Video games and ecology
Post-mortem of two old projects and a discussion on the ecological impact of video games, both as an industry and as a medium.
30 September 2024 — Goulven CLEC'H
A bit of context before reading. I met Aurélien & Erika in 2017 when we co-founded Game Dev Alliance. Even though we were never as active and serious as this project deserved, I can’t emphasize enough how much I’m proud of what we did together and how big of a part of my life it was.
During five years, we organized small game jams online, managed a game-dev Discord server, published an open-source tutorials website, and build a 30 000 subscribers Youtube channel… Now that we slowly took our distances from the project, I think it’s time to look back at somes of those works. And to share them with you.
Today, I will use two projects we made together between 2020 and 2023 to talk about the ecological impact of video game. One of our YouTube videos, and a video-game prototype we made for a school project. Both trying to answer the question: How can video games contribute to a better climate?
Are video games eco-compatible?
Climate change is an issue that concerns us all and—naturally—it’s been a hot topic in recent years. However, with politicians vying for votes, companies polishing their public image, and experts proposing radically different solutions… it can be challenging to distinguish facts from fiction, and even harder to understand how to make a real difference.
Digital technologies, with their metals, screens, and blinking gadgets, seem to be a disaster for the environment… And many public figures seize this opportunity to blame new technologies for climate change, often without a clear understanding of their actual impacts.
That’s why we addressed this subject in our video. What is the environmental impact of video gaming? Would it be better to stop buying consoles? Is cloud gaming a risk for the future? And how can video gaming reduce its impact or at least contribute to environmental awareness?
Don’t worry if you don’t speak French or aren’t familiar with ecology—this article will cover everything, updated with the latest research, and start from the basics.
Impacts as an industry
Environmental impacts are diverse, but today we will mainly focus on climate change.
First, because of its urgent and widespread effects: Every degree of global warming forces millions to migrate, increases food insecurity, intensifies resource conflicts, and threatens more ecosystems.1
Second, because climate change is driven mainly by fossil fuels consumption, also one of the main cause of air pollution2 and resource mining3. So by focusing on climate change, we target a central problem that links to many other environmental challenges, while simplifying the discussion.
Climate change is caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, the most important of which is CO2. We emit CO2 when we produce energy from living materials, such as burning wood or biomass, or from ancient living materials (fossil fuels), like coal, oil, and natural gas. The latter three are the main problem because they contain carbon that has been locked away for millions of years and is now being quickly released into the atmosphere.
How to mesure?
While we don’t burn coal in our homes every day, nearly everything we use and do contributes indirectly to CO2 emissions. Take your gaming console, for example. From its raw materials extracted from mines, it was produced in energy-intensive factories, transported by truck to your doorstep, and every day it runs on electricity generated by a power plant. All these indirect energy consumptions are very hard to visualize, and their impact even harder to quantify.
That’s where Life-Cycle Assessments (LCA) come in. This method helps us evaluate an object’s environmental impact from production to disposal. We can quantify the amount of GHG it emits, expressed in grams of CO2 equivalent, and also gather lots of other useful information such as the amount of metals used. These analyses also address other forms of impact, such as water pollution or land use.
Thanks to these analyses, we can now compare the impacts of video gaming / digital technologies to the total emissions of our society, giving us a clearer picture of their role in climate change. More importantly, they help us understand where these impacts come from, and how we can reduce them effectively.
Digital technologies impacts
In France, digital technology accounts for 2% of CO2 emissions. A Senate report projects this figure could rise to 7% by 2040,4 but only if emissions from the digital sector grow by 60% while all other industries manage to reduce their emissions as planned under the Paris Agreement—an optimistic scenario, to say the least.
To delve a little deeper, 81% of its emissions come from the manufacturing and use of devices. While many of these devices aren’t produced in France, they are made for France, and thus contribute to our national carbon footprint. Meanwhile, 14% of emissions stem from data centers, and only 5% from the network.
