The United Nations Digital Transformation Team UNEP announced the finalists and categories of its yr Planet Prize Game.
With the support of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Playing for the Planet Alliance was launched in 2019, with major studios including Sony Playstation, Microsoft Xbox, Supercell, Ubisoft and Unity. In 2022, six more studios joined the initiative, including Pan African Gaming Group, Humble Bundle, Gameloft, Gamigo, Ohbibi and Sumo Group.
The alliance was created to encourage the video game industry to cut back emissions and encourage gamers to develop sustainability awareness and engage in climate motion.
UNEP has also prepared a climate change survey that is sent to gamers through Playing for the Planet’s partners among gaming corporations.
“We did the Green Game Jam awards last yr, but we never did the full spectrum of awards. So we have evolved from last yr and we have also added some categories,” said Sam Barratt, head of youth, education and advocacy at the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and co-chair of the UN Sustainable Higher Education Initiative (HESI). , in an interview with GamesBeat.
New awards include a champion award for someone doing great work. Other recent awards include Goal-Driven Games, Change Makers and a Technology Award.
“This event is not just for Green Game Jam participants, but also to highlight that there are other good things happening outside of the jam,” Barratt said. “Taken together, it draws attention to the overall cause. We’re attempting to build a recent cultural approach in studios where people think that purpose in games is not something exotic and seasonal, but at all times present.
When it involves video games, Barratt said the medium is unique in its ability to interact, its ability to activate, and its ability to tie gaming themes quite deeply to real-world impact.
Barratt said what surprised his team this yr was that some studios were doing it with such intention, consistently delivering games with environmental sustainability themes or activations. Many titles focus on scientific accuracy.
“I think the caliber and quality of some of these potential winners is by far the best we’ve seen,” he said.
And consider it or not, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is on the list. (He was nominated for his use of the Xbox Sustainability toolkit, which resulted in an average 4% reduction in power consumption for tens of hundreds of thousands of Call of Duty players worldwide. These savings were realized not only on Xbox platforms, but also on PC and PlayStation. Practically speaking Taken together, this energy savings is enough to power a small American city for an entire month).
The variety of organizations focusing on the gaming industry and players, working to guard the environment, is growing.
“From the UN’s point of view, I think it’s really positive that many more people are showing interest in working in this industry. However, I believe it is important for the industry to support it in achieving its goals. We are happy to cooperate.”
Category finalists
Below is a list of categories and finalists.
Award chosen by UNEP’s Digital Transformation Team for the activation that best addresses real-world motion on food, waste and/or renovation. The nominees are:
- Coal Island
- Legends of Dragon Mania
- EverForest
- June journey
- Sky Farm Island
- Media selection
Selected by a panel of gaming media professionals, the award is for an activation that excels in engaging players to learn about a topic through great storytelling and/or thought leadership.
- Hay day
- June journey
- Love and cakes
- Orna: fantasy RPG and MMO GPS
- PUBG mobile
- A call to motion
Selected by representatives of the International Game Developers Association Climate Special Interest Group, a group of changemakers in the gaming industry. This award is granted for activation that best uses motivational techniques to build the foundations obligatory for motion, in accordance with the series of workshops.
- Farm 3
- The Adventures of Klondike
- Love and cakes
- PUBG mobile
- Sky Farm Island
The Trailblazer Award recognizes activism that breaks away from the established order. It gives an unexpected wow effect.
- Farmville 3
- June journey
- Love and cakes
- Orna: a improbable RPG and MMO GPS game
- PUBG mobile
- Newcomer
Awarded to the best activation by a game that has not previously participated in Green Game Jam.
- Farmville 3
- Connect the residence
- New World
- Orna: fantasy RPG and MMO GPS
- PUBG mobile
- Spirit of Jam
An award for a studio that lives and breathes the values of Green Game Jam: cooperation, sharing best practices, working in one team and supporting other studios.
to be determined
Player’s Choice is the award that received the most votes from players throughout the activation period in September.
- Hay day
- June journey
- Love and cakes
- PUBG mobile
- Best eleven 2024
Google’s Choice Award is open to participants whose games are available in the Google Play Store, chosen by representatives of all Google teams.
- Legends of Dragon Mania
- Farmville 3
- GamePoint Bingo
- The world of hungry sharks
- Subway surfers
The best goal-driven game is a goal-driven game* that is engaging, impactful, and effective in achieving its goals. The UN group defines “goal-driven games” as games that focus on an environmental theme (e.g. climate, nature, pollution) and are designed to supply engagement with those topics as a primary goal, moderately than as a by-product of pure entertainment.
- Beecarbonization
- Crab God
- Fathomverse: Explore the Depths
- Valley of the Long Leaves
- Monument Valley 3
The best green activation. Green Game Jam encourages the development of green activations and supports studios in their implementation. However, naturally, many studios build green activations throughout the yr outside of the fundamental program. This category goals to have a good time those activations that are not a part of the Green Game Jam but still deserve recognition as excellent work.
The UN group defines “green activation” as an element added to a game or related platform (e.g. social media) intended to interact a live game’s audience on an environmental topic. An eco-activation might be anything from a time-limited event, to a recent level, to a marketing campaign.
- Crab God
- Minecraft – Frozen Planet II
- Minecraft – Microsoft x C40
- Minecraft – UNESCO partnership in the field of environmental education
- Minecraft – Urban Miner
Best Green Tech is the game that has most effectively integrated energy efficiency optimization into its games. Recognizes efforts that have made a positive impact on the environment without significantly compromising the game experience or compromising gameplay fidelity.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
- EAX
- For Honor
- Moonwakers: Episode 01
- Ultra
- Changemaker Award
This award recognizes the studio’s collective efforts to integrate eco-friendly practices, raise environmental awareness and collaborate with others to encourage positive change in the gaming community.
- Chaos theory games
- Mojang Studio
- Rare games
- Terragami (Terragami Interactive GmbH)
The Champion Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated excellent leadership in the gaming industry regarding environmental sustainability.
- Galina Fedulova
- You are Jennifer
- Judah Over
- Laura Carter
- Nico King