Last week, as part of International ShakeOut Day, millions of people worldwide participated in earthquake drills at work, school and home. 

At 10:20 a.m. on Oct. 20, The Great Washington …

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Last week, as part of International ShakeOut Day, millions of people worldwide participated in earthquake drills at work, school and home. 

At 10:20 a.m. on Oct. 20, The Great Washington ShakeOut led people in the Evergreen State to practice earthquake safety. 

Since its inception of preparing people for the Cascadia earthquake, thousands of people have participated in the Great Washington ShakeOut effort. 

Along with these drills and other training efforts, the Great Washington ShakeOut has another tool in its belt: a video game. 

In the 3D game that can be accessed for free online, players have several characters they can utilize as they learn how to survive in the Pacific Northwest after it is hit by the “big one.” The game was designed through an effort by Lewis and Clark College, located in Portland, Oregon.

Earthquakes with the magnitude of 8 and 9 have rocked the Pacific Northwest in the past 10,000 years. The region is located in proximity to the Cascadia subduction zone, a tectonic plate boundary where the oceanic Juan de Fuca plate dives underneath the North American plate. The building tension caused by friction between the two plates will eventually trigger an earthquake from northern California to southern British Columbia, scientists say. 

After a quake of that size, western areas of Oregon and Washington could be without water, fuel and medical services for months. The game was designed after it was discovered that young adults are one of the least prepared age groups for the Cascadia earthquake. 

“This is, in part, due to limitations associated with this phase in life. Young adults have fewer financial resources, are more mobile and less likely to own a home, and often are less involved in physical community support networks,” the game designers state on their website. “Preparedness messaging often fails to address these limitations, as it usually targets families and homeowners. But young adults could have advantages for preparedness and mitigation efforts, including physical capacity, creativity, and ability to organize with other young adults. In fact, young adult volunteers can be a vital part of disaster response.”

The first Cascadia earthquake videogame was a 2D game using RPG Maker in 2018. In that game, the player would purchase supplies, find drinking water, turn off a gas valve, and help an injured person out of an apartment building, with the help of other neighbors.

It took a team of six people to develop that game.

“We used the game in an experiment that manipulated the level of resources the player had and their avatar choice and name,” the game designers state on their website. “We found that playing the game significantly increased players’ self-efficacy or confidence in their own ability to prepare for and respond to an earthquake.”

The current version of the game, Cascadia 9.0, was developed in 2021. It moved to 3D using the Unity Game Development Platform. Along with learning how to survive an earthquake, mini-games were also introduced which allow the player to practice water sanitation, waste management, and other survival skills.  

It took 19 people to develop the new version of the game. 

Now, the developers are working on Cascadia 9.1, which utilizes the TopDown Game Engine and a new dialogue system. 

Cascadia 9.1 will guide the player through a more complex map and setting. Updated lighting gives the game a more atmospheric appearance, and grid-based movement helps decrease problems with collisions during gameplay. Instead of levels, the player will move freely through the game world. 

Those interested in the game can play Cascadia 9.0 online for free at cascadia9game.org.

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