Notes Towards a Solarpunk Game Design - Overview
alxd.org
Solarpunk Game Design Sketch by Scan101 I've always been interested in game design and how subtly it can teach and influence us. It's not only how a given game is constructed on the surface, but also what emergent behaviours it can induce in us - and make us internalize, more or less consciously. I find Solarpunk fascinating as a genre which is connected to - but distinct from - other kinds of climate and science fiction. Its many perspectives are an attempt to balance a big, global narrative of saving the planet and creating a sustainable civilization with a very humane and communal perspective of our way there. I've been working on this blogpost for a year and I see that it's never going to be as comprehensive as I would like to. In the spirit of "done is better than perfect", let me then present you with my Notes Towards - and hope that you find them useful! Game Type Legend V - Video Game B - Board Game / Card Game R - Role Playing Game / Storytelling Game What makes a …

This is a blog post by Pawel Ngei (@alxd@writing.exchange) sharing impressions of the games within the solarpunk genre.

This post doesn’t go into TTRPGs, but it’s a great primer on what is out there. Folks who like Fully Automated! might like many of these.

  • Andy@slrpnk.netOPM
    2·
    3 months ago

    Of these, I’ve only played Half Earth Socialism: the game. I really loved this game. It’s a little basic, and it can sometimes feel a little broken, but it’s fun and educational. As alxd notes, a lot of the games are well-intended, but mechanistically incompatible with their themes. That’s an issue I’ve definitely observed as well.

    I like to see that more folks are trying, though. I don’t expect any of us to get it completely right, but progress is progress. With more entrants, I expect the average quality to continue to rise.