If instead you'd prefer a game grounded in reality, then visit through July 15, to do your part to improve the environment. Ectopia, from independent games studio Talkie, is an effort to demonstrate how online games can create positive change in the real world.
In this eco-friendly heroes-versus-villains Facebook adventure, Ecotopia players begin with a dirty, uninhabitable environment and must generate resources by completing immersive in-game missions. Resources are then used to develop a sustainable city that players can customize to create their own utopia. Players also can connect with their Facebook friends, sending gifts to each other and visiting neighboring maps to perform helpful actions. Showcasing a feature new to social gaming, players are heavily rewarded for performing real-world acts of sustainability and incorporating them into their Ecotopia gaming experience. Talkie has stated that if Ectopia players plant 25,000 trees in-game in 25 days or less, Talkie will plant 25,000 trees in the real world.
And this November, 2K Play and Nickelodeon will be offering kids new virtual journeys of discovery with a full slate of games focused on learning and fitness. Dora the Explorer will groove to the music with her Nickelodeon friends. Team Umizoomi will make their mighty math gaming debut and Dora & Kai-lan’s Pet Shelter will focus on kindness to animals. The goal of 2K Play's video games is to use adventure themes to encourage active play and the development of important social skills and cognitive learning. Sounds like a re-imagining of the old-fashioned summer road trip.
