2026/09 - Designing Game Mechanics with Long-Term Impact in Mind (Jennifer Estaris)

Training created on 6/26/26.
Programme version: 1

Type of training

Distance learning

Training duration

8 hours (4 days)

Accessibility

Yes
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€ Excluding VAT
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€ Excluding VAT
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2026/09 - Designing Game Mechanics with Long-Term Impact in Mind (Jennifer Estaris)


Designing game mechanics and systems that create meaningful, measurable impact on the world can … and should … feel playful, intuitive, and deeply human. This becomes possible when we design games grounded in kapwa, a Filipino concept that speaks to the shared self, and our deep interconnectedness with each other and the world. This training explores how games can move beyond messaging into systems: where care becomes action, and action becomes something players can feel. Through real examples, practical tools, and your own projects, you won’t just leave inspired, you’ll leave equipped. From September 7th to September 10th - 10:00am-12:00pm every day (CET Time) - Remote training I - Purpose: Why sustainability matters (players, business, culture) + identifying opportunities in your own game II - Process: Practical design frameworks and applying them to real projects III - Practice: Developing and iterating sustainability-driven concepts IV - Performance: Presenting work and receiving expert feedback

Objectives of the training

  • Apply 3 practical design frameworks including sustainability in games
  • Design a sustainability-driven feature or event for their game
  • Pitch and implement sustainability ideas
  • Collaborate with sustainability experts, partners, and communities

Profile of beneficiaries

For whom
  • Game Designers
  • Creative Directors
  • Producers
  • Product Managers
Requirements
  • a basic understanding of game systems (loops, mechanics, liveops)

Training content

Purpose: Why sustainability matters (players, business, culture) + identifying opportunities in your own game
  • Climate & nature framing
  • Player + business case
  • Case studies
  • Exercises
Process: How to design for impact
  • Core frameworks
  • Liveops as a sustainability engine
  • Play & reflect (Terra Preta)
  • Apply frameworks to participant projects
Practice: Developing concepts
  • Play & reflect
  • Concept development
  • Iteration + optional pitch practice
Performance: Present & refine
  • 2 guest sustainability experts
  • Participant presentations
  • Structured feedback

Teaching team

Jennifer Estaris is a Filipina game director, designer, and writer exploring playful purpose. She designs games grounded in kapwa: the belief that play can reconnect us to each other, to place, and to shared futures. She currently consults on games and sustainability and is working on a game about civic engagement. Previously, Jennifer directed the award-winning, nature-infused Monument Valley III, Monument Valley 2’s chapter “The Lost Forest”, which petitions for forest conservation, and Subway Surfers, an endless runner with 4.5B downloads. At the UNEP-facilitated Playing for the Planet, an alliance consisting of over 50 game companies working together on sustainability initiatives, Jennifer serves as the Storytelling Committee co-chair. She is also a board member of the IGDA and Co-Chair of the IGDA Climate SIG. Based in London, she curates eco-punk experimental theatre and speaks globally at conferences about the intersection of play and transformation.

Monitoring of implementation and evaluation of results

  • Exercises during the training sessions and quizzes throughout the days

Technical and educational resources

  • Welcoming participants in a dedicated training room. Training materials displayed on a screen. Theoretical presentations Practical case studies Training materials made available online following the session.

Quality and satisfaction

Learner satisfaction rates and attendance

Certification procedures

Expected results at the end of the training
  • Delivery of a certificate of completion.

Login delay

1 week

Accessibility

For companies wishing to have their training costs covered by their OPCO, registration must be completed no later than two weeks before the start of the training to meet the OPCO’s processing deadlines. In all other cases, registrations can be accepted up to two business days before the start of the training. Accessibility: We are available to work with individuals with disabilities to assess the accommodations needed so they can comfortably participate in the training programs offered.