How Greenpeace turned a flight simulator into an environmental scanner

In its ongoing effort to confront environmental issues using all resources at its disposal, Greenpeace has tapped several resources, but who knew gaming could be so fruitful?

Utilising Microsoft Flight Simulator - the most popular software of its type - and up-to-date satellite imagery from Planet Labs PBC, the charity managed to recruit gamers into scanning the forests of the Amazon for deforestation and illegal mining sites, via an installable mod.

Intrigued by the potential for such an interesting mixture of sources, we sat down with AlmapBBDO CCO Marco Giannelli to find out what led to the formation of Flying Guardians.

How did you guys get involved in this project? Did the concept develop in-house?

The concept for the Flying Guardians was born here at AlmapBBDO, and the idea came out of the need to engage the public in defending the environment. 

The thing is, the data about environmental destruction is out there. The information’s freely available. The problem is that the numbers and the images aren’t exactly attractive. 

What we were able to achieve with Flying Guardians was to transform data from cutting-edge satellites into a gaming experience – one that’s interactive, dynamic, and content-rich. 

[Environmental] information is freely available. The problem is that the numbers and the images aren’t exactly attractive. 

Most importantly, it is an experience with the potential for a major real-world impact, with the possibility of issuing reports (based on actual coordinates).

There could be no more relevant brands than Planet, a leader in daily Earth satellite data, and a legendary organization like Greenpeace, to represent those two elements. 

Can you tell us about the development of the mod? How was the satellite tech integrated?

It was quite a long, complex process. But, to sum it up: in order to update the Microsoft Flight Simulator map, we had to find a way to merge the game with footage from the world's most cutting-edge satellites. 

After months of tests and development, we were able to pull it off by changing the game's source code. The game’s original map was sourced from BING. So we changed the source to Planet’s satellites’ data. 

In order to do that, we had to adapt the game’s API to be compatible with those satellites.

The game has a built-in mechanism that renders 3D maps – so the platform translates that incoming data automatically.  

But the whole process only really worked because of the amazing quality of the images we got from Planet. They’re filtered for maximum visibility and clarity using artificial intelligence to select the best-quality pixels. That way, you don’t get interference from clouds, for example.

Were there any issues in implementing the tech? What was the toughest hurdle to leap?

Over a few months, there were times when we thought it might be impossible. After all, we were trying to integrate two very different platforms: a flight simulator and cutting-edge satellites.

That meant dozens of compatibility tests and lots of time programming and reprogramming everything. Luckily, we had a tireless team of developers on our side. 

Our biggest challenge was definitely the integration process. There was nothing for us to base our work on, no precedent for what we were doing. 

The other elements of the experience - access to the petition, the donation tool, the radio channels, and the notifications, for example - were all pre-existing game elements. In those cases, we just had to adapt them to fit our needs. 

It was time-consuming, but we knew what we had to do. 

How is the project communicated to gamers? Is there a risk with dealing with the modding community rather than through the software developers themselves?

To reach the gaming community, we turned to its “leaders”: gamers themselves. 

We recruited dozens of streamers to stream Flying Guardians live and produce content on Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and elsewhere.

Over a few months, there were times when we thought it might be impossible.

We also got the support of digital influencers, who received a press kit telling the story of the project. They posted Stories and other content that helped introduce the Flying Guardians to even more gamers. 

The engagement far exceeded our expectations. The gaming community, especially people who were already into Microsoft Flight Simulator, really embraced the project. Hundreds of environmental alerts were submitted in the first days. 

It’s really amazing to think that now, each player can be a real-life defender of the forest.

That’s what you call taking gaming to another level.