Oceans and sea creatures: A role-playing ocean literacy game

Here, we propose the development of a “serious game” aimed at Norwegian children which aims to develop children’s sense of wonder for the ocean through understanding ocean science, as well as a sense of ownership of the ocean. The serious game to be developed will be tailored to Norwegian ocean science specifically, with real-world examples of species, concepts, and situations directly coming from the Norwegian context (e.g., the poor ecological health of Oslofjord, the cold water coral reefs in Trondheim fjord). Concretely, the game material will be composed of a colourful and engaging booklet outlining different potential story lines with a “decision tree” outlining different outcomes based on user choice as well as a 6-sided die (that can be re-appropriated from another game such as Yahtzee). This game will be a role playing game in the style of “Dungeons and Dragons”, a popular role playing game that takes users through a “quest” through interacting with a core story and other players. The game, like Dungeons and Dragons, will also involve an interactive element of luck and user choice-which changes the path of the story for all players. Children will choose different ocean-related roles that will be colorfully named to begin the game (“sea ranger”, “marine explorer”, “oil tycoon”). The initial prototype will be one story that takes students on a semi-scripted journey co-developed by the game developers and research scientists. In the story, users will interact with consequential decision making and face outcomes of their decisions in the story (for example, a “marine explorer” may decide to venture deep in Trondheim fjord and encounter a Greenland shark-or decide to not venture in the deep water of the fjord and see nothing). By assigning roles, the game aims to give players a chance to develop empathy for ocean stakeholders while also simulating the consequences of decision making that has a negative consequence for the health of the ocean.