The Renewable Energy Escapade
The year is 2015, and Hoenn has just signed the Parip Agreement, committing to reducing its carbon emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2030. In The Renewable Energy Escapade, the player assumes the role of a politician heading the renewable energy transition in a hypothetical island-state, making decisions to keep within the given budget, maintain their position in office, and achieve carbon emission reduction goals.
This game is optimised for browsers of width 12.5" and above. It is highly recommended for Chrome to be used to ensure the best graphic experience. For a slower version that is more compatible with Safari/Firefox, click here.
The Renewable Energy Escapade was created for my undergraduate capstone project in 2021. Please reach out to me if you would like to view the accompanying written report, or just to talk more about the project!
Special thanks to the Yale-NUS Environmental Studies department for making this project possible, and to Professor Ben Wainwright for his invaluable guidance.
Illustrations by Crystal Low
Contact me: Email
Comments
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I tried out the game (many times) and just wanted to say its so cool and well done!! I really enjoyed it!
I read your comment in the comment section and I think you definitely achieved what you intended to! The scenarios are also very realistic and reminded me the ways in which the "simple" path to cleaner energy isn't as straightforward as it seems. Kudos for the excellent work! The illustrations are very well done and humorous too, good stuff Crystal!
wow this is pretty cool stuff. was randomly clicking around the net and didn't know what to expect, but i ended up learning a fair bit. i didn't realise that problems would arise from implementing some of these "solutions". guess this renewable energy stuff isn't as straightforward as i previously thought it was, having to balance budget and the impact on diff communities and even the environment x_x thanks for making this game, looking forward to more of your creations!
I've now run through this game at least 30 times, and have never gotten to the 20% goal. Throughout all of those attempts, the single most consistent ending I've gotten is the 'low popularity' ending.
In my opinion: It's near impossible to get the good ending.
Nearly everything that you'll do will inevitably reduce your popularity, and by significant amounts. In order to get to the 20% goal, you'll be forced by the goal itself to construct:
Solar panels are out of the question; The cost overruns for alternative materials are way too expensive, and ignoring the dilemma eats away at your popularity.
The main problem: The initial popularity given is too low, and the popularity costs for each dilemma is too high. Resolving either one of these problems will make the game significantly easier.
Post-comment edit: Attempted 5 more times, and got the victory(?) screen on the last attempt. Critique still stands though; The semi-randomization of outcomes within the game makes it less meaningful when you win and more infuriating when you lose, as it denotes that your strategy wasn't the thing that helped you to succeed, it was your luck instead.
Hello! Firstly, thank you so much for taking the time to play this game and write this comment.
I hear your point that the game is near impossible to win, and that is exactly my intention in creating it. I wanted to parallel real-life environmental decision making, and reflect how difficult and frustrating this decision-making can be. I guess this makes it unlike a “traditional” game where the sole purpose is to reach the “good” ending, but rather where the purpose comes more in the process. I agree that I could have made this clearer, but did not want to provide a “spoiler” of sorts - do you think you would have played the game differently if this was made clear in the game description?
Additionally, the semi-randomisation and luck in the outcomes was meant to show that there isn’t an obvious or consistent solution or path to victory when it comes to implementing renewable energy developments. Luck and unpredictability reflects our shortcomings in accounting for all factors in real-life scenarios - we can calculate every cost and predict every response but it can only be so accurate.
Also regarding the solar panels: there is actually a 50% chance that you get a scenario that is not about pollutive materials, and hence you would not have to spend the extra money on alternative materials! It is hence possible to win with a solar plant, though as explained about, it does depend on luck.
I am grateful for the time and effort you spent on this, and would be happy to chat about this more if you’re interested (my contact details are in the description if you want to take this off the comment board)! Thank you again!