A comprehensive physical geography game for virtual reality

One of the main aims of study programmes in physical geography and related subjects is to convey a deep understanding of earth surface processes. Practical constraints often force curriculum developers to stick to traditional learning formats, with limited options for the creations of innovative, exciting learning environments. We attempt to close this gap by creating a freely available physical geography computer game. The primary target audience will be bachelor students of geography and related subjects, but the environment will be flexible enough to be adapted for high schools, awareness-building towards geomorphic risks etc. it will be optimized for virtual reality experiences, but also useable with basic equipment (ordinary PCs and laptops, possibly mobile phones) in order to increase reach and accessibility. The game is developed with Unreal Engine 5.

The scene of the game is an 80 km x 80 km landscape featuring all major geomorphic landforms and biomes in a logical arrangement, from the equator to high latitudes, and from high mountains to the deep sea. Terrain elevation is scaled by 1:10, meaning that the highest mountains peak at roughly 900 m asl. Technically speaking, the gaming environment consists of six closely related elements: (i) terrain, created in GIS essentially through the interpolation of manually drawn contour lines; (ii) land cover, created mainly from materials, grass, and foliage available for Unreal Engine; (iii) processes (landslides, volcanic eruptions etc.); (iv) player movement through trails, roads, railways, air and water transport; (v) light and atmospheric conditions; and (vi) most importantly, a set of tasks and rewards.

The player will move through the landscape and guided through the tasks. Tasks will be related to each other, following a storyline, and will focus on gaining a deep understanding of earth surface processes in an exciting interactive way. Particular emphasis will be put on the understanding of spatial and functional relations, e.g. vegetation transects or connections between different geomorphic processes. Rewards will be awarded at important milestones along the storyline.

The proposed gaming environment is still in a very early phase of its first stage of development, in which components (i)–(iv) are implemented along with an initial set of tasks and rewards. This prototype is then intended to be exposed to the target audience, so that students are invited to add their own ideas and that the game will be gradually enhanced and improved. It will be made available to the public as soon as considered mature enough.