The man-made climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. In every domain, we're forced to question the status quo, and the gaming industry is no exception. On this wiki, we aim to tackle a fundamental question: How can we, as a sensitive and self-reflective community of independent game developers and academics, contribute to shaping a sustainable future for both our medium and our planet? Inspired by the positive utopias of solarpunk, we want to look into a hopeful future and discuss how games might play a positive part in it.

The wiki was part of the Seminar Games for Future v2: Solarpunk (Summer 2024), the Games for Future workshop at the A MAZE Festival(Berlin, 10.05.2024) and ongoing research.

This could lead to a games for future manifesto.

How can game design contribute?

• Unique impact potential What is the unique impact my game should have?
• Storytelling What stories can inspire us or help us rethink a better future?
• Mechanics - Empower Players How do we enable self-determined and humane play?
• Activism How can games change behavior in real life?
• Technology What use of technology enables sustainable play?
• Development How should the production of games change?
• Game Critic What is going wrong in game design and the game industry?

What is already happening?

• Climate Games Games that deal with climate crises, sustainability.
• Game Jams Game Jams that tackle the topic.
• Green Gaming Industry “Green” initiatives in the gaming industry.

Solarpunk sees itself as a counter-movement to the dystopian view of cyberpunk. Through art, literature and media formats, it creates a utopia in which people live in harmony with nature and our planet's resources in a climate-neutral world. However, Solarpunk is more than just a naive vision of the future; it is a movement that focuses on local action and unites supporters from various fields such as design, environmental protection, agriculture, engineering, software development and open source. The vision of a sustainable future should not only be told, but also lived.

“We are solarpunks because optimism has been taken away from us and we are trying to take it back.” - solarpunk manifesto

More about Solarpunk …

The Games for Future Wiki is part of the Games for Futures Seminars at BURG Giebichenstein University of Art & Design Halle.

Seminar: Games for Future v2: Solarpunk (Summer 2024)

• short 5 Minutes Inputs
• Games for Future 2: Solarpunk Pawel Ngei (9.4.2024, vimeo)
• Workshop Konzeptwerk Neue Ökonomie (16.4.2024) / Zukunft für alle! (pdf)
• 5R GameJam (17.-18.4.2024)
• Student projects (in process)
• Games for Future: towards a solarpunk gaming manifest (10.05.2024)

Seminar: Games for Future

• Manifestos
• Open Source, Hardware and Data
• Low Tech
• Permaculture
• Permacomputing
• Ethical Tech
• Media Art Projects

Institutions, links and ideas for forecasting and thinking about the future:

1. Konzeptwerk Neue Ökonomie (Leipzig)
2. Near future Laboratory

Random Link Collections