The UN Releases Game Focused On The Ozone Layer

The United Nations Environment Programme's Ozone Secretariat division launched a mobile game titled Reset Earth. Based on the original animated film of the same title, Reset Earth was made to educate players on the importance of the Earth's ozone layer.

Reset Earth is a single platformer game that begins in a dystopian world set in 2084. Both a ruined ozone and a rampaging virus named the Grow inspire the three protagonists to go back in time and reverse the environmental damage. According to the Ozone Secretariat program, the game is "a picture of what Earth could have been like if the world had not acted to protect the ozone layer and signed the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1987."

Each of the three characters have different abilities based on real panels and advisory committees. Knox is inspired by the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel. Somehow that means she can hack electrical equipment, push heavy objects, and destroy walls. Sagan is based on the Scientific Assessment Panel. He has a jetpack and can also explode manholes. The final member of the trio, Terran, is inspired by the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel. In the game, he can climb and slow down time.

The Ozone Secretariat is based in Nairobi, Kenya and was specifically created for ozone protection initiatives. It's also the organization that implements both the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The Montreal Protocol was an international treaty committed to elimination of products that damage the ozone layer, including CFCs used in materials like refrigerants. The ozone is expected to recover and reach pre-1980 levels by 2050.

You can download Reset Earth on iOS and Android.