Gamification and climate changes: a challenge in Minecraft Education Edition

Gamification and game-based learning are innovative approaches used to address climate change by engaging players in meaningful and educational experiences. We make use of Minecraft Education Edition as a tool for teaching concepts related to climate change and clean energy by playing and preventing a critical rise of the global temperature. The game world, a simplified representation of Earth, includes several types of energy-producing plants that are used to sustain the current consumption expected for the start of the game. Initially, non-renewable energy sources dominate, risking planetary collapse if unchanged. The goal is to achieve climate neutrality within a time limit by altering energy sources passing to clean energies and minimizing the impact on the system’s functionality. Using Minecraft Education Edition, players can explore climate changes and the role of non- and renewable energy plants, while learning physics concepts like energy types and temperature increase, making science education interactive and engaging.