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On the 22nd of this month We Are The Oceans (WATO), the ocean conservation NGO, proudly launched the first in a series of gaming initiatives designed to educate and inspire behavior change around the daily use of plastics, highlighting the hugely damaging impact they have on our world’s oceans.
On the 22nd of this month We Are The Oceans (WATO), the ocean conservation NGO, proudly launched the first in a series of gaming initiatives designed to educate and inspire behavior change around the daily use of plastics, highlighting the hugely damaging impact they have on our world’s oceans.
The launch of The Big Catch, playable online at www.watoceans.org/thebigcatch, features a rare and endangered Vaquita porpoise, one of the most endangered marine mammals today, with estimated numbers at below 30. In The Big Catch the Vaquita travels through several highly polluted real-world ocean locations, cleaning them of harmful plastics and getting to the source of the problem whilst educating players along the journey.
WATO are asking everyone to join the 'WATO challenge' by playing The Big Catch and helping to reach the target of 1,000,000 lbs of in-game ocean plastics collected. So start playing and sharing the game today!
WATO Game Dashboard: Screenshot on April 26, 2017
About Game Developers
WATO has teamed up with global game developer
and distributor, Rovio, to incorporate ocean messaging into one of the most
downloaded game franchises in history – Angry Birds.
Utilizing enormous gaming platforms provides
WATO with a dynamic way to communicate to and engage Generation Z with a topic
they care deeply about and 3 billion users have installed the Angry Birds app
so far. Interestingly, the same number of people depend on marine and coastal
biodiversity for their livelihoods.
The new game, The BIG Catch, launched April 22nd behind closed doors at the
Sustainable Ocean Alliance before being pushed wide via the Rovio portfolio
including Angry Birds, and players will encounter a fun game mechanic whilst
being educated and being presented with clear calls to action about the oceans.
Once the game is completed, players will be
directed through to the WATO website and invited to make a personal commitment
with regard to their use of damaging plastics such as plastic straws or plastic
bags.
Here is the unedited PRESS RELEASE
25th April 2017, New York City and
London: Global ocean preservation collective We Are The Oceans (WATO) today launched the first of a series of initiatives
designed to educate and inspire behavioral change around the use of
plastics such as straws, bottles and bags, and the devastating impact they can
have on our oceans and marine life.
The first campaign, empowered by Playmob, features a game called The Big Catch where, with the help of a rare and
endangered Vaquita porpoise, players must navigate through multiple polluted
real-world ocean locations and collect as much plastic as they can.
Between each level, players are asked specific educational questions designed
to teach them key facts about our oceans and the direct and deadly impact of
plastic pollution.
The game, supported by UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services) and shown behind
closed doors to attendees of the Third Annual Sustainable Oceans Summit on
Saturday 22nd April, is now available as a playable mobile ad
unit, distributed across a range of games as well as being available to play
and share online at https://watoceans.org/thebigcatch/.
WATO is targeting the campaign, alongside its future initiatives, at the most hyper-connected and socially conscious generations, Millennials and Generation Z, engaging them on their terms through collaborations with creators, designers, inventors and innovators.
WATO is targeting the campaign, alongside its future initiatives, at the most hyper-connected and socially conscious generations, Millennials and Generation Z, engaging them on their terms through collaborations with creators, designers, inventors and innovators.
Daisy Kendrick, Founder and CEO, WATO, said:
“We believe that the fun and engaging nature of online and mobile gaming has
the power to get the message of the oceans to people globally on their terms.
“We’re focusing our first campaign on the issue
of ‘plastics’ as they are so permanent, indestructible and one of the oceans’
biggest pollutants. We are challenging players to collect one million lbs of
virtual in-game plastics, which we hope will inspire long-term behavioral
change and are inviting players to take the WATO pledge and commit to
reducing their usage of plastics.
“One of WATO’s goals is to show people the
interconnectedness of the oceans with our everyday lives, and how the
smallest lifestyle change can make a lasting impact towards protecting the
future of our people and planet.”
Jude Ower, Founder and CEO, Playmob, added:
“It’s estimated that 6bn hours are spent playing games globally each week. We
also know from our work with major NGOs and games makers, just how powerful
that medium can be for delivering a social impact message.
“With WATO, it is the first time that an NGO
has used a playable mobile ad format to deliver social change, so we are
pleased to be working alongside them to make this happen.”