Raising Awareness on Hydroponics via an Educational Video Game Using an Indirect Teaching Method

Agricultural science has significantly evolved in the last years. Innovative greenhouse systems -such as hydroponics and aquaponics- that improve both efficiency and effectiveness are being used in the cultivation of crops. However, those systems are mostly utilised by large production companies as they are the ones who have the technical knowledge and awareness of their use and benefit. In a modern society, and in order to promote agriculture activities to the public, traditional ways (such as leaflets, websites etc.) to promote systems such as hydroponics are not very effective as it would be expected and desired. We propose to promote hydroponics using a game-based learning approach, with the implementation of a game that educates users in an engaging way about hydroponics systems and ways that they can be developed and operate. To raise awareness on hydroponics, we developed an educational game that promotes and delivers educational material through exciting gameplay and intriguing story-telling, as opposed to direct teaching and information dissemination. Initial testing results show that players - regardless of their interest in hydroponics - enjoy the overall experience of the developed game, and are open to learning about hydroponics through this medium. A broader testing process is set for future work.