El día después: El diseño de un videojuego para comunicar sobre los recursos naturales

Abstract

This research–creation project arises from the need to explore new communicative strategies to effectively convey to young people the importance of caring for natural resources. To this end, a video game is designed and developed that, through playful experience and narrative, meaningfully communicates the importance of natural resources and their preservation. At the same time, the project seeks to demonstrate the meaningful learning that emerges from understanding the role of graphic design in communicating and raising awareness through this type of narrative among users and within their environment, thereby fostering social change in terms of generating awareness about the care of natural resources. For its development, a mixed-methods methodology was implemented, combining documentary review with the collection of original data, integrating a creative process consisting of user-centered design, narrative construction, prototyping, and iterative evaluation of the video game. The proposal is primarily aimed at young people between 18 and 20 years of age in the city of Bogota, although its scope may extend beyond this group. The outcome of the process was the development of a functional prototype set in a “post-human” world or a neo-civilization, which serves as a metaphor for environmental impact and the need to rebuild the relationship between humanity and nature. The meaningful learning outcomes obtained show that design, when integrated with narrative and gamification, can function as a medium capable of communicating complex issues and creating connections with the audience beyond an aesthetic component.