Microsoft teams with Games for Change to help cool global warming
by Ross Miller 
{ Jun 11th 2007 at 6:59PM }
Details are scant at the moment, but we do know the students will be expected to use Microsoft's XNA Game Studio Express, the free version of their development tools. Winners will have a chance for their projects to appear on Xbox Live Arcade, and the first-place team or individual will have an opportunity to intern at Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Steve @ Jun 11th 2007 7:06PM
Okay everyone...here is your chance to show that you are smarter than the vast majority of people who commented on this article at Kotaku!
SYN @ Jun 11th 2007 7:06PM
I have been saying the mythology based games have been sorta lacking lately.
Jonathan @ Jun 11th 2007 7:07PM
I knew this would show up eventually. Microsoft's ME TOO project akin to the PS3's Folding @ Home.
Not bashing it or anything, good for them.
Though the more I think of it, how does having a game promoting global warming really actually help global warming? If I wanted to really help global warming, the first thing I would do was shut was throw out my game console so I could save on power and hopefully reduce my personal global footprint.
Anywho, good show I guess.
mrBallistic @ Jun 11th 2007 7:20PM
ok... here's where i insert my snarky comment about how the 360 contributes more than its fair share to my household warming. dear lord, that thing runs hot enough to be its own sun!
NoOne @ Jun 11th 2007 7:28PM
How about "whack a mole" with Al Gore's head? :)
Jimmy @ Jun 11th 2007 7:30PM
Well said, SYN.
Shame to see MS joins the ranks of the politically driven "global warming" crowd. It's comical.
Fernando Rocker @ Jun 11th 2007 7:31PM
Maybe if the 360 was not so damn hot, there will be less global warming.
Rookie @ Jun 11th 2007 7:32PM
(#5)^ That just might work...
I'll start worrying about global warming when I see some solid proof of global warming actually being an issue.
Tom @ Jun 11th 2007 7:44PM
How about a *cough* Penguin game of some sort...
SOyuncastor @ Jun 11th 2007 7:57PM
lol I can't imagine a project of cooling down the planet with the xbox 360 (heat all over the place)
I use to turn on my xbox 360 to heat up my room in winter
LOL
Stevo @ Jun 11th 2007 8:15PM
Cool idea...haha, no pun intended. Anyways, I wish Microsoft would do more stuff like this-- I love the idea of contests to create games for XBLA. Hopefully MS will continue to see and fulfill the potential of XBLA.
hvnlysoldr @ Jun 11th 2007 8:24PM
Obviously steal the virtual reality simulation from Captain Planet where time goes fast as pollution climbs. The last of the species would turn into stone to preserve it and they become more and more grotesque. And using your powers can only make it worse.
Rare Hare @ Jun 11th 2007 8:53PM
I think it's ridiculous not only how many people deny the existence of global warming, but how many seem to believe Al Gore invented the idea. He's simply concerned about an issue that a lot of you dimwits should probably at least take into consideration, and you act like it's some crazy theory that he concocted himself.
Rubang B @ Jun 11th 2007 9:14PM
The game wouldn't promote global warming. The game would promote global warming AWARENESS, which is good because there are a buttload of idiots in the world and in this comment thread who are oblivious to the scientific evidence that humans are making the planet too hot to sustain their own species.
Joshua @ Jun 11th 2007 9:18PM
Steve (#1), I checked the comments on this news at Kotaku...And there were 69 comments. I didn't really feel like reading through all of them, but it seemed there were a few people that don't believe global warming exists? It's seems they're here, too.
It's unbelievable how ignorant people can be to not see something that is right in front of them.
But really, that's off topic. As others have pointed out, it's pretty ironic that MS is trying in increase "awareness" or something of global warming...with the 360. Har har.
XesBOX @ Jun 12th 2007 12:38AM
Not entirely sure I understand why people are knocking it, at all, in any way shape or form.
And for those of you mocking them; who the hell are you? First you wage war on them for their practices and, frankly, their success.. then when they do something that's worthy of applaud you just scoff at them.
If you haven't learned anything about Microsoft, it's that they love their customers no matter how much they hate them. Yeah, they had power issues, and what did they do? They QUICKLY offered replacements on all affected systems. And lets not even talk about Sony's replacement policies.
