By Kate R.
Posted on Aug. 16, 2009. Listed in:
A small New Zealand company has devised an interesting and new way to spread the word about climate change. Aware that many people are confused by complex climate change literature and science, Chameleon Island Ltd has devised a range of interactive games tackling the tricky subject.
Duo Oliver Chikumbo and Leonie Hooghart believe their games can educate the public about climate change mitigation, in a fun and interesting way.
Their website calls the games a “mix of edutainment (games primarily focused on educating or training the player) and infotainment (games primarily focused on informing the player on a particular topic)”.
The core story running through all the games centres on ‘Chameleon Island’, a habitat populated by chameleons, which have a highly technical and developed way of life. This sophisticated lifestyle becomes threatened as they learn of the dangers caused by the ongoing build up of greenhouse gasses.
The games tell how they devise a plan, in the form of the Climate Change Bill, to reverse their fate by cutting down on carbon emissions.
Chameleon Island recently released their first batch of games on Home Energy Use, which cover topics like: Introduction to energy efficient appliances, Energy rating systems, Carbon tax, Subsidies and the Emissions trading scheme.
These games were put on trial at Lynmore School in Rotorua. The children had a great time playing games like starMaximiser , providing the game’s creators with tonnes of positive feedback. 
The games were also a hit with the older students at John Paul College. Here students commented that the games were “heaps of fun”, “ absolutely great” and well worth buying!
Currently Chameleon Island is working on their second part of climate change games called Speedy Green. These games look at transport and clean fuels, emission levels and oil. There are also The New Energy games in the pipeline, which have an industrial focus.
This innovative company has had expressions of interest from a regional council, a sustainability advisor at Victoria University and Meridian Energy. In fact, Meridian Energy liked the concept so much they purchased $5700 worth of games with the intention of promoting them for the next year.
It’s great to see an entertaining enterprise prepared to tackle the ins and outs of a puzzling and complex subject. What’s even better is the fact that the games are interactive and a hit with the kids- so we should be seeing a new climate savvy generation ready to take care of our planet!
Editor’s note: If you would like to learn more about these great games, check out the Chameleon Island website, you’ll find heaps of information online.
Happy gaming eco-warriors!
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Photo two- courtesy of Leonie Hooghart- Alex and Hamish playing Low Carbs