France has a unique advantage: we are one of the few countries with low-carbon electricity.5 Our electricity emits roughly 8 times less CO2 than Germany’s, and 18 times less than Poland’s.6 That’s why, unlike many countries, most of the digital sector’s impact here comes from the transportation and manufacturing of devices, with relatively low emissions from our networks and data centers compared to global averages. In fact, 70% of France’s digital emissions occur abroad, often in regions with more carbon-intensive energy.
Keep in mind that low-carbon electricity can significantly reduce the environmental footprint of digital technology, that might be a potential pathway for the future.
Video games industry impacts
While it’s challenging to find precise data and reliable sources on the specific environmental footprint of video gaming within the digital sector, we can still get a rough idea through a few indicators.
When it comes to devices, which are the main source of pollution in the digital sector, gaming consoles have a relatively low impact compared to other electronics. This is primarily due to their small number, with 15 million consoles in France, compared to 98 million smartphones.7 Lifespan also plays a role: while a console generation typically lasts 7 years or more, a smartphone’s average lifespan is just about 2 years.
Globally, consoles are responsible for 37 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, which represents only 0.026% of total digital emissions.8 Even PC gaming, which is more energy-intensive, consumes around 75TWh annually—equivalent to just 0.003% of global energy production.9
It’s worth noting that even as consoles become more powerful, they don’t necessarily consume more energy. In fact, over the last three generations, it’s often been the opposite. For instance, Nintendo has consistently improved energy efficiency since the Wii,10 and Sony’s consoles, starting with the PS3, have become more power-efficient while delivering better performance.11 And this should continue in the future, with System-on-a-Chip (SoC) manufacturers like ARM and AMD making energy efficiency a top priority.
Even for data centers, video gaming has a relatively minor impact compared to video streaming, which accounts for 60% of internet traffic.12
Let’s be clear: the environmental impact of video gaming is relatively low within the digital sector, which itself is not the biggest concern. However, instead of thinking « let’s go, we can do whatever we want! », I believe there are two more thoughtful approaches we could adopt…
How to reduce those impacts?
The first approach is to recognize that, while video gaming may not be the most pressing issue, it’s the one we are directly involved in. As developers or players, it makes sense for us to start here and ensure that gaming evolves in the right direction…
To achieve this, the priority is to push for low-carbon electricity and an electricity-powered industry, as this would greatly reduce the overall impact of gaming, from the consoles production to our Fortnite sessions. This means continuing to develop and modernize low-carbon energy infrastructure in countries like France, and promote this model in countries that produce our devices. And we need to stop dodging the issue, as some big tech companies do when they claim to be « carbon neutral » through accounting tricks like green energy contracts.
Low-carbon electricity goes hand in hand with digitalization. While data centers do consume energy and have an environmental impact, they can still replace more polluting physical practices. For example, downloading a game from an online store emits less CO2 than purchasing a physical Blu-ray game, and also uses significantly less metal and plastic. For games over 10 GB, Sony estimates that it would take 200 hours of gameplay for a disc to have a similar carbon impact as downloading.13
Predicting the ecological impact of cloud gaming is challenging. Like video streaming, it will likely put heavy demands on data centers… However, by pooling hardware resources, cloud gaming could reduce the need for individual high-powered consoles, optimizing energy consumption while making gaming more accessible.14 That said, as of today, Sony estimates that downloading a game has a lower carbon footprint than cloud gaming after just 3.5 hours of gameplay.15
Whether it’s for cloud servers or our old devices at home, we also need to prioritize recycling. While the tech industry isn’t the largest consumer of mined materials, it still plays a significant role, especially with rare earths. While they are—despite to what their name suggests— quite abundant,they are very difficult to extract, often in countries with poor labor conditions, and are rarely recycled.16
Lastly, our devices should last as long as possible. This involves fighting against planned obsolescence, but also maintaining long console generations—which is great news for game developers! A well-optimized game is likely the result of experienced developers who’ve mastered the technology, which suggests a studio where teams had the time to work properly, without the extreme crunch that often leads to burnout and high turnover.
Impacts as a medium
Another approach worth exploring, how video games can contribute to environmental awareness?
Traditionally viewed as entertainment—akin to sports—video games have gradually gained recognition as a legitimate artistic medium. While they’ve tackled personal, philosophical, and societal issues, the theme of ecology has remained surprisingly underexplored for a long time.
