Students design games for sustainable future

At the event, the young game developers presented their works to the client parties: the Library of Utrecht, the Regional Development Agency (RDA) and the Social Impact Factory. They showed them how the advantages of games can be applied as a tool for sharing information and stimulating behavioural change.

Central to each game is the city of Utrecht. ‘They demonstrate that there are various ways to merge game design with the actual future of a city’, explains Joost Vervoort (UU). Students created games that addressed themes such as community building, water management, fast fashion, immigration politics and urban waste management.

In the game ‘Water You Using?’, the player learns everything about water management, by playing with water and choosing which of its purposes should get priority. Will the player prioritise local residents being able to shower, or should the cows get water to drink first? The game ‘Under Our Wing, you get to see the city and its residents through the eyes of a pigeon. HKU Games student Max Weijers: ‘It was interesting to work together with people from Utrecht University, and are very satisfied with the resulting game Under Our Wing.

The games are all collected and published on the platform itch.io. Many of them can be played in English.