Sir Tony Robinson, star of Blackadder and veteran presenter of Time Team, has told Sky News he wants the message of climate change to be less about doom and gloom and more hopeful.
“I’ve been frustrated for quite some time about the way we talk about climate change,” he said.
“It’s like there’s nothing but doom and gloom.
“We might as well just suck our thumbs, sit in the corner and wait to die.”
Sir Tony, who has made several documentaries about climate change, was speaking to mark the launch of video game Floodland, a survival title set after a climate-induced apocalypse.
The city-builder forces players to contend with environmental challenges as humanity attempts to survive after a catastrophic flood wipes out most of the population.
‘We can’t be paralysed into inactivity’
Sir Tony said that games are a way of reaching a generation that has become prone to climate anxiety, and showing them there is still hope for the future of the planet.
“I was looking for pieces of culture that would discuss these really serious things but do so in a creative and even optimistic way,” he said.
“I think it’s very important that we don’t just teach children that climate change is so awful that they should be paralysed into inactivity.
“There is some evidence that some children are starting to think that, but we mustn’t teach them that.
“We’ve got to teach them about the positives – and where better to teach them that than on their screens?”
Read more:
Can gaming make us go greener?
The impact of flooding is seen throughout the game. Pic: Vile Monarch
‘The biggest issue facing the planet’
Floodland’s developer Vile Monarch chose the city-builder genre to complement the game’s message.
“The idea of the game was to make you feel constructive,” said writer Alexandre Stoganov.
“A lot…
