A Look at Feed the Dingo and Desert Ecosystem Dynamics

Game Metadata

• Title: Feed the Dingo
• Designer/Developer: PBS Kids
• Platform: Browser-based (PBS Kids website)
• High-Level Instructional Goal: Feed the Dingo is designed to teach players about maintaining desert ecosystem balance by managing species populations and resources over a 12-day cycle. Players learn through adjusting resource allocation (bubbles) and observing the resulting health of various species.
• Game Link: Feed the Dingo

Educational Goals

Feed the Dingo is designed to teach players about the fundamentals of ecosystem management by emphasizing the importance of species diversity, food chain dependencies, and resource allocation in a desert environment. By having players add a fixed number of bubbles each day to support various species, the game aims to show that different organisms play a role in maintaining a balanced ecosystem. Players learn that neglecting certain species, such as by adding only plants, results in a lower score because diversity is crucial for a healthy ecosystem. The game reinforces the idea that each species has specific needs and functions.

The game assumes that players have minimal prior knowledge of ecology—essentially, an understanding that living organisms require food to survive. However, it does not demand in-depth background knowledge, as it provides clear explanations of each species’ dietary needs. The transfer opportunities are significant, as the principles learned in the game can be applied to real-world contexts such as environmental science, conservation efforts, and sustainable resource management. By experimenting with species interactions and resource allocation, players may gain insights that encourage them to observe similar dynamics in natural environments, thereby bridging gameplay with broader ecological literacy.

Game Elements

The core gameplay loop of Feed the Dingo revolves around resource allocation and ecosystem feedback:

• Daily Turns: Each day, players are allotted 5 bubbles to assign to various species.
• Species Information: The game provides clear information about each species’ dietary needs or lack thereof (e.g., plants vs. animals/insects).
• Nightly Reports: At the end of each day, a nightly report displays the health of the ecosystem: species that are healthy earn +10 points each, undernourished species earn +5 points, and species that have disappeared earn no points.
• Strategic Decisions: Based on the nightly reports, the players adjust their strategies for subsequent days. For example, if a player neglects to add enough ants when the thorny devil population is struggling, the thorny devils may vanish, underscoring the consequences of an unbalanced ecosystem. The game incorporates structured feedback mechanisms, such as warnings when attempting to add an animal without its required food, that promote strategic planning and reinforce cause-and-effect relationships rather than relying solely on random trial and error.

After the 12-day cycle, players receive a summary of their total points and are prompted to restart the game, encouraging them to apply what they've learned in subsequent playthroughs for a better ecological balance.

Learning Mechanisms

Feed the Dingo utilizes immediate feedback and iterative learning to foster ecological understanding. Each night, players receive a report detailing which species are thriving, undernourished, or missing, which directly connects their daily bubble allocations to the state of the ecosystem. This immediate feedback reinforces the cause-and-effect relationship between resource management and species health. Although the game provides clear instructions regarding each species’ dietary needs, it lacks gradual scaffolding. Players are thrown into managing an entire ecosystem from the start, without intermediate steps to help them build mastery. The game also anchors abstract ecological concepts in a realistic desert setting, helping learners connect in-game actions with real-world dynamics. However, while the game intends to challenge players by requiring them to balance different species, it inadvertently allows for trivial strategies—such as focusing exclusively on adding plants—which can sidestep the intended lesson on interdependence and food chains.

Overall Critique

Feed the Dingo introduces children to key ecological concepts by requiring them to balance species in a desert ecosystem, but it falls short in fostering deeper learning about interdependence and diversity. For instance, if players repeatedly add only plants, the game reports that all plants are healthy and awards a lower score due to a lack of distinct species. This outcome, while mechanically sound, misses an opportunity to explain that a balanced ecosystem requires a variety of species to function properly. Without an explanation of why species diversity is essential, for example, how different organisms contribute to resource cycling and ecological stability, players may not understand the broader implications of their actions.

Furthermore, when a player attempts to add an animal without providing its required food, the game simply displays a notification and prevents the addition rather than offering corrective feedback. Although this design choice ensures that players follow the correct order, it also forgoes an instructional moment to delve into the food chain dependencies and the importance of ensuring that each species' needs are met. The scoring system, which rewards the number of distinct healthy species, could be leveraged to teach the value of diversity. For example, if the thorny devil remains unhealthy due to a shortage of prey, or if the ecosystem becomes imbalanced because a predator like the wedge-tail eagle isn’t introduced when needed, the game could prompt players to reflect on why these dynamics are critical for sustaining a robust ecosystem.

Additionally, the game does not clearly communicate the long-term consequences of imbalanced strategies. A more detailed explanation after each nightly report, perhaps through a reflective prompt or brief summary of the ecological role of each species, could help children understand not just the mechanics of the game but also the underlying principles of ecosystem management. Enhancements like these would help bridge the gap between trial-and-error and meaningful learning, ensuring that the gameplay not only entertains but also educates by reinforcing the importance of biodiversity, resource management, and the interconnected nature of living systems.