CHOICE at the Long Night of Research: Hotspot Earth hands-on experience
24–26 April 2026 | ISTA Campus, Austria
Our climate expert and game developer Jan Steinhauser (IIASA) participated in the Long Night of Research, where he presented Hotspot Earth to a broad audience of citizens, especially children and parents.
Held at the ISTA Campus, the exhibition focused on digitalisation and the environment, covering topics such as biodiversity, information technology, climate change, sustainability, and nature. At the IIASA booth, visitors engaged with climate science through a hands-on station featuring Hotspot Earth.
Over the three days, around 1,000 visitors interacted with the installation, taking part in playtesting activities.
Engaging a broad audience
The exhibition brought Hotspot Earth to a wide audience, with many children and families engaging with the game together. Through the hands-on setup, visitors played, watched, and discussed the experience, creating a shared space for exploration.
Young players interacted with the game intuitively, reacting to what they saw on screen and trying out different options. Through play, visitors explored how climate hazards are linked to emissions, food systems, and land use, and how different actions can influence these connections over time. Hotspot Earth is designed to make these relationships visible through gameplay, offering an accessible way to engage with the complexity of climate challenges.
The setup also allowed the team to observe how visitors engaged with the game and to gather feedback from a diverse audience. These insights support the ongoing development of Hotspot Earth and its role in communicating climate-related topics.
Inside Hotspot Earth: Exploring climate challenges through gameplay
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.
CHOICE in Action
This activity is part of the CHOICE project’s broader work on exploring new ways to communicate climate-related topics. By presenting Hotspot Earth in a public setting, the project created a space where children and families could explore these topics through play. Through the game, young visitors experienced how climate hazards connect to everyday aspects such as food, emissions, and land use. For many, this made complex ideas more approachable. Playing together also gave families a simple way to engage with these topics as a shared experience.
Step into the game
Interested in Hotspot Earth?
Explore the demo version and experience the game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3010970/Hotspot_Earth/
Stay tuned for more updates on Hotspot Earth and upcoming CHOICE activities!
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