Volcanoes in video games: the portrayal of volcanoes in commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) video games and their learning potential

摘要

Volcanoes are a very common staple in mainstream video games. Particularlywithin the action–adventure genres, entire missions (e.g. Monster Hunter: Generation Ultimate, 2018) or even fullstorylines (e.g. Spyro: The Reignited Trilogy, 2018) can require players to traverse an active volcano.With modern advancements in video game capabilities and graphics, many ofthese volcanic regions contain a lot of detail. Most video games nowadayshave gameplay times in excess of 50 h. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017), for example, brags aminimum of 60 h to complete. Therefore, players can spend a substantialamount of time immersed within the detailed graphics and unknowingly learnabout volcanic traits while playing. If these details are factually accurateto what is observed in real-world volcanic systems, then video games canprove to be a powerful learning tool. However, inaccurate representationscould instil a false understanding in thousands of players worldwide.Therefore, it is important to assess the accuracies of volcanology portrayedin mainstream video games and consider whether they can have an educationalimpact on the general public playing such games or whether these volcanicdetails are overlooked by players as they focus solely on the entertainmentfactor provided. We have therefore reviewed several popular commercial videogames that contain volcanic aspects and evaluated how realistic said aspectsare when compared to real-world examples. It was found that all the gamesreviewed had a combination of accurate and inaccurate volcanic features andeach would vary from game to game. The visual aesthetics of these featuresare usually very realistic, including lava, ash fall and lahars. However,the inaccuracies or lack of representation of hazards that come with suchfeatures, such as ash-related breathing problems or severe burns fromcontact with molten lava, could have great negative impacts on a player'sunderstanding of these deadly events. With further investigations assessingthe direct impact on the general public, there is an opportunity tocorrectly assess how to incorporate the use of mainstream video games ineducational systems and outreach.