paths and are encouraged to explore and talk to the people

The Deep Forest

The Deep Forest is a free collaborative mapping RPG game that addresses several themes related to but often not directly associated with the climate crisis, in particular monstrosity, inhabiting non-human perspectives and postcolonial perspectives on human-nature relationships. The game’s website summarizes the premise as follows: “For a long time, our monstrous home was occupied by

Dishonored 2

Dishonored 2 is the direct sequel of 2012 Arkane Studios’ awarded Dishonored. The story takes place a few years past the events of the first chapter, and lets the player take on the role of Empress Emily Kaldwin. Usurped of her throne by the Duke Luca Abele, she embarks on a journey through the southern

Dishonored

Dishonored is an immersive-sim game set in a fictional world that recalls the Victorian Era imaginary. The player takes on the role of Corvo, the Royal Protector and master of spies that is accused of killing the Empress. To redeem his name and save the princess, Emily, he makes a deal with a mysterious demigod

A Plague Tale: Innoncence

A Plague Tale: Innoncence is a narrative-driven adventure game in which the player follows the story of two brothers, Amicia de Rune and Hugo de Rune. Set in France during the Hundred Years War, the game depicts the horrors of war and epidemics, as the title suggests. One of the peculiar features of A Plague

ABZÛ

In the game ABZÛ, the player takes on the role of a diver in a part of the ocean. Without any knowledge on himself, the environment, or the purpose of being there, it is up to the player to discover the secrets of the deep sea. During this adventure, the player will swim alongside all

The Endless Forest

The Endless Forest is a multiplayer online game PC by Tale of Tales, in which players represent deer in a peaceful forest without goals or the ability to chat. Pictograms above registered deer’s heads represent their names. Players communicate with one another through sounds and body language. From the wiki: “During ‘abiogenesis’, every deer runs

Meadow (computer game)

From the wiki: “Meadow is Might and Delight’s latest release; a massively multiplayer online sandbox that allows players to interact as animals would. Described as a ‘forum in games’ clothing’, this online fable experience lets fans – old and new – come together and experience a peculiar world.” With its focus on nonverbal communication, the