CHOICE at the Button Festival in Graz: Engaging audiences through gameplay
6–7 March 2026 | Graz, Austria
Our climate expert and game developer Jan Steinhauser (IIASA) participated in the Button Festival for Gaming Culture in Graz, where he presented CHOICE’s serious game Hotspot Earth to a diverse audience of players, developers, and researchers.
Organised by the Ludovico association, the Button Festival has, over the past decade, grown into Austria’s largest gaming venue. Hosted at the Messe Congress Graz, the festival brings together the gaming community through a wide range of activities, including tournaments, workshops, panels, and interactive play sessions. As a community-driven event, its programme is shaped by contributors from across the gaming ecosystem, creating a space where entertainment, creativity, and education come together.
CHOICE at the festival
On 6 March, Jan Steinhauser took part in the panel “Gaming the climate crisis – A panel about playing with the future?”. The discussion explored the relationship between gaming and environmental sustainability, including the role games can play in addressing climate challenges, the environmental impact of the gaming industry, and the actions that developers, players, and communities can take.
Following the panel, Hotspot Earth was presented in a guided play session within a workshop setting, alongside another Austrian game, Pollucean. Participants played the game and learned in a fun and engaging way how climate hazards are connected to emissions, food systems, and land use. The session showed how gameplay, storytelling, and design can make complex topics such as climate change more accessible through direct experience.
Participating in the Button Festival provided an important opportunity to reach new audiences beyond research and policy communities. It also allowed the team to observe how the game is received in a real-world setting and to gather valuable feedback from players and the gaming community. These interactions are important for refining both the game and its role as a climate communication tool.
About Hotspot Earth
Originally developed as Climate Survivors, Hotspot Earth is a science-informed bullet heaven game created within the CHOICE project. The game translates climate challenges into an interactive format, where players face hazards such as droughts and floods while engaging with dynamics linked to emissions, food systems, and land use.
Through gameplay, players experience how these elements are connected, supporting understanding of complex systems in an accessible way. This approach reflects CHOICE’s broader aim to increase outreach and engagement through innovative and participatory tools.
Try the game
Interested in Hotspot Earth?
Explore the demo version and experience the game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3010970/Hotspot_Earth/
Leave a Reply