I wasn't going to blog about this one, but as I climbed in my car yesterday morning I caught the tail end of Marketplace on my local NPR station. As the show was ending I heard the announcer say "Try our new game, Consumer Consequences (available at http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences/ )
And I shouted out in frustration.
A very nice post had come through on the socialissuegames listserv asking the members to check out this game. Sadly, there was no game there.
In effect, it was a survey of your current lifestyle coupled to a numerical model that shows how many earths it would take to sustain that lifestyle if everyone on the planet lived that way. Now, I do think this is a useful site. It is interesting to see how my lifestyle has an impact on the planet. But the authors of this tool obviously looked at games, said that they make noise, have graphics, and allow people to customize an avatar, and ended there. They never even looked at the core feedback loop that makes up gameplay.
And that is my main issue. The 'game' doesn't encourage playfulness with the topic. The feedback loop exists in one major iteration. That's it! Then give us your info so you can see how you ranked compared with other people who have filled out the survey. (I can't even bring myself to say "played the game.")
Anyway, check it out for yourself and let me know if you think I'm over-reacting or if you agree with me.
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