Global Change Games: Civilization VI: Gathering Storm

This event is part of the Global Change Games series.

Through the use of fictional scenarios, games help us explore and reflect on the challenging and sometimes frightening problems we face. In this series we will livestream gameplay and discuss how climate change games help us understand and grapple with the diverse and interrelated problems resulting from rapid global change.

Civilization VI: Gathering Storm explores the impacts of a changing planet on our civilization, and the effects of our civilization on Earth systems. Hurricanes sink ships at sea, dust storms sweep across the deserts and choke nearby cities, and blizzards in Russian terrain impede invading armies. There are strategic resources that can be burned for fuel—Coal, Uranium, and Oil—but also alternative options such as Geothermal energy, Wind Farms, and Solar Farms.

In this event, Research Librarian for Business, Education, & Data Literacy Shaun Bennett will play the game and talk about how its fictional scenarios can help players grapple with our real-life civilization’s existential challenge of climate change. He will be joined by Dr. Christopher Galik, Associate Professor of Public Administration at NC State and a public policy analyst whose research focuses on climate and low-carbon energy policy.

This event will be streamed live from our Twitch page. Anyone can watch the livestream, and if you have a free Twitch account, you can send your questions and comments in the live chat. Recordings of past streams are available on our YouTube page after the event.