Age of Ecology

 

By United States Geological Survey  (High school student summer internship)

Student Category

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2008 Best Serious Game Student Category

 

Skills and Ideas Taught:  Complexity of ecosystems, sustainability, mitigation of natural hazards.

Goal or Challenge:  Players act as regional planners to make as much money as possible within a given time from agriculture, fishing and industry in a world subject to natural hazards without creating an unsustainable environment.

Primary Audience:  High school and college age students.

Assessment Approach:  The game has a built-in score system that keeps track of the mission goals as well as any ROE infractions.  At the end of a mission, this information is displayed to all of the participants of a mission.  There is also an event capturing system where a screenshot of the game is captured of a player at the moment they commit a ROE infraction.

Description:  In Age of Ecology, players buy land, zone it for a purpose (natural, agricultural, cities, levees, fisheries) and invest in the productive capacities of the land uses while mitigating natural hazards (floods and earthquakes).  Players act as regional planners to make as much money as possible within a given time limit.

Game Engine:  Adobe Flex

Operating System:  Windows

Platform:  Personal computer

Special Hardware:  None