"The Angry Sea Will Kill Us All." (Ideation)

Overview

A narrative-driven hidden object game where players grow up as a child in Kiribati, a Pacific island nation facing displacement due to rising sea levels. Through play, players uncover objects tied to family, culture, and climate change while listening to the voices of their community and witnessing an increasing amount of their homeland disappear.

Submission

One-page game design document can be downloaded below, or viewed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zJ9mXOmLDGEcfhzDWcwOtBBwzjipBZx5XFLBD-4H8CU/...

A more detailed game design document can be viewed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mMqceZ0_qwhIrJ7EbGgcZnHeNtx9dmToJLUStnIJ1Zs/...

Context for the Game Title

The title is a lyric from the Climate Change Song written and composed by Betarim Rimon, at the suggestion of former Kiribati president Anote Tong. Two artists, one male and one female, were commissioned by Betarim in 2010 to produce a recording of the song. Brian Taki — the male artist commissioned — then created a video clip of him singing the song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3Ff3k8TxIc) without listing Betarim as a composer, so the song isn't widely credited to Betarim. The song was originally written in English, helping it reach a wider audience, but has been translated and performed in the Kiribati language by others after asking for permission from Betarim.

You can read more about Betarim's creative process and the emotions behind the lyrics in the publication here: https://publications.goettingen-research-online.de/bitstream/2/94197/4/GISCA%2032%20Hermann%20Kempf%202021%20Climate%20Change%20Songs.pdf