How we can change the world with games

zkm_gameplay. the next level. Eco Games | Online conversation


[05.10.2021]


Chris Crawford has been developing computer games since the 1980s
– among others with ecological themes. How important is the topic
for him nowadays and what has changed since back then? How should
games be designed today to be ecologically effective?


Chris Crawford is an American computer game developer and author.
He was one of the best-known game developers in the 1980s and an
early proponent of computer games as an art form. In 1987, he
founded the »Computer Game Developers Conference» – now the »Game
Developers Conference« – one of the world's most important
professional conferences for the computer game industry. In
addition to works such as »Eastern Front (1941)« and »Balance of
Power«, he also designed and programmed the game »Balance of the
Planet«, which is exhibited in the section »Eco Games« in the
exhibition »zkm_gameplay. the next level«


Dominik Rinnhofer – curator of the section »Eco Games« – poses
the following questions for discussion:


What drove Chris Crawford to develop Eco Games like »Balance of
the Planet«?
How can games be used to communicate complex issues?
How should Eco Games be designed today to be effective?
What has changed in the last 40 years in terms of computer games
and ecology?