Jeremy Clarkson may not be rushing to play it but a new climate change "game" looks interesting. Climate Change 2010 is a turn-based affair that gives you control of the earth. The downside is that all the consequences of your actions are accurately modelled over the 200 virtual years of game time. Dr Myles Allen, a climate change specialist from Oxford University, has been bought on board to make sure everything is realistic. He seems keen:
Providing science for games is a new field for me but public engagement with the issues surrounding climate change is vital and videogames are a great way of reaching millions of people.
While it is unlikely to reach "millions of people" – it would need to be renamed Grand Climate Change Warfare 2010 to even have a fighting chance – the game will certainly add some variety to the PC release schedules later this year. Whether it will be much fun to play remains to be seen. Real-life global threats can form the basis of good games – C64 owners may remember the rather marvellous Theatre Europe – but will Climate Change 2010 have the same impact?
Ian Roberts from the developer Red Redemption argues that the accurate data is key to the success of the game.
Accurate real-world data is used in many videogames. Take a motor racing game, you need to know how a car responds when a player brakes or turns too sharply. A climate based game is similar but you can't test drive the climate. So we needed the expertise of a real scientist. That's why Dr. Allen's input is so important.
What do you think then? Tempted to try this? Or is it just too depressing to even get started with?
