In an interview with ASU Now, School of Sustainability Assistant Professor Datu Buyung Agusdinata describes how ASU is supporting the development of a video game – one that helps everyday people understand how their consumption of food, energy and water can affect everything from the environment to income inequality.

The game represents an effort by multiple institutions and is funded through a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation. Agusdinata leads the ASU team, which will contribute a better understanding of human decision-making in households, as well as of humans' response to psychological cues and social norms.

The game will reveal the preferences and intentions of users, suggesting what they might do under certain conditions in a realistic environment. Ultimately, it will inform concrete and cost-effective methods – including technology and policy – for promoting sustainable consumption.