Motivation
My motivation to create an interactive game on a blog was to offer a fun and educational way of describing the many disasters we are currently facing, and the potential for these threats to become existential to humanity. I believe it is important to emphasize that existential threats like pandemics aren’t created in a vacuum, so I wanted to prove how many different factors and decisions come into play before deadly viruses, like COVID-19, infect the Earth. Specifically, I try emphasizing that one of the most prominent contributors to the rise of infectious disease and global spread of viruses is environmental devastation. Even though there are other factors that lead to pandemics, I thought it was appropriate to focus on climate change because it is arguably the most pressing issue that humans are currently facing.
Another motivation I had is conveyed in the overarching theme that decisions to ‘challenges’ have severe consequences. Many people who are unaware of the interconnectedness of these threats may deem deforestation, for example, a minor inconvenience, or they may not care at all. However, I hope that as players progress in the game, they come to understand that pandemics are multifactorial phenomena which really can start with actions as simple as clearing a forest. Further, I was motivated to critique government responses to threats. Throughout our class, we have observed the many ways that politicians and governments have failed to adequately respond to threats or make the best decisions on a wide range of issues, from social inequality to nuclear weaponry and war. In this game, I want players to leave with a deep understanding that governments may not always have the best interest in mind when they are responding to severe threats. I want to send a message that major mistakes made by humans and by the government may not be redeemable next time around. The time to force accountability and spark actions to prevent another deadly pandemic is now.
Class Connections
My project relates to class in three ways
Climate
First, I emphasize the many ways that environmental destruction harms not only Earth’s ecosystems but also human lives. I also describe the various ways that capitalistic incentives are currently being valued higher than the planet and people. By focusing both of my pre-pandemic challenges on environmental devastation, I provide a twist to conventional ideas of how climate change will doom us all. For example, while it is widely believed that humans will go extinct in some way related to climate change, many people do not make the immediate connection that environmental devastation can result in a deadly, potentially existential pandemic. I wanted to convey this threat clearly in my game.
Pandemic
Another way my game relates to class is more obvious: the focus on pandemics. Specifically, I try to convey how quickly viruses spread into human populations and infect humans on a global-scale. I also prove how multifactorial pandemics are, and how many decisions before and after a pandemic begins can drastically shift the virus’s outcomes. While I wish I could’ve had the time to incorporate the social inequality and equity problems that pandemics raise, I hope my game at least provides a glimpse of the reality of pandemics, where they may come from, and how many ways human actions can prevent, trigger, or even facilitate the spread of these diseases.
Policy
Lastly, I emphasize the importance of quick and comprehensive policy and government interventions when we are faced with such a crisis, and in my game, I do this by essentially describing where we went wrong with COVID-19. Even before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, nations should have done better jobs of being prepared and minimizing the chances of widespread infection. Using data comparing different countries preparedness and responses, I try emphasizing how dangerous it is for nations to be underprepared, and how in the future, if faced with a more deadly and infectious pandemic, this inaction could pose grave, existential threats to humanity.
Implications
My game is suggestive of the fact that humans have agency to prevent, solve, or create existential threats. By emphasizing the vast implications of every decision a player makes, I try conveying that real people are making decisions that are putting humans in these situations. For example, I try creating a sense of urgency around the severity of climate change, but I also allow the player to realize that by choosing one option over another (which may not appear so serious), they are actually capable of slowing climate change and substantially helping the planet.
Further, it is more important now than ever to spark passion around all these threats and build coalitions of people who are fighting to solve them. There seems to be a deep disconnect between scholars and scientists who document these threats and ‘everyday people’ who may be more oblivious, but could be great assets to the mission. The scientific community has not done the best job in conveying these problems in a way that creates urgency, nor have they adequately tried recruiting people to be a part of movements to mitigate these threats. For instance, growing up I always heard that climate change was happening and that we should reduce, reuse, and recycle to ‘do our part’ to help the Earth. This message was incredibly ineffective, as recycling is not going to stop governments from deregulating environmental protections, stop the rise in ‘natural’ disasters which are expressly linked to climate change, or create mass movements that fight back against lobbyists and businesses promoting environmental injustice.
Will an interactive game on a blog accomplish these things? Alone, it’s unlikely. However, my project, along with other interactive technologies and games, has the potential to be accessible on large scales. Because most people would rather play an interactive game than read a research paper, interactive mediums of information allow more people to become aware of the severity of the threats we are facing, and that is the first step in every revolution. Human beings have the power to fix the problems that we’ve created, but unless more people become invested in these issues and begin movements to save ourselves and our planet, we will not be able to bind together to create widespread solutions, and humanity may truly be doomed.
Click On Earth to Enter the Game
go play!
Have fun and always remember that in life, there is no “try again” button.
Choose carefully…The fate of the world is in your hands…
Bibliography
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