“Development of our approach and the technology for our first game has led to subsequent successful grants from other funders, including Ontario Creates and the Canada Media Fund, which has in turn, enabled us to create a part-time position in our organization.”
–Maria Coates, Co-founder of Turtle Riot
Impact Over 5-Year Term
Social/Environmental Impact
- Apply green software principles, where game code is designed to be both energy and carbon-efficient – while eliminating waste and optimizing resources within their production lifecycle
- Empower people to create agency in their own learning and build autonomy in decision making through joyful, participatory, and meaningful experiences
- Connect people across generations through social and family friendly initiatives that spark curiosity, conversation, and collaboration to build knowledge as a community
- Design core game mechanics that integrate climate actions and conservation practices to bridge virtual game play and real world impact
Turtle Riot is an early-stage social enterprise with a mission to create fun and innovative interactive media that contributes to ecological and social sustainability. The business develops experimental media as a space for climate action, while addressing the resource heavy value chain across the production cycle of video games and its impact on the health of the planet.
Financing through the COIL Activate Program supports Turtle Riot’s incorporation of circular principles into its business model. The first phase of development involved designing a mobile AR (augmented reality) experience about balancing local ecosystems and food webs through a guerilla gardening game, formerly called Boom Bloom now re-titled Flora’s Reign. Turtle Riot’s involvement in COIL Activate focused on creation of the circular production strategy, which outlines their approach to video game development, as well as articulating the company’s environmental value proposition.