Make games, Save the planet

“Make Games, Save the Planet” was an internship program that positioned young people as leaders who engage their communities in shaping positive climate futures. Over three years (Fall 2022-Spring 2025), twelve high school students co-created a narrative extended reality (XR) game about the local impacts of climate change and play tested it with rural and urban communities in Arizona.

2175: The Renewal takes place in a future world called Aridium, which suffers from extreme heat and drought. Most residents use a chip embedded in their arm to receive a daily allotment of water from a powerful water utility. The player – a migrant and new water utility worker – faces challenges, navigates conflicts, and makes decisions that reveal Aridium’s social, economic, and environmental complexity and impact its future. The young people led the game design and playtesting, including its goals, world, story, design and mechanics. They were supported by adults and university students, who served as partners, mentors, and consulting experts. The young people developed into confident, capable leaders as they collaborated to engage their communities on an issue that was important to them. As they conceived of and co-created a meaningful project, they built essential knowledge, skills, and ways of thinking.

Team members

Researchers and mentors: Rae Ostman, Nicholas Pilarski, Nicholas Weller, Eugene Judson, Paul Martin, and Wendy Barnard / CREST.

Youth leaders: Alexis Kelley, Jennifer Mejia Jimenez, Noah Monjaraz, Gouri Nair, Iliana Rodriguez, Jacklyn Rodriguez, Nalani Roza, Jackeline Santiago-Aguiluz, Alex Stephenson, Lian Smith, Samiksha Varahagiri, and Chloe Zhan.

ASU student collaborators: Akanksha Pawar, Faith Popov, Lourdes Rodriguez, Calvin Stanley, and Yannie Szeto.