People need to start giving them credit when credit is do.
Killer @ Jun 11th 2007 9:31PM
@Rare Hare
I believe Global warming exist, but I believe this has been over-hyped into something that will end the world. I'm sorry. Global warming has been happening since the Major Ice age. Hint: why the ice receed. Co2 in the atmosphere is a common place in the world. Valcanos each day produce 3 times the amount the entire human race produces. Carbon Neutral is a bunch of crap. Nothing is carbon neutral, hell nature isn't even carbon neutral. If it was then the ice would have never melted. It's a nature process cycle. We can never be carbon neutral for us to survive we can't be neutral by natural process. (I.E. the human body not mind) Did you happen to know that scientist have found that Tree's actually produce Co2 at night? They do. Al Gore concerned about a subject? Just like Jimmy Carter is concerned about Humanitarian projects. They're politicians! They're out for the sake of being able to be world renowned and in the history books. He didn't concoct it. Sceintist did, but He has over-hyped the issue to the point of insanity. I'm still waiting for someone to invent a proven way to measure CO2 in the atmosphere. They have yet to do it. All they do to prove that issue is real by taking temperatures from varity of places in the world and add them together, then find the mean. That isn't science, that's Algerbra! The global is always changing. It's how life can be substanable. If the world always acted the same, then it wouldn't be Mother Nature. Events happen, yet as humans we think we can control it. Sorry, but Nature has control of us and it will always be that way.
People take this issue way to seriously. Just like everything else sceintist say will happen. (EX: the sun exploding) It's retarded. It's "the Chicken with it's head cut off" syndrome.
Don't call people dimwits either. They can believe anything they want to beleive. It's called freedom. Just because you are to bought into a over-hyped THEORY that it's humans causing Global Warming doesn't mean everyone else has to be. It's choice. Like you chose to believe it, well that doesn't mean someone else has too.
I would also like to point out something. They are saying something is true, even though they are using data that is only 150 years old. That's like taking the first 20 minutes of a Football game (with evenly matched teams) and trying to figure out who won the game and what happened. Impossible.
I'm sorry but to pour as much money and change all life at a single moment for something that is over-hyped is stupid. It's almost as stupid as crashing a 250 Billion dollar space craft into mars. I really wonder, where could we have put that 250 billion dollars to help out humanity here on earth? It's called Priorities! Which alot of people like to skip over. I do remember in the 70's wasn't the world worried about global cooling?
End of rant.
Aberu @ Jun 11th 2007 9:54PM
Please people keep the politics out.
Anyways wouldn't this be promoting people to spend countless amounts of electricity and energy that raises the greenhouse gases by making a game?
Little known facts about greenhouse gases btw guys.
Commercial diesel trucks have lower emissions than the average commuter.
Number 1 engine type contributing to greenhouse gases in the air? Single stroke. Guess what that is in. Your lawnmowers, weed trimmers, leaf blowers, kids' dirt bike, small ATV's, etc... If single stroke engines were banned in America our emissions would almost be halved. That's the thing people never talk about. Single stroke engines were and always have been the number 1 problem with emissions and no one does anything about them. Even though no one would miss them. They are really crappy and unreliable.
laserboyjc @ Jun 11th 2007 9:57PM
at #2, thanks! you made me laugh out loud
Rubang B @ Jun 11th 2007 10:14PM
Yes, the freedom to believe in things that are proven to be untrue time and time again, a beautiful freedom.
Dave @ Jun 11th 2007 10:19PM
It doesn't matter whether it's humans, termites, cows, or increased solar output that is causing global warming--it's most definitely getting warmer. So, forget the why and let's start figuring out how to reverse it.
Rubang B @ Jun 11th 2007 10:26PM
Beautifully put, Dave. I don't care why it happens, but I don't want my billion dollar beachfront property to become a fifty cent underwater museum.
Shiro @ Jun 11th 2007 11:37PM
Actually, the reason it's called "G4C" is because there are four G's and one C, which stands for "Good God, Gay Games... [don't] Change."
Killer @ Jun 11th 2007 11:54PM
Reverse it? This has been happening before Humans! My god, when did the human race become the masters of Earth? We can't even predict weather. Which way is the Hurricane going exactly? or where will a tornado touch down? We can't even predict that properly. Next you want humans to stop hurricanes, to save your coastal house. There are prices that come to living anywhere in this world. Does it make us feel good that we believe we have control of our enviroment? When the truth is the Enviroment controls us.