A few poor examples
Historically, games with environmental themes have been simplistic and moralistic. Early examples, such as Captain Planet or Super Mario Sunshine, portrayed a black-and-white world where malevolent industries threatened a utopian nature filled with flowers and cute animals… waiting for the player to save the day!
Even today, some games are labeled “eco-friendly” simply for showcasing beautiful landscapes. While these experiences can be refreshing, offering a welcome escape, and perhaps stirring a bit our environmental guilt… They often lack the depth and complexity to foster a meaningful discourse—or worse, deliver messages entirely disconnected from reality.
Stardew Valley is a charming game, especially in co-op with a loved one. However, its story of a city-dweller becoming a farmer overnight, single-handedly feeding a village while manually watering crops, and defeating an evil mega-corporation with hand-planted turnips… bears little resemblance with farmers realities, nor the true ecological challenges the profession faces. While this isn’t an issue for a lighthearted fiction, it does raise questions about the way the game has been praised.
In a completely different style, we can also look at Satisfactory. While the game features many challenges for nuclear power—requiring you to manage nuclear waste and avoid deadly uranium radiation—it encourages the burning of coal and oil by the thousands of tons without any real consequences. This quickly glosses over the fact that these fossil fuels are major contributors to climate change and pollution, which kills millions of people every year. It’s evident that the developers are reflecting more on their fears than addressing real ecological issues.
A lot of good examples
Thankfully, it must be acknowledged that more and more game are addressing those issues, in many different good ways.
One example is The Climate Game, developed by The Financial Times and Infosys. This text-based serious game lets players simulate the impact of various policies on climate change. It’s a great demonstration of how video games can simplify and democratize complex topics.
Even a idealized representation of ecosystems can be a tool to raise awareness on their preservation—like in Never Alone, with their mini-documentaries about Artic wildlife, or in Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, through the eyes of a mediterranean kid. Even without directly addressing the causes or solutions.
Certain specific topics, like climate-induced migration, are starting to appear in games such as As Far As The Eye, a small indie game from Montpellier. Behind its charming fictional setting, the game addresses an issue that is still too rarely explored in post-apocalyptic genres, which tend to focus more on health or military disasters.
Another post-apocalyptic game, Terra Nil is a city-building game where players must restore a barren wasteland to a lush ecosystem, before dismantling all their infrastructure, leaving the land untouched. The gameplay is a fresh take on the genre, and manage to both show the terrible consequences of climate change, and offer a hopeful vision of what could be achieved.
Finally, ecology becomes a background theme in many mainstream games. For example, it’s increasingly rare to see games allowing to exploit natural resources without consequences. In Factorio, the difficulty increases with pollution, and in Civilization 6 — Gathering Storm, players can face climate disasters and rising sea levels.
Some ideas for the future
As scientific research advances and becomes more widespread, we can hope to see more video games directly addressing major environmental challenges. As an example, let’s consider the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions in France by sector, see if you can find a few ideas for games:
For the industrial sector, the primary challenge is to move away from fossil fuels in favor of low-carbon electricity. Buildings are another major contributor, responsible for 15% of emissions—over half of which comes from heating—improving insulation and replacing gas and oil heating systems with modern technologies are key steps forward. Agriculture is also critical, accounting for 19% of the emissions, with half of that coming from the overconsumption of meat and dairy products. Finally, transportation makes up 33% of our emissions, with road transport being the primary culprit. To reduce these impacts, we could expand public transportation, shift freight from roads to sea or rail, and produce smaller, more energy-efficient vehicles.17
It’s clear that most of these challenges are societal, not just a matter of individual choices. This is where video games can make a real difference—by using science fiction, fantasy, or utopian settings to imagine more sustainable societies. Alternatively, through dystopian or post-apocalyptic scenarios, help us visualize the consequences of climate change if we fail to address these issues.
Of course, not every video game needs to focus on ecology, nor deliver a deep moral message with scientifically precise solutions. But if more games start addressing these issues, and a few make the effort to align with scientific understanding… then video games can proudly claim they are contributing to a better future!
