1
Development and Evaluation of an Android
Game in Raising Awareness of Climate Change:
Your Decisions Matter
Centro Escolar University, School of Science and Technology
Eloriaga, Dan Michael A. and Flores, Joever Joseph C.
Research Adviser: Engineer Crystalynne Cortez

II. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Abstract—The purpose of this research was to raise awareness
of climate change and find out if a mobile game can be an effective
tool. To evaluate the effectiveness of “Your Decisions Matter” to
raise awareness of climate change, it was tested and evaluated by
fifty (50) first year college students of School of Science and
Technology of Centro Escolar University. The first phase of the
evaluation procedure was to determine the level of awareness of
the respondent. Significant findings suggest that most of the
respondents are aware of climate change and that most of the
respondents are also aware of the school’s programs and efforts to
raise awareness of climate change but chose not to participate in
any of the programs. The second phase of evaluation procedure
was to test the developed mobile game “Your Decisions Matter”.
The third phase was to evaluate the game in terms of its userfriendliness and effectiveness. As concluded by the respondents,
the developed mobile game was an effective tool in raising
awareness of climate change.
Keywords—climate change, mobile game, Centro Escolar
University, School of Science and Technology
It may not be seen nor be felt but the invisible force that is
threatening the life of all living creatures is real and is
happening in all four corners of the world. Climate Change, as
people may know it, is taking place. With this in mind, the
researchers envisioned the game.
Your Decisions Matter is an interactive game that
enlightens the current generation to act and save the world no
matter how little that act of morality is. The game features
different scenarios that have a time limit and could test the
user’s knowledge, and ability to think and to decide.
During the course of the game, the player will be given
specific scenarios about environmental issues that come with
important choices. The outcome of the player’s decision will be
revealed by the end of the game. The game also featured tips on
how players themselves can reduce the effects of climate
change. The game was created using Unity game engine and
packaged as an Android application, available for Android
devices.
III. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
I. INTRODUCTION
T
HE United States Environmental Protection Agency
confirmed that global warming is mostly caused by human
interference, specifically the release of the excessive
amount of greenhouse gases (Karl et al., 2014). Greenhouse
gases warm the Earth by absorbing energy and slowing the rate
at which the energy escapes to space; they act like a blanket
insulating the Earth (EPA, 2015).
Since the start of the industrial era (about 1750), the
overall effect of human activities on climate has been a
warming influence. The human impact on climate during this
era greatly exceeds that due to known changes in natural
processes, such as solar changes and volcanic eruptions (Forster
et al., 2007).
The main target of the study was to educate the youth
and help them realize that their decisions matter to help reduce
climate change through the use of a mobile game by showing
the possible environmental effect of each decision they make in
a certain scenario.
The study aimed to develop and evaluate an educational
Android game that will educate, inform and raise awareness
about the effects of actions resulting to climate change.
Specifically, it aimed to answer the following:
1. What is the level of awareness of the respondents about:
1.1. climate change?
1.2. environmental programs of the school?
2. What is the perception of the respondents about the use of
mobile games to raise Climate Change awareness?
3. How would the respondents evaluate the developed game
in terms of:
3.1 user-friendliness?
3.2 effectiveness as a tool to raise awareness of climate
change?
IV. RELATED STUDIES
A study from University of San Jose in Cebu revealed that
the temperature and sea water level are slowly rising according
to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change first
2
assessment report in 1990. The price increase of goods brought
upon by calamities has affected the Philippines’ economy. This
has aggravated rural poverty and has lowered living standard of
the vulnerable group. Destruction of natural resources has made
the people prone to disasters especially those residing in lowlying and coastal areas. The government has been formulating
policies like the creation of mitigating laws in response to these
problems. These include the R.A 9729 or the Philippine Climate
Change Act of 2009 and R.A. 9003 or the Ecological Solid
Waste Management Act of 2000. However, effective
implementation of these laws has become a challenge for the
government because of people’s lack of awareness. The
researchers suggested that an effective mitigation plan must be
formulated and effectively implemented supportive to
sustainable development (Bendijo et al., 2012).
A study in Columbia University entitled “Public
Understanding of Climate Change in the United States” showed
a widespread consensus that climate change was occurring
among scientists, while the awareness of climate change was
still far less prevalent among the general public in countries
such as the U.S.. Given that many policies to mitigate climate
change rely on public support and engagement in order to
succeed, it is important to understand factors that shape beliefs
about climate change among the people, especially the children
who represent the future. Studies have been conducted for
understanding people’s ideas of global warming and
environmental education (Weber et al., 2011).
A research conducted in Bronx Community College revealed
that students found a direct connection between themselves and
the issue of climate change and how it can impact their future
lives (Mazzatenta, 2008).
While in Dokuz Eylül University in Turkey, a research paper
entitled “Senior Secondary Indian Students' Views About
Global Warming, and their Implications for Education”
conducted a quantitative study based on a questionnaire to
determine senior secondary students' views about how useful
various specific actions in reducing global warming might be,
and their willingness to undertake these various actions. The
findings indicated that this cohort of Indian students exhibited
high levels of concern about global warming and a willingness
to act to reduce it. Individuals’ informed lifestyle choices may
help reduce global warming, but they do need some
understanding of this phenomenon and the factors that
contribute to it. Therefore, there is a significance of showing
relative knowledge in an appropriate manner. For
understanding how to enhance learning experience of
environmental education, feedback from students suggested
they prefer live presentation and engagement, among other
interactions (Chhokar et al., 2012).
Computers these days are very important as a medium for
learning, that is why, a study entitled “Comparing the Effects
of Mobile Computers and Traditional Approaches in
Environmental Education” emphasized that environmental
educators who compete for attention and face new challenges
in an age of mobile devices, have begun to explore the
opportunities that mobile computers may offer in supporting
environmental learning experiences. The study investigated the
impact of a mobile guide system on different parameters of
environmental literacy in comparison to traditional instruments
of environmental education (i.e. brochure, human guide)
(Ruchter et al., 2010).
According to a study by Yang Research Group in Purdue
University of Indianapolis, a detrimental effect on learning
when social elements are used in educational video games is
possible. The chain of causality is as follows: social elements
in a game increase cognitive load, cognitive load can heighten
flow state, and heightened flow state can interfere with
knowledge acquisition. The authors did not expect to discover
this relationship and present it here for further consideration and
analysis by the game-based learning community. The pattern, if
further validated by empirical research, has the potential to
disrupt many assumptions under which researchers and
practitioners of game-based education operate (Chen et al.,
2013).
V. METHODOLOGY
A. RESEARCH DESIGN
Descriptive research method was used in this study to
accurately determine the level of awareness of the participants
in the study.
Developmental research method was used to translate the
design and concepts into an interactive game.
Experimental research method was used to discover more
ideas and evaluation fresh from the end-user.
Survey method was used to a number of fifty (50) first year
college students from School of Science and Technology from
Centro Escolar University in Manila.
B. SOURCES OF DATA
For this study, the researchers conducted a survey for fifty
(50) first year college students from School of Science and
Technology of Centro Escolar University to answer the
questionnaire. This was done to test the hypothesis.
The data were gathered from the results of evaluation using
surveys completed by the respondents/testers of the game.
C. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE USED
Purposive sampling technique was used to come up with fifty
(50) first year college students from School of Science and
Technology of Centro Escolar University as respondents for the
study.
In order to compute the Mean and Standard Deviation, the
researchers used the formula as shown in Figure 1:
Fig. 1 Formula Used to Compute
the Mean and Standard Deviation
3
D. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT USED
A game about climate change awareness was developed prior
to survey for evaluation of its effectiveness. The questionnaire
used was composed of three (3) main parts:
Part 1 included the questions regarding climate change
awareness and the programs of the school. Five questions were
given answerable by Yes or No. This was interpreted using
Frequency Distribution Table.
Part 2 included the questions regarding the perception of
the respondent regarding mobile games as a tool to raise climate
change awareness. Five (5) questions were given answerable by
Yes or No. This was also interpreted using Frequency
Distribution Table.
Part 3A included the evaluation of the game in terms of its
user-friendliness. Part 3B included evaluation of the game in
terms of its effectiveness. Both interpreted using a table that
display the Mean, Standard Deviation and the verbal
interpretation of the answer. The Mean was interpreted to
verbal interpretation as follow: 4.5-5 – Strongly Agree, 3.5-4.49
Agree, 2.5-3.49 Neutral, 1.5-2.49 Disagree, and 1-1.49 Strongly
Disagree.
