In another effort to attract attention to environmental issues through colorful, interactive cartoons (see The Meatrix), Dogwood Alliance—an organization dedicated to protecting US forests—has basically carbon-copied Pac-Man in a game to fight excessive packaging.
“Packaging Man” is basically Pac-Man with a few new graphics. Recycling symbols replace power pellets, Blinky and the gang are “corporate executives” intent on pilfering forests with phallic chainsaws, and the protagonist is not a yellow dot.
Though surely created with good intentions—US packaging waste weighs in at 80 million tons (.pdf) and is the largest source of municipal waste—the most creative part of the game is its intro, and who sits through those anyway?
Nonetheless, the “take action” link at the end is a little more rewarding than a perfect play, and it handily fills 20 minutes. Play here.
—Brittney Andres
Photo from dogwoodalliance.org
