Science has, in its past, been largely a private affair between other scientists with little to any input from non scientists. The dawn of the digital age has largely changed this as data is more widely available and researchers investigate large scale scientific issues and require large quantities of data. One way scientists in various fields are gaining access to larger pools of data is employing the assistance of "citizen scientists". Video games are one way researchers have encouraged and used citizens to assist in further scientific knowledge. For example the games, "Forgotten Island" & "Happy Match" present gamers with actual images of insects and other organisms and require them to classify them to unlock more puzzles. This data has enabled researchers associated with these projects to gain insights into classifying and identifying unknown species (Haley, 2012)
Image: Image courtesy of Syracuse University, Citizen Sort
If you feel like being a citizen scientist you can try your hand at Forgotten Island here
Works Cited:
Haley, K. (2012, September 21). Shall we play a game?: Merging citizen science and video games. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