A practical case study
In 2023, during the second year of his educational engineering’s master, Aurélien was tasked with creating an educational game on Unity. I came to help and we decided to revisit the theme of ecological transition, to represents its infrastructure challenges in a fun and educational way.
Initial concept
Our idea was to create a city-building game where the player manages the energy supply of a small town. You start on a grid-based map with a few houses, some surrounding nature, and a dark top bar showing the current energy demand—still supplied by fossil fuels. During a certain number of turns, you must outphase these polluting sources and replace them with clean energy, while keeping the lights on.
But unlike many games, you couldn’t simply rely on a few wind turbines, and oversized unrealistic batteries. For every intermittent source, like wind or solar, you’d need to balance the grid with a constant energy source, such as hydro, biomass, or nuclear. However, these reliable sources are more expensive, take up more space, take longer to build, and come with their own challenges. This approach teaches players the complexity of energy systems, and the importance of a balanced mix of sources.
To spice it up, we added three local actors, each presenting specific challenges the player must address to win. These actors also serve as a (gentle) critique of some misguided approaches towards climate change.
- The activist. He is well-intentioned but sticks too hard to his positions, regardless of whether they are right or wrong. Respect his constraints if you don’t want to make the headlines on social media!
- The banker. An ambitious energy transition project? This adventurism does not reassure him… unless you meet his financial guarantees of course.
- The politician. She thinks the energy transition is cool, but what she would find even cooler is if you fulfilled the promises she made during the election campaign!
Technical concerns
The game was developed with Unity, as it was required by the school, a free game engine that is widely used by small and medium-sized studios. One of the best thing about Unity is its big community, which provides a lot of resources, tutorials, and assets. This is a great advantage for beginners, as it allows them to quickly learn and prototype their ideas.
We used Git for version control, and hosted our project on Github. This allowed us to work together remotly, and to keep track of our changes. Github also provides a lot of tools for project management, such as issues and pull requests. Finally, we used Notion to keep track of our tasks, to write our design documents, and save our research.
For the visual assets, we used Go Green by Edward Tapia, a collection of free illustrations that fit perfectly with our theme. For the locals, we used Open Peeps by Pablo Stanley, a collection of free character designs that we customized to fit our needs. Finally, we used Sofia Sans by Yves Peters, one of the rare sans-serif fonts that doesn’t bore me.
The game itself is a finite state machine called GameState, with three states: titleState for the main menu, idleState when the game is waiting for a player input, and placingState when the player is placing a building. GameState also manages the current level and grid, the player’s money and gain, the characters challenge…
A finite state machine is a great way to structure a game because it allows you to model complex behavior in a clear and organized manner. By breaking down the different states of your game and the transitions between them, you create a system that is both predictable and easy to maintain. It will save you a lot of headaches compared to a loop with an hell of if and else.16
We also used extensively Unity’s ScriptableObjects, assets used to store data independently from scenes and GameObjects, allowing centralized data management and easy sharing across objects. Characters, CellType, PowerSource, Structure are all ScriptableObjects. But also Map, which stores one level’s grid and help us initialize it. A Map stores a Title, an initial Money & Gain value, a target PowerGauge, but also a list of CellType for each collumn of the grid.17
Power Up!
We named the game Power Up!, and you can play it for free on itch.io, directly in your browser. It’s in French, but the gameplay is quite intuitive, with few texts.
This prototype embark the complete first level of the game, and a second incomplete level.18 It’s obviously far from perfect, but it should give you a good idea of what we were aiming for. We hope you’ll enjoy it!
In addition to the features we didn’t have time to fully develop, we envisioned many others to add complexity to the gameplay. These include managing network infrastructure, dealing with different seasons, and introducing bonuses related to electrification or reducing energy consumption. We also planned to add a “teacher mode”, where educators could access informations and resources to support their students’ gameplay sessions.
I’m proud of the prototype we created, even though it’s far from the work needed for a fully developed game… More than an illustration of some ideas from our 2020 video, this game will remain a cherished memory of the great adventure we had with Game Dev Alliance.