Going Green with Bob

Inspiration

In the community that we live in, climate change is not an acknowledged issue. Many people are completely ignorant of the drastic effects it has on our society. On the other hand, the people who are aware and educated about the issue feel hopeless due to their belief that they lack any ability to make an impact. However, their concern is simply untrue. Every individual is capable of contributing towards mitigating climate change. The first step is simply making people aware of how their decisions affect the climate.

What it does

We developed a game that portrays a day in the life of “Bob,” a fictional character who many users can resonate with. Bob’s morning routine consists of multiple situations where the user can impact Bob’s choices, affecting his daily carbon footprint. The game depicts how specific decisions that the majority of people make in their daily lives affect climate change via their climate footprint.

How we built it

We used MIT App Inventor, an application programming interface, to develop this game. Together, our team created an interactive app that lets users impact Bob’s daily life to be more sustainable. We implemented a carbon emissions tracker that tracks how much carbon output is reduced from the user’s input, showing the value of making eco-friendly choices.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was forming an idea for an app that would effectively communicate the impact of everyday choices on climate change in a fun and interactive way. In addition, we faced the challenge of using a carbon emissions tracker and accurately calculating how much carbon dioxide was reduced. Additionally, since MIT App Inventor has some limitations since it is a very high-level programming language, we had to find unique ways to work within its constraints to allow the game to function smoothly.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of many things completed during this hackathon, like fully developing a game that spreads awareness around our community relating to climate change and also implementing a working carbon emissions tracker that represents how much small choices alter the environment. In addition, working through all of the technical challenges in the code and improving our programming was very impressive, especially since we are only high school Freshmen.

What we learned

We learned the importance of breaking down a big issue, one that seems unlikely for the average human to have an input and can be affected based on someone’s daily life. We never knew that simple, everyday tasks could have such an impact on our planet.

What's next for Going Green with Bob

We plan to expand the game by adding more scenes beyond Bob’s morning and afternoon routines, such as his habits after his nap. In addition, we want to introduce more interactive elements to the game by giving detailed feedback to the user for each decision for further education on the effects of small choices. Additionally, we hope to share Going Green with Bob to a wider audience by improving its accessibility and possibly launching it on multiple platforms. By spreading awareness and encouraging sustainable habits, we aim to make a real impact in the fight against climate change. As we stated, small choices, BIG impacts.