Oiko! Mission Planet Rescue, is a narrative gaming system, played in a household environment that aims to teach children, ages seven and up, how they can protect the environment, by recycling and reducing consumption of natural resources. In the game, electrical switches, bath taps, and trash bins are transformed into sites for play, helping children to model ways of saving water, energy and recycling. Procrastinated
These ideas are linked to a narrative within the game that invites kids to explore and protect the environmentally damaged planets of a young galactic prince named Oiko. In the story, Oiko loves collecting planets but unfortunately, over the years pollution in the galaxy has wiped out nearly all of his world. Once thriving with life, his planets are now left without sun, water or trees. Desperate for help, Oiko has asked three ‘trainers’ from the techno-galaxy to come to his rescue. The ‘trainers’, that take the form of playful electronic gadgets, will coach with players throughout the course of the game. They will teach children how to harvest enough resources to restore all of Oiko’s planets.
Oiko comes in a house shaped box that one can purchase online or through a retailer. The package contains a storybook that takes children through the narrative as well as a short version of the rules of the game, a set of thirty planet cards and three electronic trainer gadgets that are installed in the different rooms of the house. Additionally, in the package one can find a guidebook for the parents, including a longer version of the rules, detailed instructions on how to install the gadgets and a quiz with funny questions about the environment that parents can ask the children after play.
This project aims not only to raise awareness in relation to how our actions affect the planet, but also to foster ideas of active learning in order for children to construct meaning around developing habits that lead to an ecological way of thinking. Play requires that children act within a role, given to them within the context of the game. The story of Oiko is designed to engage children in acting within such a role. They are asked to perform certain activities within the game, in order to fulfill their role as Oiko’s rescuers. Those activities are the core mechanic of the game. Through this main interaction that happens while they are playing, children are introduced to a systemic way of thinking that applies to environmental causes. They learn that we are all connected as parts of a chain, as parts of a system.
