EcoEd

This project introduces an interactive game designed to educate California State University, East Bay (CSUEB) students about sustainability, the 5Rs —Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle — and proper waste management in an immersive and functional manner. By incorporating interactive and simple gameplay, the project aims to foster better waste disposal habits and long-term environmental awareness. The game is intended for incorporation into CSUEB’s learning platforms and sustainability initiatives, with planned presentations to the university’s sustainability department, student organizations, and faculty for broader acceptance. 

For an engaging story experience in EcoEd, we created a medieval world, “The Kingdom of the 5 R's.”. This world parallels the campus at Cal State East Bay, but with a medieval twist. The students will recognize familiar locations on campus, such as the dining commons, print lab, or local coffee shop. Their goal is to save each kingdom from the Climate Change Dragon by applying the sustainability principles they learn in each gaming scenario. EcoEd’s interface has been customized to look and feel like real-life decision making, so students can easily connect what they learn to everyday actions on campus.

Our initial competitive analysis explored how sustainability education is being taught to university students and showed an opportunity area of combining online games and sustainability. Initial exploratory research validated this in an early survey in which we asked students about their preferred learning technique(s) and whether they liked to play online games. The majority of the responses indicated that creating an online game would be a worthwhile endeavor.

One of the primary goals of the EcoEd game was not just to present information about sustainability, but to influence how students think about and manage waste in their daily lives. Traditional training methods often involve passive learning, such as reading rules or watching videos. However, research shows that passive educational strategies alone rarely lead to sustained behavior change, especially in the realm of environmental action. To address this, we adopted a more interactive and experiential method rooted in game-based learning.

One of our most significant takeaways from usability testing was the value of clarity and simplicity. Students remained engaged when the interface was intuitive and the rationale behind each decision was easy to understand. Refining our language, improving visual cues, and reformatting information for quick scanning all led to higher engagement and accuracy during in-person user testing. Ultimately, through continuous testing and iteration, we shaped EcoEd into a game that not only delivered core sustainability concepts, but did so in a manner that felt playful, clear, and meaningful. Usability testing was essential in bridging the gap between our design intentions and the actual experience of our users.

Future expansion includes adapting the game for other CSU campuses by modifying content to align with local waste policies, student needs and universities' look and feel. Additionally, the game has potential applications beyond universities, including workplace education, elementary and high schools, and community engagement programs. If successfully launched, effectiveness evaluations will be carried out to assess participation and optimize approaches for wider application. This project seeks to advance sustainability efforts by making education more engaging, impactful, and universally available.

Created with Khushboo Kaur and Saiteja Kudligi