Using digital mobile games to increase the support for nature conservation

Digital games are an increasingly dominant form of digital entertainment with billions of players globally. While most of these games have a commercial focus, fields like public health and education have seen a growth of “serious games,” which aim to solve real world problems. In the context of biodiversity conservation, mobile games have been controversial, with some raising concerns around the way digital channels risk replacing the very nature they portray, therefore deepening a “nature-deficit disorder.” We ran a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of the mobile game “Kākāpō Run” on pro-environmental behaviors amongst a cohort of 200 participants in New Zealand. Kākāpō Run was developed by a UK conservation charity, and aims to increase the support for Kākāpō conservation, as well as to increase pro-environmental behaviors linked to Kākāpō conservation. Study participants completed a 10-minute questionnaire before spending 1 hour playing their assigned mobile game over seven days. This was monitored by asking participants to share screenshots of their app usage for the duration of the experiment. After this, all participants re-took the questionnaire. We found a positive impact across some knowledge and attitudes questions, behavioral intentions linked to willingness to volunteer time and support policies aiming to remove invasive predators, as well as manage pet cats actively. However, we found no change in willingness to donate or actual donations. This research showcases both the potential of mobile games for conservation outreach and marketing, and the importance of rigorous impact evaluation. We call for conservationists engaged in designing and promoting mobile games to approach game design and evaluation in a more research-centered way to help develop an evidence base around the intended and unintended consequences of game playing. This mainstreaming of gaming science across conservation will be critical to allow mobile games to realize their potential as a leading communication channel.