Research and Science

Operation: Climate Control aims to teach school students about climate change in an innovative and fun way, namely through a computer game. The use of computer games in education is increasingly being recognised as an effective way of engaging the learner with a subject that might otherwise be considered dull or too complex.

To support the assertion that games are an effective way of communicating complicated issues, Red Redemption carry out ongoing research into the reactions their games have on the players.

To this end, we would ask anyone who plays the game to answer the attitudinal survey questions, before and after playing the game, so we can assess any changes in attitudes about climate change as a result of playing the game. The 5 attitudinal statements form part of Defra's ongoing national study of people's attitudes to climate change.

As well as these short attitudinal questions, which are integrated into the game itself, we have set up an online survey which we would like players of the game to fill in after they have played the game. This online survey finds out what players thought of the game and gives an opportunity for feedback.

Since there are bound to be time constraints in the use of the game in a classroom setting, participation in the online survey is not compulsory.

If you are interested in previous research carried out by Red Redemption, you might be interested in Hannah Rowlands' MSc Dissertation, which looked at the effectiveness of our previous game, Climate Challenge, as a tool to communicate the issues of climate change.

Since we hope the game will teach people about climate change, we worked hard to ensure the data within the game was reliable and consistent. We want the player to question this, however, and so we have put together some scientific notes to explain where the data came from, and what some of our assumptions were in creating Operation: Climate Control.