Climate change games exist, but they face a fundamental problem: they preach to audiences who don't see themselves in the narrative. Most climate games use generic messaging about polar bears and melting ice caps—content that feels distant and irrelevant to players from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds.
Meanwhile, religious communities represent billions of people with strong environmental values rooted in their traditions, yet climate games rarely engage these values. Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and other religions all have teachings about environmental stewardship—but these remain untapped.
This case study documents Shloka, a climate game that integrates authentic Hindu religious practices to teach environmental responsibility. Rather than asking players to adopt new values, Shloka connects climate action to existing cultural frameworks—turning environmental responsibility from abstract civic duty into sacred obligation.
The Problem
"When players don't see themselves in the narrative, they don't engage."— Research Finding
Climate games have low engagement and limited impact. Research shows that serious games focused on climate change struggle with player engagement and behavior change. Many climate games fail because they present generic messages disconnected from players' cultural values and lived experiences.
The disconnect: Climate games often assume universal values about environmental protection, but motivation is cultural. A game about saving polar bears might resonate with one demographic, but fall flat with another that values different approaches to environmental responsibility rooted in their own traditions.
The untapped opportunity: Religious communities worldwide hold billions of adherents, many with strong environmental values embedded in their faith traditions. Yet climate games rarely engage these deeply-held values, missing opportunities to connect with audiences who already care about environmental protection through a different lens.
My Approach
Ethnographic Fieldwork
4-month visual ethnography at Tirumala and Sabarimala pilgrimage sites (412 photos, 43 videos) documenting real ritual practices and environmental contexts firsthand.
Participant Observation
Engaged in pilgrimages and rituals as a practicing Hindu to understand embodied experience—not just observing, but participating in the practices I would later digitize.
Co-Design with Scholars
Worked with temple priests and Hindu scholars to ensure theological accuracy and cultural respect in every design decision.
Game Development
Built Shloka in Unity using real Hindu rituals (mudras, mantras, breathing exercises) digitized through computer vision and audio recognition.
Comparative Evaluation
Tested Shloka against 9 other climate games with 24 participants, measuring engagement, immersion, and climate attitudes through rigorous mixed-methods study.
Key Outcomes
Shloka demonstrated that culturally-authentic design dramatically outperforms generic approaches.
Phase 1: Ethnographic Discovery
Rather than relying on secondary sources or theoretical knowledge, I conducted firsthand ethnographic fieldwork at two of India's most significant pilgrimage sites: Tirumala (the world's most visited temple, home to Venkateswara) and Sabarimala (dedicated to Ayyappa, located in a forest reserve).
This fieldwork was essential because religious practice isn't just about texts or beliefs—it's about embodied experience in specific places. I needed to understand how climate change actually manifested in sacred spaces, how environmental protection was conceptualized within ritual contexts, and how pilgrims engaged with nature as part of their spiritual practice.
Why These Sites Matter
- Scale and significance: Tirumala receives 50,000+ visitors daily (over 40 million annually), Sabarimala hosts 40+ million pilgrims during the annual pilgrimage season alone
- Environmental vulnerability: Both temples are in ecologically sensitive mountain regions facing visible climate change impacts including landslides, altered rainfall, and deforestation
- Active climate response: Both temple authorities have implemented substantial environmental initiatives—solar power, water conservation, forest protection programs
- Diverse practices: The two sites represent different types of pilgrimage providing broader understanding of how environmental contexts shape ritual practice
Key Discoveries from Fieldwork
Three critical insights emerged from the ethnographic work that fundamentally shaped the game's design approach:
Discovery 1: Nature as Living Deities
I observed consistent personification of natural elements—not as mere symbols, but as active spiritual beings requiring respect and care. The Ganges River wasn't just a water source; she was Goddess Ganga. The mountains weren't just landscapes; they were divine manifestations requiring protection.
Discovery 2: Climate Change as Religious Crisis
Climate impacts weren't abstract global issues—they were tangible disruptions to sacred practices. Heavy monsoon rains washed out roads to temples, preventing devotees from completing pilgrimages. Deforestation meant losing sacred groves where specific deities resided. Each climate impact had immediate religious consequences.
Discovery 3: Environmental Action as Religious Duty
Temple authorities weren't promoting environmental protection through secular arguments about sustainability. Instead, they framed environmental action as dharma (religious duty). Signs throughout pilgrimage paths read: "This forest is the abode of Lord Ayyappa—protecting it is your spiritual duty."
Phase 2: Co-Design & Cultural Navigation
Moving from ethnographic insights to game design required navigating complex theological considerations. Good intentions aren't enough when working with sacred content—design decisions needed alignment with religious principles, not just aesthetic appeal.
The God-Player Problem
First Prototype Concept: Players would directly control Hindu deities like Ganesha or Shiva, using divine powers to combat pollution and climate change. This seemed logical from a game design perspective.
Key Learning: Representation isn't just about including cultural content—it requires theological accuracy and cultural respect. Game mechanics that make sense from a design perspective might violate cultural principles when applied to sacred content.
Design Iteration: From Control to Collaboration
Revised Approach: Players don't control deities—they embody "Shloka," a chosen child who receives guidance and powers from climate deities through proper ritual practice. Rather than wielding divine power directly, players perform authentic rituals correctly, and deities respond by granting abilities or assistance.
- Preserved divine agency: Gods remain omnipotent mentors who choose when and how to respond—they're not subservient to player commands
- Maintained ritual meaning: Players must perform real ritual actions correctly to receive divine assistance, preserving the significance of proper religious practice
- Authentic to Hindu concepts: Aligned with concepts of divine grace and the devotee-deity relationship
- Created game design opportunities: Ritual performance accuracy became the skill challenge, making proper practice rewarding and educational
Technical Innovation: Digitizing Sacred Practices
Creating the game required translating embodied religious practices into interactive digital systems. This wasn't just about recognizing gestures—I needed systems that could validate spiritual performance with the same rigor players would experience in physical ritual practice.
Mudra Recognition
Computer vision models trained on 500+ images of correct mudra formations. 92% accuracy means players must actually form precise hand positions—learning authentic ritual practice through gameplay.
Chanting Recognition
OpenAI Whisper API with custom Sanskrit pronunciation validation. The system evaluates pronunciation accuracy against proper mantra chanting, including rhythm and tonal patterns.
Breathing Detection
Microphone-based system capturing breathing patterns with real-time visual feedback to guide users through traditional Pranayama breathing exercises.
Fire Worship Recognition
Computer vision detecting light sources and tracking circular motion patterns for proper Arati ceremony performance—embodied interaction with sacred fire worship.
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Different stages in a Shloka level, each teaching specific climate change concepts through culturally-authentic gameplay.
Phase 3: Rigorous Evaluation
To validate Shloka's effectiveness, I designed a comprehensive comparative evaluation against 9 existing climate games. This study wasn't just about proving our game performed better—it was about understanding what specific elements of cultural integration drive engagement and learning.
- 24 participants: Hindu practitioners who played all 10 games (Shloka + 9 comparison games)
- 10 games total: Diverse approaches including simulation games, narrative games, puzzle games, and other climate-focused titles
- 2+ hour sessions: Each participant played every game in randomized order using Latin Square design
- Mixed methods: Standardized questionnaires measuring immersion, interest, guidance quality, and climate concern, plus in-depth interviews
Qualitative Insights
Climate Ethics Through Religious Lens
"What I can see is a reminder for myself to treat the climate as holy... Ganesha in the game is right, the Ganges is holy and devotees should treat it that way."
Relating to Climate Consequences
"Shloka shows places I know, I have visited, and it's sad to know not 100 years but actually now these holy places are being destroyed."
Motivation Through Granular Actions
"Disposing of fireworks carefully after Diwali, or not spilling oil in the river when I put my diya—these are things I can work on. These are workable stuff."
Design Principles Discovered
Through this comparative research, I identified five key principles for culturally-responsive design that apply beyond games:
Cultural Authenticity Over Aesthetics
Surface-level cultural elements don't create engagement—authentic cultural practices and values do. Deep engagement requires integrating cultural practices, not just cultural appearance.
Values-Based Motivation
Connect new behaviors to existing moral frameworks rather than creating new value systems. Find how new behaviors align with existing cultural values rather than persuading users to adopt new values.
Localized Relevance
Personal/local consequences motivate more than global/abstract impacts. Make consequences concrete and personally meaningful within users' cultural context.
Embodied Interaction
Physical/ritual interactions create deeper engagement than purely mental tasks. Incorporate physical practices that users already value, making learning feel like natural cultural expression.
Mentorship-Based Guidance
Guidance from culturally-respected figures feels more supportive than system tutorials. Authority and respect come from cultural context, not just clarity of instruction.
Beyond Games
These principles apply broadly to designing for any cultural community—connecting new behaviors to existing values, localizing impact, and respecting cultural authorities.
Impact & Adoption
Academic Impact: ACM DIS 2025 Full Paper with Best Paper Award (Top-tier HCI Conference), plus ACM CHI PLAY 2024 Work-in-Progress paper. The research has been recognized as a methodological contribution to faith-based design.
Real-World Application: 5 temples are now piloting Shloka for youth climate education. The framework has been adopted in 2 game design courses. Code and design documents are available open-source for community adaptation.
Conclusion
The Shloka project demonstrated that culturally-responsive design isn't just about representation—it's about deeply understanding and integrating the cultural practices and values that actually drive human behavior.
By moving beyond surface-level aesthetics (Hindu symbols, Indian music) to authentic cultural integration (real rituals, theological accuracy, localized climate scenarios), we created an experience that resonated with players and motivated genuine climate engagement.
Beyond this specific game: This work provides a reusable framework for how UX practitioners can approach culturally-sensitive design challenges across domains. Rather than making assumptions about what cultural communities want, I engaged deeply in the lived practices of religious communities and co-designed with cultural authorities—ensuring the final product served both game design goals and theological respect.
Skills & Methods Demonstrated
Ethnographic Research, Visual Ethnography, Participatory Design, Comparative Studies, Qualitative Analysis
Game Design, Interaction Design, Cultural Design, Narrative Design, Unity Development
Religious Studies, Environmental Science, Cross-Cultural Design, Embodied Interaction
Academic Publishing, Framework Development, Community Engagement, Best Paper Award