Saving our Seas with Games

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the middle of the Sulu Sea.  This 100,000 hectare marine habitat is home to over 700 species of fish and 360 species of coral.  The Tubbataha Reef Natural Park Foundation is the reef’s guardian. Park rangers are stationed on the reef year-round to check on the reef’s health, to support research expeditions, to monitor tourism activities, and to defend the reef against poachers and illegal fishermen. The Foundation’s activities are financed through tourism and by individual and corporate donations. However, funding is inconsistent and there is a need to raise public awareness of Tubbataha in order to increase support.

This is where Anton Ralph F. Valenzuela and Rom Cristian Q. Enriquez decided to step in. For their senior thesis, these two Computer Science majors decided to create a video game that simulated the tasks that the rangers perform on a day-to-day basis.  They interviewed Protected Area Superintendent Angelique M. Songco of the Tubbataha Management Office, and rangers Jeffrey David and Segundo F. Conalas in order to understand the rangers’ activities. The result was Reef Warden, a strategy game in which players must perform research, enforcement, and tourist management tasks while ensuring the Foundation’s sustainability and, most importantly, the reef’s continued health.

Anton Valenzuela (left) and Rom Enriquez (right)

The game may be played at https://rivainni.itch.io/reef-warden