E. DESIGN OPTIONS AND MATERIALS USED
To accomplish the study, the researchers used the following
applications and tools: Adobe Photoshop CC, Unity Game
Engine 5.1, Unity Monodevelop, and ComiPo. For the
hardware: a Graphic Tablet.
Unity is a cross-platform game engine developed by the
company Unity Technologies. It is used to develop video
games for PC, consoles, mobile devices and websites.
MonoDevelop is
an integrated
development
environment (IDE) supplied with Unity. An IDE combines the
familiar operation of a text editor with additional features for
debugging and other project management tasks.
Adobe Photoshop is graphic editor and was used to render 2d
and 3d model and add texture.
ComiPo is a free software for rendering comic characters. It
was used to create comic style characters.
Graphic Tablet is a Computer input device that enables a user
to hand draw images. It was used similar to the way person
draws images with a pencil and paper. It was also used to create
models and possible scenario for the game interface.
Figure 2 shows the interface of the developed mobile game,
Your Decisions Matter. Your Decisions Matter was evaluated
by fifty (50) students from School of Science and Technology
and was concluded to be an effective tool in raising awareness
of climate change.
Fig. 2 User Interface of Your Decisions Matter
VI. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
TABLE 1. LEVEL OF AWARENESS OF THE
RESPONDENTS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE
CLIMATE CHANGE AWARENESS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Have you ever heard of Climate
Change?
Do you know that Climate Change
makes the Earth warmer?
Do you know that humans are
mostly responsible for Climate
Change by extracting and burning
fossil fuels such as coral or
petroleum?
Do you feel that the pattern of
weather is generally changing like
sometimes it is hotter outside than
normal?
Do you know at least one of these
strange weather occurrences?
It snowed in Sahara Desert
An Island called Sandy Island near
New Zealand is now gone
It rained fishes in Sri Lanka
Wildfires are common in country
sides of Australia
F
(yes)
41
P
82%
41
82%
41
82%
41
82%
27
54%
Table 1 Question 1 shows that forty-one (41) out of fifty (50)
or eighty-two percent (82%) of the respondents answered that
they have heard of Climate Change. Question 2, 3 and 4 yielded
the same result. While on Question #5, only 27 of the
respondents are aware of the given specific strange weather
events that happened the past few years.
TABLE 2. LEVEL OF AWARENESS OF
RESPONDENTS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE
CLIMATE CHANGE AWARENESS
F
P
PROGRAMS OF THE SCHOOL
(yes)
1. Does your school sets up outreach
28
56%
programs like tree planting and clean
up drive program?
2. Do you had a chance to participate in 20
40%
one of those programs?
3. Have you attended a school seminar
27
54%
that discussed Climate Change?
4. Does your school provide a garbage
43
86%
segregation system?
5. Have you been asked to bring old
28
56%
newspapers or used plastic bottles
for recycling?
Table 2 shows that majority of the respondents were aware
of the school’s programs to promote environmental
awareness but the number of respondents who were able to
participate was significantly low.
4
TABLE 3. PERCEPTION OF
RESPONDENTS OF MOBILE GAME AS A
TOOL IN RAISING AWARENESS OF CLIMATE
PERCEPTION OF MOBILE GAME AS
A TOOL TO RAISE CLIMATE
CHANGE AWARENESS
1. Mobile games can be used to raise
awareness about Climate Change.
2. The use of a mobile game is
capable to attract the attention of
students to be interested about
environmental issues like Climate
Change.
3. A mobile game regarding Climate
Change is beneficial for me.
4. The knowledge learned regarding
Climate Change from a mobile
game can be applied to real life.
5. A mobile game can change my
attitude or behavior towards the
environment.
CHANGE
F
(yes)
P
42
84%
40
80%
38
76%
45
90%
44
88%
Table 3 shows that majority of the respondents perceive that
mobile game can be an effective tool for the following: to raise
awareness of climate change, attract attention of students to be
interested about environmental issues like climate change, to
learn regarding climate change and to change attitude towards
the environment.
TABLE 4. EVALUATION OF USER-FRIENDLINESS
OF THE DEVELOPED GAME
“YOUR DECISIONS MATTER”
STATEMENT
Mean
S.D.
V.I.
