ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to establish a coherent and critical framework that can aid in future analyses of the depiction of climate and weather in computer games. In its attempt to generate an analytical schema, the chapter expands on existing media-aesthetic, media-ecological, and existential-ludological perspectives, thereby mixing methodological approaches with concepts drawn from climatology. This mixed-methods approach allows the authors to put forth a number of key insights, most importantly that the examination of climate as an in-game actor—that is, as a component that has an impact on gameplay—can lead to new levels of analysis in the field of games studies. The authors conclude by testing their critical schema on the survival-crafting game Eco (Strange Loop Games 2018).
