Final Fantasy VII (FFVII) is getting a lot of love these days with FFVII Rebirth launching, which I am very happy about. As we did in 1997, people applaud FFVII’s groundbreaking graphics, lovable and memorable characters, innovative combat, segways, and emotional relationships between characters. I deeply love FFVII for all these reasons, but I adore it for one more reason – its direct and surprisingly fearless exploration of environmental activism, corporate environmental destruction, and eco-terrorism.
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Riding waves of environmental activism in the late 1990’s and today
While not the first game with political themes, FFVII was a triple-A game that put environmental issues, activism, and corporate environmental abuse front and center. FFVII Rebirth’s launch is timely because we are seeing a similar wave of environmental activism to the wave we saw in the mid/late 1990’s.
Notably, FFVII came out in 1997, shortly after the 1995 anti-logging protests and forest occupation by environmentalists in Oregon and coinciding with the rise of arson and bombings by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) – the real-world inspirations for Avalanche in FFVII. To give context for Avalanche, FFVII also included the Shinra Electric Power Company, an evil megacorporation in the game, which mirrors Exon and other major corporate polluters following events like the Exon Valdez oil spill in Alaska of 1989 and rise of widespread oil spills in the Amazon in the 1990s.
As we saw in the late 90’s environmental activism is spilling over into property attacks – notably with the recent wave of climate activists throwing paint or food on high-profile art pieces, such as the Mona Lisa, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and others. Unlike the fires and bombings by ELF and in FFVII, these attacks do not actually damage the paintings but do highlight the growing global activism about environmentalism.
I am sure the timing of FFVII Rebirth’s release was dictated by production schedules more than the current rising tide of environmental passion within the world, but I am grateful for the game’s timely arrival regardless.
Representing environmental activism with gravity and depth
To me, FFVII represented activism and environmentalism in an approachable and serious fashion, with depth, gravity, and badass style. This wasn’t jokes about hippies on the Simpsons, the characters in the game CARED about the collapsing environment and were driven while still being thoughtful.
The discussions of ecology and the interconnectedness of life on earth with the environment in the game were thought-provoking metaphors not ham-handed statements. Reading Barret, Tifa, and the other Avalanche members’ passionate arguments about the desperate importance of saving the environment resonated with me like Captain Planet never could.
Make games, not explosives
Unlike the desperate and ill-equipped members of Avalanche, we in the present have much better ways to help the environment than planting explosives. For example, you can channel your passion for the environment by making a game about the climate crisis and environmental issues. There is even a guide to help make environmentalist games – The Environmental Game Design Playbook from the International Game Developers Association Climate Special Interest Group.
As an example of a new game in development following the good advice from The Environmental Game Design Playbook, The Game of Life Reimagined allows players to explore the environmental and social impacts of different life choices. Led by Misty Novitch, this game “parodies the goal of the original game of LIFE board game – making the most money to ‘win’ life – and offers a more appropriate alternative: taking care of the Earth and each other cooperatively so humanity and nature can thrive together.”
By seeing the impacts of our choices in a small, comprehensive scale, especially online in a collaborative board game, we can see how small choices add up to big impacts. The game also allows players to accessible environmentalism can be – from choosing public transit to attending local environmental protests to pursuing life-long careers in activism. After a successful Kickstarter, The Game of Life Reimagined is developing a new demo, so keep an eye on them for exciting future progress.
“The Game of Life Reimagined is a cooperative online board game where players build a collective vision of a just and sustainable world.”
Life Reimagined Collaborative
We at Sugar Gamers love connecting environmentalism and gaming, especially using Solarpunk. Seeing a future where we successfully incorporate green technology and practices into society gives people hope for a better future. Seeing is believing, after all. Couching environmentalism within thought-provoking and exciting science fiction also can bring in people who might be uninterested or resistant to the ideas, which like FFVII has done since 1997. We are following through with this idea by developing our own Solarpunk tabletop RPG, called Project Violacea, where you play activists and revolutionaries in the future working to bring environmentalism, justice, and knowledge to people in the world.
Conclusion
I hope that FFVII Rebirth helps grow the current wave of environmental enthusiasm and activism we have today and plants seeds (pun intended) in the minds of future generations of gamers and game designers. If you have thoughts on the topic, we’d love to hear from you! Connect with us on the Sugar Gamer’s IG, LinkedIN or Discord. From what I’m seeing in the memes from the younger generation, I’m feeling optimistic about this new generation of environmental activists:
