Tagged: Video Games

Into the Not-So-Wild World of Pokémon

From adorable pets to exotic safaris, the Pokémon universe offers a sprawling jungle gym for players. Writer and gamer Nate Carlin gives a guided tour of what he calls the franchise’s naive ecotopia.

Three smokestacks with black smoke, mountains in the background. Video game still.

Finding Connection and Resisting Extraction in Quarantine Gaming

During the COVID-19 pandemic, video games offered Nat Mesnard and many others an escape from isolation. But the false promise of endless productivity in factory building games like Satisfactory ensnared them in a myth of capitalist “progress.”

What Happens When Gamers Become (Digital) Geoengineers?

Elon Musk’s dream of colonizing Mars may be decades away, but video games allow us to practice geoengineering here and now. Doron Darnov explores how digital terraforming both shapes and reflects our desires for worldmaking at (inter)planetary scales.

A screenshot of Walden, a Game shows a man standing by a boat on the shore of the pond.

The Rise of Green Games

Environmental video games like “Walden, A Game” are a growing trend. Can they creatively intervene in climate change debates and inspire environmental awareness?