Mother Nature
Find out about our project, Mother Nature. The project includes Mother Nature: EcoDash, a mobile game co-designed with young people around themes of climate change and sustainability, and Mother Nature XR, an immersive extended reality experience that has been presented to audiences at SXSW Texas, V&A Digital Design Weekend and Birmingham Tech Week.
Bringing Mother Nature to life
Mother Nature is a multi-platform project focusing on sustainability. The project includes Mother Nature: EcoDash, a mobile game (iOS and Android), and Mother Nature XR, an immersive extended reality experience.
Mother Nature is innovative because it gamifies environmental data to promote climate justice, which in turn encourages behaviour change. The game de-centres narratives around the history of science and innovation, foregrounding a strong Black female avatar as the lead protagonist who calls on players to take part in spectacular missions to combat the climate emergency. It is aimed at a primary target audience of global young people aged 12 to 25.
Working with Young People
We have been working with Powered by CAN, a youth project in the Black Country. Together, the team of girls helped to design aspects of the game including the themes, characters and style of the game.
Aged between 11 – 18, the girls attended weekly sessions where they worked in two groups to shape the mobile game identity. We also invited STEM ambassadors in collaboration with STEM Learning UK, from various industries to the sessions, and the girls were able to gain valuable insight of future STEM careers and pathways into them.
In addition, we worked with Warwick E-Sports and a group of 6 – 14 year old boys which contributed to game level designs and character development.
Powered by CAN
We have been excited to work with Powered by CAN as they do fantastic engagement with young people through sport, art and technology. It was important to create a game designed with young people, for young people.
STEM Learning UK
This project is made possible with essential funding from STEM Learning. Dedicated to empowering young people with the skills and knowledge to thrive through effective teaching and learning, their funding has enabled BOM's partnership with Powered by CAN.
Collaborative Character Design
The BOM team were excited to work with Powered by CAN, where they have shaped much of what we see in the game, from the Mother Nature character to the villains. The most notable villain which they co-designed is Smog, and they feature prominently in the mobile runner game. It’s been fantastic to see characters and ideas develop through our workshops.
Taking inspiration from their drawings, our team were able to craft 3D designs and bring their visions to life, expertly created by BOM’s 3D Modelling expert, Gurvinder Bisran and then developed by our XR Developer, Laura Pincombe.
V&A Digital Design Weekend
2024 was our 6th time at the V&A Digital Design Weekend and we created some exciting digital assets which were experienced at the event. We shared an early prototype of the mobile game and VR experience.
The girls designed a number of villain characters, including Toxicus and his evil henchmen, the Toxiees. Smog, Decay and Litterbug, which the BOM team expertly crafted into reality. Currently, Smog is the main villain who chases Mother Nature in Mother Nature: EcoDash.
The Mobile Game
Run, rescue and restore in a fun, climate change-themed adventure game. Mother Nature: EcoDash is an endless runner game with Mother Nature taking centre stage. The player embarks on an exciting journey with Mother Nature as she runs through city and jungle environments.
The aim of the game is to run as long as possible but there are obstacles in the way!
As Mother Nature runs, the player will be faced with obstacles to avoid as well as being chased by Smog, a villain who is polluting the air. Keep the pollution levels low as indicated by the smog meter to keep running.
The player can rescue endangered animals which are released when the player reaches the rainforest environment, which is accessed via a portal. Here the animals will be released in their natural habitat. Alongside the animals, there are also power ups to collect which will help the game, such as shields and magnets.
Available to download on Android and iOS.
XR Experience
Mother Nature XR is an action role-playing experience where players journey through fantastical landscapes in a race against time to uncover dark truths and restore the balance between nature and humanity.
Building on the themes and characters introduced in Mother Nature: EcoDash, the XR experience immerses players in richly detailed environments shaped by environmental challenges and opportunities for positive change.
Mother Nature XR has been presented at South by Southwest (SXSW), Texas, V&A Digital Design Weekend and Birmingham Tech Week, engaging audiences with an immersive exploration of climate justice, sustainability and collective action.
Credits
Director: Taran Singh
Producer: Karen Newman
Mother Nature: EcoDash is a project supported by:
