Digital games typically portray natural environments as static backdrops, limiting their ability to engage with a changing climate. Propagate is a plugin for simulating plant growth and forest dynamics in Unreal Engine, and an ecologically-oriented approach to game design. By building tools in collaboration with ecologists and climate researchers, the intent of the project is to usher in new forms of interactive media that explore environmentally-centered narratives.

Ian Costello is an artist and developer using game engines to bridge the gap between games and climate research.