Hot off the press – another powerful tool to help fight climate change and it comes in an unlikely eco-package. Andy Schatz, the 30-year-old owner of Pocketwatch Games, has just released his latest eco-simulation MAC/PC video game - Venture Arctic – an interactive computer game where individuals get a chance to learn about the interconnectivity of the fragile world that makes up the Arctic.
So far the reviews for Venture Arctic have been nothing short of fabulous. We caught up with Andy Schatz (in the virtual world of course), to ask a few burning questions – mainly – can a video game start an eco-revolution?
What is the basic premise of Venture Arctic?
In Venture Arctic, players create and control ecosystems of Arctic animals. You can blow the scent of a beached bowhead whale to a hungry wolverine, melt snow to feed epic herds of caribou, or freeze over the ocean to protect schools of arctic cod from ravenous puffins and seals.
The game is based on the seasonal rhythms of the Arctic – in the summer animals fatten up on grasses, in the fall the oceans are choked with plankton, and in the winter animals must struggle to survive.
Players must balance life and death, sickness and health, and discover the natural rhythms of the animals in one of the wildest and harshest biomes on earth. It’s a broad, epic game, and one that can make kids, and even hard-core gamers, think in ways that they may never have experienced before.
I believe that video games are the most powerful art form on the planet today.
Would you describe your video games as eco-games?
Absolutely! While I certainly have my own political beliefs with regards to an environmental action plan, I try to approach building these games as scientifically as possible. I try to make them fun, simplified simulations of how these ecosystems really work in the wild.
One of my favorite things about working on these games – and this is an epiphany I had while trying to stabilize lion and zebra populations in our first game, Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa – is that the more authentic animal behavior that I model, the more stable these ecosystems actually become. When the behaviors are simple, populations tend to fluctuate wildly and sometimes crash. But the more behavioral complexity I add, the more self-correcting the ecosystems tend to be.
What I hope people take away from these games is not some central message that I try to get across, but realizations and understandings about animals that I hadn’t even thought of. I hope these games make people think about ecology and animal relationships in ways that they don’t normally think about on a day-to-day basis.
It’s funny, I actually believe that the market of people that would like to play a game about animals and the environment is HUGE – just look at how many people watch the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet – the problem is that they just assume that such a game doesn’t exist.
The games we make are completely unique and absolutely appealing to environmentalists, animal-obsessed kids, hard-core gamers, and more.
What does 'enriching entertainment' mean?
The Germans have a word that doesn’t have a direct translation in the English language that seems to apply: ‘bildung’. My understanding of the word is “the enjoyment one gets from enriching oneself”.
The point of that phrase is that these games are not “edu-games”; they aren’t intended solely as teaching devices – they are intended to make the player think about subjects they don’t normally think about. These games are for entertainment purposes, but they raise questions about life and death and our relationships to animals that can enrich the open-minded game player.
My games are talking about a subject no one else has really touched, even other Tycoon Games like Zoo Tycoon. Wild animals and their interrelationships is certainly a subject that many people have an interest in but there are few games that deal with the subject.
What are you hoping to accomplish with these eco-video games?
When I was growing up, I played games that gave me an appreciation for the outdoors, for adventure. That sense of exploring a great and dangerous wilderness that many kids got when they read Lord of the Rings for the first time – I got that from playing computer games in the 80s.
Many of today’s games have lost that grand edge to them, games too often spoon feed everything to the game player; I wanted to make games that left the decisions up to the player, that let them explore and experiment and define their own style of playing. I wanted to make games that would set off their imaginations and link them to the real world, not just some sci-fi battlefield.
My games help to foster an appreciation and a love for the outdoors, animals, and for the complexities and mystery of life on our planet.
Who is the target audience for your games?
While my games sell best to kids, they aren’t intended only for kids. They’re actually intended for anyone with an interest in animals or the outdoors.
Are people interested in games that don't have blood and gore?
Of course they are. Four of the top ten best-selling PC games in history, including #1 (The Sims) and #5 (Zoo Tycoon) – are both bloodless games. Two others are historical titles.
The stereotype that all games are about violence is really not true. And certainly, many games have a positive message for those that love the outdoors. It’s also worth noting that the subject matter that my games talk about – the interrelationships between predators and prey – is replete with blood and gore. I would love to include a bit more realism in my games but I don’t want to scare off the kids and families. In Venture Africa, animals bleed purple flowers.
Does sitting in front of a computer help teach kids about the natural world?
This is a really common question, but it’s also a really ignorant one, if you don’t mind me saying so! You could just as easily say “how does going to a movie theater to see March of the Penguins help foster an appreciation for nature?” It’s true, many video games are time-wasters, but the same is true for TV, movies, and yes, even books.
I would say that the primary way people learn while playing my games is just because the games force them to think analytically about ecological stewardship in ways they may never have before. There are no easy answers for how to create a sustainable world.
...contrary to the message of some environmentalists (of which I consider myself one) – the Arctic will not disappear, but it will change.
But even more important than learning, my games help to foster an appreciation and a love for the outdoors, animals, and for the complexities and mystery of life on our planet. That might sound trite, but it’s true.
One of the biggest fans of these games is confined a wheelchair. I imagine that playing these games gives him a bit of fresh air.
Will simulated worlds be all that is left of the Arctic?
Like many people, I’ve thought long and hard about the effects of climate change. Two thoughts spring to mind. The first is a bit contrary to the message of some environmentalists (of which I consider myself one) – the Arctic will not disappear, but it will change.
It’s not going to turn into a parking lot simply because it is warmer, but it will be vastly different for the animals and peoples that live there today. It’s even possible that some animal populations might flourish in the long run because of global warming. It’s easy to imagine Arctic wolves, or even caribou finding themselves to be unexpected beneficiaries of warmer weather.
Unfortunately, a crash in fish populations due to a squeeze in the temperature bands in the northern parts of the globe, along with other problems created by rising temperatures and lack of sea ice will likely cause catastrophic changes in many unique ecosystems globally. We will look back with regret at how full of riches the world once was.
I should note that while I have done plenty of research and I feel personally connected to the fate of the Arctic, I am not a scientist. I hope I can contribute in some small way towards preserving the Arctic as it exists today simply by helping kids to appreciate the beauty of the natural world we’ve been entrusted with.
Can a video game start a revolution?
I believe that video games are the most powerful art form on the planet today. The interactive nature of games, the fact
that game players make active choices and then see the effects of those choices – be it reward or punishment – means that games can be incredibly persuasive. No other medium is as popular with kids or can be used so effectively as a teaching tool. [Editor's note: There are supplemental teaching materials for Venture Arctic.]
While video games may be a fairly young art form, you can bet the day will come when this art form will be regarded as the most important message-carrying medium in existence.
How did a mainstream developer end up creating green games?
I worked in big-budget video games for about 7 years as an artificial intelligence programmer. While it was a great job (despite back-breaking long hours), I was never satisfied working on the same ole’ retread, rehashed game concepts over and over and over. I had an opportunity to break away on my own, and I decided to work on a game that I was both passionate about and I thought satisfied a market that was painfully under-served.
I think that what you’ll find when you play my games is that the “green” message is not in-your-face, the games are honest portrayals of animals and their interrelationships. I hope this does translate for some, into a love of animals and consequently a desire to protect their environments, but the primary inspiration behind the games is really a childlike love of the wilderness and wild animals.
It’s worth noting that I didn’t start making these games because “green” was trendy.
What have you got planned for the future?
Well, I haven’t announced anything yet, but you should be looking for another Venture title in another unique biome with even better graphics, deeper and more innovative gameplay, and the same sense of freedom and grandeur that is in the first two games. I just started pre-production on it this week, in fact.
Have you ever been to the Arctic?
I have, actually. When I was in Junior High School, I had a pen pal in Sweden. I was lucky enough to travel there for a month in the summer, and we went backpacking north of the Arctic Circle. I remember flat, rocky terrains, mosquitoes, and a lone reindeer eying us from a distant slope. I remember playing soccer in a sub-arctic field until 10 at night, and then going to sleep with the sun up. I remember eating moose meatballs, and fishing in one of the many lakes that dot the Swedish countryside. I’m certain that this experience led me to feel a some sort of kinship with the vastness of the Arctic landscape.
Would you describe yourself as a green guy?
I certainly would describe myself as an environmentalist! I’ve had a strong conservationist streak since I was a kid, backpacking through the Sierra Nevadas with my dad. He brought me up with a love of nature, and an imaginative, exploratory streak that I’ve kept as an adult.
It’s worth noting that I didn’t start making these games because “green” was trendy – I started working on Venture Arctic long before An Inconvenient Truth came out. These games have been a passion of mine because I find animals to be fascinating, and because I love make enriching entertainment for kids. The Arctic in particular is an AMAZING biome; because the food webs are so much simpler than in many areas of the world, the workings of the biome are laid bare. Researching and then creating virtual Arctic ecosystems was like peeking into some sort of metaphysical truth about the rhythms of life.
Pocketwatch Games has been a corporate sponsor of The WILD Foundation for the past two years, giving away about 5% of the income from Venture Africa to help in their mission to protect wilderness spaces in Africa. Andy also works as the Executive Producer of Green.com, an IAC owned website that is an eco-themed website for kids.
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