Eco Harvest: Designing a Serious Game for Environmental Education and Sustainable Agricultural Practices

Human activities, particularly in agriculture, have given rise to a series of interconnected global challenges, including environmental degradation, water scarcity, and food insecurity. As these issues continue to escalate, sustainable agricultural practices have become essential for mitigating their impacts while ensuring long-term food security. Traditional educational approaches often fail to effectively engage young people in understanding the complexity of these challenges. To address this gap, this paper introduces 《Eco Harvest》, a serious game developed to educate adolescents about sustainable agriculture and environmental responsibility. Set in a future world facing ecological crises, the game simulates real-world agricultural challenges such as water shortages, soil degradation, and resource management. Players assume the role of a farm manager and are tasked with making decisions that balance productivity with ecological conservation. Through mechanisms such as rice-fish farming and intercropping of forest and crops, 《Eco Harvest》 teaches players about effective resource management and illustrates the consequences of unsustainable practices. The primary objective of the game is to enhance systems thinking, foster environmental stewardship, and encourage responsible decision-making. Preliminary testing results indicate that the game effectively improves players' understanding of sustainable agriculture while providing an engaging, interactive learning experience. This paper concludes by discussing the game’s potential to contribute to both environmental education and the promotion of sustainable farming practices, while suggesting directions for future development and broader application.