1. The game is
3.96
0.67
Agree
enjoyable.
2. It is simple to use.
4.2
0.78
Agree
3. It is fun to play.
3.84
0.76
Agree
4. It is informative.
4.28
0.76
Agree
5. I am satisfied with
4.12
0.75
Agree
the game.
Average
4.08
0.74
Agree
Table 4 presents the evaluation of the game in terms of its
user-friendliness. The scale of the respondents’ evaluation was
verbally interpreted as “Agree” with an average of 4.08. The
average standard deviation of 0.74 means that the data points
are closely clustered around the mean and that most of the
respondents voted four (4) or “Agree”.
TABLE 5. EVALUATION OF
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE DEVELOPED
MOBILE GAME “YOUR DECISIONS MATTER”
STATEMENT
MEAN S.D. Interpretation
1. I am more aware of
4.08
0.78
Agree
Climate Change now.
2. I now understand
the importance of taking
4.08
0.78
Agree
good care of the
environment.
3. I will now help the
3.86
0.88
environment in any
Agree
simple way I can.
4. I am now interested
in
helping
with
4.0
0.97
Agree
environmental issues.
5. I should strictly
follow the rules to keep
4.02
0.85
Agree
our environment clean
and green.
AVERAGE
4.0
0.85
Agree
Table 5 presents the evaluation of the game in terms of its
effectiveness. The scale of the respondents’ evaluation was
verbally interpreted as “Agree” with an average of 4.0. The
average standard deviation of 0.85 means that the data points
are closely clustered around the mean and that most of the
respondents voted four (4) or “Agree”.
VII. CONCLUSION
The developed mobile game, “Your Decisions Matter” was
an effective tool in raising awareness of climate change as
evaluated by the respondents.
VIII. RECOMMENDATIONS
More mobile games to promote awareness of climate change
should be developed to attract the attention of everyone
especially the ones who are not aware that each of their actions
might be causing the current state of the environment especially
Climate Change.
The following are recommended for future enhancement and
improvement of the mobile game.
1. Save button for Story Mode
2. Additional time for Trivia Mode.
3. More/Different stories for Story Mode.
4. Develop an iOS version.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Immeasurable appreciation and deepest gratitude for the
help and support are extended to the following persons who in
one way or another have contributed in making this study
possible.
5
Engineer Crystalynne Cortez, their research adviser, for
her support, advices, guidance, valuable comments,
suggestions, and provisions that benefited them much in the
completion and success of this study- who gave her love, care
and shelter in doing this study. For sharing her knowledge and
help with the analysis of data and its statistical computations.
Dr. Teresita Mijares, Ms. Abegail Lajo, Engineer
Jennifer Santos, Dr. Elizabeth Ayo, Dr. Thess Albufera, Mr.
Felipe Aguilar, Mr. Raymond Peralta, Engineer Jose de
Chavez, Ms. Haidee Valin and Dr Rosemarievic
Bustamante, the experts who validated their survey
questionnaires, for the support, valuable comments and
suggestions that benefited them much in the completion and
success of this study.
Tristan Paulo Hamili, Japhet James Sta. Rita, Charlene
Adaya and Renz Louie del Barrio, who gave courage and
confidence to the researchers at times they need help to carry
out proper research process.
REFERENCES
REPORTS/RESEARCHES
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Philippines: The Effects And Challenges To Its Economy,
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Chhokar, K., Dua, S., Taylor, N., Boyes, E., Stanisstreet, M.:
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PERIODICALS
Chen, Y., Oxenrider, M., Whittinghill, D.: How the Social
Element in Game-based Learning Can Interfere with
Learning Outcomes: An Examination of the Research
Literature. In: World Conference on E-Learning in
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Dan Michael A. Eloriaga
was born in Tondo manila on
August 21, 1989. He interned
at Loud Panda Interactive as a
Game Master in the Summer
of 2015. He is expected to
finish his degree in Bachelor
of science in Computer
Science by April 2016 from
Centro Escolar University.
Joever Joseph C. Flores was
born in Quezon City on January 2,
1992. He interned at the
Information and Communications
Technology Department of Centro
Escolar University as a Web
Developer in Summer of 2015. He
is expected to finish his degree in
Bachelor of Science in Computer
Science by April 2016 from Centro
Escolar University.