@ Dave
"..it's most definitely getting warmer..."
yes, that's why here in Indiana we had one of the coldest longest winters in 20 years. It also was snowing in May. Also our summer hasn't been as hot and humid as past years, so it's getting hotter? I'm not feeling the heat. >;>
Ps. Why aren't we worrying about the Polar feilds reversing? Nothing like high amounts of radiation coming down upon us and killing everyone. Wait, that wasn't "caused" by man. That's the earth itself, just like Global warming. How about worrying about the Super Valcano under yellowstone that could seen the world into complete chaos? That will make you starve, die or even freeze to death. Both of those will be happening before "Global warming" take effect (if it ever does).
Warlord @ Jun 12th 2007 12:27AM
Can I just send in my copy of Earth 2150? They did that already.
Dave @ Jun 12th 2007 12:28AM
You're absolutely right, Killer. We shouldn't dare try and take control of our environment. As a matter of fact, why don't you live outside? Why bother with shelter? Are you daring to use a computer? You dare use a tool that attempts to master the electron? The electron is a mystery of the universe! Who are you to try and tame it?!
I didn't realize Indiana was getting colder! Perhaps scientific measurements of general global warming trends over the last thirty years failed to factor in your particular city? I'm sure that's it.
a_p77 @ Jun 12th 2007 2:38AM
You should all check out a documentary called "The Great Global Warming Swindle", become enlightened. These are scare politics, Al Gore uses 20X as much power in a year as the average American, and this number is increasing since his "documentary". http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/GlobalWarming/story?id=2906888&page=1
Don't listen to everything that people tell you, scare politics are a very powerful way to get your point across, don't fall victim.
SuperUser @ Jun 12th 2007 6:33AM
You guys saying that there's no warming around your place know about the effects of "Global Dimming", right? If not, you should read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_dimming
But i will give you an (short) excerpt anyway:
"The phenomenon underlying global dimming may also have regional effects. While most of the earth has warmed, the regions that are downwind from major sources of air pollution (specifically sulfur dioxide emissions) have generally cooled. This may explain the cooling of the eastern United States relative to the warming western part.[24]
Some climate scientists have theorized that aircraft contrails (also called vapor trails) are implicated in global dimming, but the constant flow of air traffic previously meant that this could not be tested. The near-total shutdown of civil air traffic during the three days following the September 11, 2001 attacks afforded a rare opportunity in which to observe the climate of the United States absent from the effect of contrails. During this period, an increase in diurnal temperature variation of over 1 °C was observed in some parts of the U.S., i.e. aircraft contrails may have been raising nighttime temperatures and/or lowering daytime temperatures by much more than previously thought."
I don't know why you hate the global warming theory and Al Gore (maybe bc i'm from europe), so please don't flame me, but for me and most people i know global warming is accepted as a reality and can be felt every year more drastically (probably bc global dimming is on a step back here in europe).
Jimmy @ Jun 12th 2007 7:59AM
Pretty funny to see so many people say that those who don't buy into the over-hyped theory of man's involvement in "Global Warming" are idiots. There is absolutely no evidence that we had anything to do with it, other than Al Gore's desperate grasp for legitimacy.
Twenty years ago, it was "Global cooling." Ah, whatever: some people just need a crisis or a cause.. I guess it could be worse.
Re: #27.. I absolutely also recommend ‘The Great Global Warming Swindle’
Stanley Lee @ Jun 12th 2007 9:22AM
I have a great idea! We'll call it Big Brother (assuming Viacom will give us the rights to the name of their hit summer reality show) and it will be much like The Sims. In this game you take on the role of a leftwing fundamentalist (Your choice of either Nancy Pelosi, Al Gore, or Joey Stalin) and your job is to halt the thinking process of the people through the use of judgemental environmentalist dogma. Just like in real life, you will need to use celebrities and control the media otherwise the people will question your claims and not act like a good borg collective.
If you can stop free thought, individuality, and impose a Marxist state then you win. Points are given based upon how absurd your environmentalist lies are assuming your gullible public buys into it. Remember: big name stars like George Clooney won't come cheap.