Say it with me, folks: If you take a baby animal from the wild and raise it, you haven't domesticated it. You might have habituated it, tamed it, even trained it, but it's not domesticated and it never will be. Governments have laws about interaction with wild animals to protect you. If you wouldn't feel comfortable with your trash cans being continuously ravaged because your neighbours feed the raccoons, or if your dogs kept getting eaten because your neighbour keeps a coyote they stole as a pup, don't take and raise a baby squirrel, deer, or any other wild animal.
Watching Animal Planet as a kid gave me two things that I still carry with me now as an adult:
1. A deep rooted love and respect for the environment, the desire to protect all native wildlife, even creatures some consider pests, because they all play their own crucial part in the ecosystem
At The Game Bakers we care about our planet. Since 2022, we have taken measures to reduce the impact of our studio and games on the environment. Today we’re announcing that we are joining the Playing for the Planet ( https://zurl.co/uEcC0 ) alliance. Want to know more about what we are doing on this important topic? Read more!~
We can’t improve what we can’t measure, so we’re measuring our studio and games carbon footprint with Jyros (https://zurl.co/jhhHo). We set ourselves targets and review every year. With P4P Alliance we have now committed to reach net zero by 2030.
We have taken measures to reduce our footprint as a studio, with work from home, travel reduction of travel, a green energy supplier for the office, recycling equipment, vegetarian meals…
We are offering a financial incentive for employees working from home ready to switch their homes to green energy. We would love to know if other studios are taking similar steps. Do you know of any?
We’re optimizing our (digital) games to reduce their energy consumption, from their download size to how much energy they use. We’re learning more about how we can optimize. We’re also planning to update our previous games using what we learn with support from France 2030 (https://zurl.co/34VlB) program.
For our next game Cairn - an ode to the awe inspiring nature in the mountains, we are preparing a collaboration to help alleviate some of our impact and generally do some good. More soon!
Most of our games have underlying themes that will make players reflect on the importance of the environment, the worlds and nature around our protagonists: Squids, Haven, Furi, Cairn…
We participate in actions to raise awareness about sustainability in games, like Midgar's Zero Carbon Quest (https://zurl.co/AqZMB) or the Earth Appreciation festival 2025 (https://zurl.co/wg9PP). The Green Game jam (https://zurl.co/geYgp) from P4P is also one to watch.
We also want to thank organisations who work for a more sustainable game industry and are helping all of us by providing tools and guidance: teams like Jyros ( https://zurl.co/jhhHo), the Sustainable Game Alliance (https://zurl.co/RbGDO) or UKIE (and their useful [reports](https://zurl.co/xLrd5) ) among others.
If you wanna hear more, check out our commitments and games on the Playing for the Planet page! https://zurl.co/UGGbO
And you can play our games on Steam!
Cairn: https://zurl.co/Ph7LF
Squids: https://zurl.co/CSsoC
Take action with me to ban neonicotinoids (neonics). Neonics are a pesticide that is highly toxic to insect and bird populations. Numbers of bees and birds have declined by the millions because they eat plants that have been treated by this chemical. Birds who eat the seeds of these plants or insects who have consumed this can suffer from convulsions, extreme weight loss, and death. Join me and the PIRG in urging the EPA to ban these pesticides.
Neonics are the most popular kind of insecticide used in the U.S., used liberally on our yards, gardens and parks every year.
Maybe it's just late night determination, but I'm feeling REALLY strongly about making PSAs about how the way animals like Slider turtles and goldfish are being treated is the equivalent of putting a puppy in a 20x20cms box and neglecting it until it dies at 5 months, and then saying that's because they "aren't supposed to live that long", and why parents should be worried these are the values their children are learning. Or how you wouldn't give a Rolex to a 5 year old just because it was spelled cheap to you, and so then why are we giving them pets that cost 2000$ to take care of and are practically family hairlooms
Shitttt maybe I'll doooo. I need to contact my local conservation group.
March 14th, 1903: Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, the first national wildlife refuge in the US, is established by President Theodore Roosevelt.
