Games for Good Q&A with Sir Ian Livingstone CBE

The Green Games Showcase, which took place as part of the recent Summer Game Fest, shines a spotlight on the games that are leading the way in environmental engagement.

The Showcase raised $150,000 to plant 50,000 trees in support of reforestation and the restoration of endangered animal habitats in Timor-Leste, through a partnership with leading local nonprofit WithOneSeed.

As part of the stream, PlanetPlay Ambassador Sir Ian Livingstone CBE, a founding father of the UK games industry and a lifelong champion of ‘the power of play’, joined our host Will Freeman for a thought-provoking Q&A on how games can inspire meaningful climate action…

Will: If you're into games, you've probably heard of Ian. Back in the 70s, he was the co-founder of Games Workshop. He was also the co-creator of those amazing Fighting Fantasy books and the driving force bringing games like Tomb Raider to the world and Dungeons & Dragons to Europe.

I've worked in games for a long time and been lucky to know Ian a little and he's just always been there evangelising for Games Ability to educate, to inform, to make a positive difference to the world.

I wanted to start by asking you, fundamentally, what is it about games that lend them that power to educate that kind of meant them such a great vehicle for educating?

Ian: Well, I firmly believe games are a contextual hub for learning. I discovered that way back in the 70s playing Dungeons & Dragons and seeing how creative that was as a game and how it brought people together – people were improvising, and it was like theatre on the fly. It was a very creative process.

Then I used to write Fighting Fantasy game books. They were the very first branching narrative books with a game system attached to them, where children make choices at the end of each paragraph, set in a world of monsters and magic: turn left, turn right, solve puzzles or roll dice to fight the monsters.

When it comes to video games, you can't get through one without problem solving. It's impossible. Playing a game is an interactive problem-solving activity. You can fail in a safe environment. You're encouraged to try again and not be judged like you are in an examination, which is one moment in time.

We all learn at different speeds and in a game, you can learn at your own pace and try again until ultimately everyone can become a winner. In games like Minecraft, games are effectively a creative tool. Digital blocks enabled players to build wonderful 3D architectural worlds.

In the game, a child can learn contextually by applying the heat of a furnace to silica sand. They'll create glass and they'll use it in their environments. They won't forget because it's learning by doing, albeit in a digital landscape.

RollerCoaster Tycoon is effectively a management simulation. A child can also learn the physics of building the rides, the staffing levels required to run those rides and the pricing levels to make a successful theme park. And if they get it wrong, they can tweak the parameters and ultimately become a winner.

Every part of a game has some educational content. But the beauty is that people have a great time while learning too, so why can't learning be fun?

That seems to go against the traditional thought process inside the Department for Education, where they think that gaming is trivial and learning has to be a turgid, horrible academic affair that bores kids to death.

I think just embrace games because games are powerful, not just for play but in cultural, social and economic impacts on the world.

Will: What motivated you to get involved as an Ambassador for what PlanetPlay is trying to achieve in terms of positive environmental education and impact?

Ian: Obviously, of course, I believe in having a great planet that we can all enjoy and not harm as a result of our activities. But games, again, reach audiences that traditional media can't – plus through games you can gather data and player opinion around subjects like environmental impact.

People who play games do seem to care a lot about the most important topics. I think it's just a great initiative that's been set [by PlanetPlay] to be able to use the power of play and games audiences for good. Let's not forget there are three billion games in the world, again accessing parts of the world where traditional media just cannot reach.

Will: Does making a game with educational impacts mean a sacrifice of its entertainment value?

Ian: Hopefully not, because the game's all about having fun! I don't think any game maker should sacrifice the entertainment value or mechanics of enjoyment to make a product that is purely educational – people will just turn off and say: "I'm not here to learn, I'm here to play”. But in play, you are learning. When we enter this world as children, we learn through play. It's a natural process of learning.

Will: If a developer has got some kind of narrative-driven game, how do they think about the educational legacy of that game?

Ian: Well, you can make people aware of events and issues through a game in context. If it's in context, then it's fine. If it's just thrown in as a “look at this, because it's important”, then you're talking to me and you're trying to direct me in a certain way. I want to have my own opinions. But happily, if the game brings those problems that exist to my attention through the narrative, that's absolutely fine.

Our thanks to Ian for taking the time to support and take part in the Green Games Showcase!

You can watch the entire stream below:

To learn more about PlanetPlay and to support the campaign, visit https://planetplay.com.