Lumino City is a BAFTA award-winning puzzle game that addresses the topic of renewable energy. The game represents renewable energy as a functional necessity within the gameplay. To progress, the player must learn how natural forces like wind, water and the sun can be harnessed to power a small community.
For example, in one early puzzle, players must repair a waterwheel to restore the flow of energy using hydro-power.The ‘repair and reuse’ principle and the transition from a ‘throwaway culture’ to a (more) circular economy are another recurring aspect. Lumino City is built on the idea of tinkering with existing structures rather than building new ones. Players frequently encounter broken systems like a rooftop garden irrigation system or a wind-powered elevator that require rearranging and repurposing parts rather than buying new ones.
The city is presented as a vertical, modular environment rather than a sprawling concrete jungle. It reflects the ‘solarpunk’ aesthetic in that nature and technology tentatively coexist. The puzzles often require players to understand how one part of the city affects another, emphasizing systems thinking. For example, many puzzles involve the Handybook, a massive in-game manual that explains how objects like solar panels or gears function and how they can be used to solve puzzles. This encourages practical environmental literacy. A (para)social aspect is added through the protagonist, Lumi, who helps neighbors solve resource-based problems. However, Lumino City does not touch upon complex and possibly ambivalent political critique but instead may foster an appreciation of sustainable design and the ingenuity required to live in harmony with a finite environment.
A final but very evident and unique aspect of the game is its graphical assets created using physical models, handcrafted using paper, cardboard, and miniature lights, which reinforces the ‘crafts’ ethos that aligns with environmental literacy and (often) ecological identity. Moreover, the visible paper/cardboard construction reflects a biodegradable, tactile world that creates a connection between digital and analogue sensibilities.