posted February 02, 2007 09:34 AM            

Serious Games: A new breed of video game is spreading the word about important global issues.

by World Vision

Source: [url]http://lifestyle.sympatico.msn.ca/Serious+Games/Home/ContentPostingWV.aspx?isfa=1&newsitemid=40295081-d298-442c-9f7a-a94d820b6db1&feedname=WORLD_VISION_EN&show=False&number=0& showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc[/url]

Video games are just mindless fun, right? While this may be the perception of many, there is a movement afoot that could change this view.

A new genre of video game, sometimes called "serious games" or "games for change," is a fascinating new development in the industry.

You won't find any cute, animated characters or voyages across space and time in a typical serious game. Instead, players are immersed in a realistic world, faced with all-too-real issues. Using familiar gaming concepts, these video games delve into challenging and controversial social-justice topics.

The following three games exemplify this new movement.

Global Conflicts: Palestine
Taking on the role of a young journalist, players of this game are exposed to social complexities as they move around Jerusalem. Solving conflicts along the way, gamers have the opportunity to take one of three viewpoints: pro-Palestinian, pro-Israeli or a balanced viewpoint.

Darfur is Dying
Living in and around a refugee camp in Sudan, players must avoid armed militia as they collect water and food while managing their basic needs within the camp. A staggering 800,000 people played this game in the five months after its 2006 release by MTV Networks.

Food Force
This game was developed in 2005 and is considered one of the granddaddies of the serious-game genre. In the game, players join a team of UN experts that deal with food shortage and related issues on the fictional island of Sheylan. Created by the United Nations World Food Programme, the game offers ways to learn about the fight for food sufficiency.

Making a Difference
Some have criticized these games, contending that they oversimplify complex issues and mask harsh realities faced by those involved. While these claims hold a grain of truth, it's hard to argue with the fact that the games do have an impact. Players, mostly young and receptive teens, are taking action.

MTV Networks reports that thousands of players have raised awareness of the situation in Sudan by sending Darfur is Dying to their friends. Other players have become advocates, pressuring politicians for changes in government policies.

posted February 02, 2007 11:06 AM            

Journalism is about..or it's supposed to be about reporting facts. Who, What, When, Where and sometimes How. Not Why, which is the main focus so called journalists have adopted..to put their spin on topics. Spin which agrees with their own political leanings.

I'm not against games but living ones life connected to someone's computer program isn't my idea of living. It's living in someone else's fantasy...or your own.

Journalism game is only one example.

posted February 02, 2007 11:13 AM            

Lol! Well you have to understand that games are now the new medium of communication. The Baby Boomer generation sought books and the usual TV show for info. However, in this increasingly wired world and more fast paced environment, people see reading as a more uninteractive form of communication and would rather immerse themselves in the situation all togather.

Game allow you to do that.

Jwhop:

Your argument has merit but only to the extreme side. To give a more balanced side; Many to the colleuges (even married ones) who I work with enjoy a good gaming session Lol! Its quite the team builder actually.

Though yes one may say that the interactive aspect of any game makes it seem like a wannabe trip to an anternate reality, well my question is are't movies and books the same? Don't they transport the viewer into far away places?

Games just do it in a more interactive way . I would rather see these games on shelves than some crap like GTA (God I hate that thing with a passion.)

Edit: Just to give you an Idea, The U.S. army introduced a game called "America's Army" to help with their decreasing recruitment levels.

posted February 02, 2007 11:44 AM            

I noticed mention of a UN game. Well, I would object in a big way to the UN attempting to indoctrinate anyone to their way of thinking.

So, in their food game, I wonder if they bother to select an option where UN peacekeepers and relief workers trade UN food for sex with 12 year old girls?

I wonder if one of the options presented, is raping young girls or young women or forcing them to participate in sex videos which UN staff...some at high levels, sell in one of their..."side businesses".

You see Xodian, to most Americans, the UN is a worthless, do nothing, bungling, incompetent bunch of meddlers who are so brain dead they actually believe they should be running the world.

It's not a question of whether "games" are popular. It's a question of whether they're "useful" within the context they are being used.

If used by the military...to train military personnel in the use of electronic video images they will see in their jobs...like tank crews for instance or jet fighter pilots then, yes.

posted February 02, 2007 11:57 AM            

I mean again taking America's Army into context; the game's purpose may have been recruitment but players come into the army thinking its all gonna be fun and games only to realize the harsh reality of facing combat that goes beyond the word "conventional." PTSD has been quite an issue for the American Army lately because many of their recruits just couldn't handle the pressure.

Not saying that the army shouldn't exist offcourse. They had every right to release that game since it sheads light on their POV.

And like a book, that how I see games. Yes some of their content can be preachy but its up to you to choose what you want to play and what you don't .