Blog 11

I think that it is great that people are using games as a medium to battle social and political issues. People need to use whatever outlet they can to get their word out into the world and be heard. All forms of media can be used and I think video games will be a huge platform to help tackle some of these issues. People are often more immersed in video games than they would be in a movie or a TV show. They relate the character much more because they are controlling him/her. If that character is acting a certain way or there is an underlying message, that may resonate more with the audience that it would on other platforms. Much like Darvasi said in his report — Empathy, Perspective and Complicity: How Digital Games can support Peace Education and Conflict Resolution ,

“If you read the literature on conflict resolution, perspective-taking is very important in order to reconcile opposing points of view,” says Darvasi. “It’s difficult to have empathy if you can’t put yourself into somebody else’s perspective. Video games allow you to assume perspectives in an embodied form.

“When you watch the news or a documentary, you might not feel connected to the issue. But video games immerse you in the action. Your actions have consequences within the game and therefore there’s a greater emotional and cognitive investment.”

Games can sometimes be like running through a simulation, so that simulation could be preparing you and having you practice for real life situations where you have to take into account the needs of others as well as many other factors.

“You’re asked to make very complex ethical decisions every step of the way,” says Darvasi. “They’re not black and white, good and evil-type decisions that you would get in a less nuanced game. They put you in the position of somebody who has to make very difficult decisions. You often don’t have the opportunity to make a positive ethical decision. The power of that is substantial.”

I had never thought about using games in that way but I was very interested by what Rachel Ament said in her article ‘Screen Saviors: Can Activism-Focused Games Change Our Behavior?’

“To generate more direct and immediate results, some activism-focused games are donating profits from their in-app purchases to a cause or charity. Likewise, the startup GamesThatGive creates Facebook games for brands, such as Pepsi and MasterCard, which donate to charities when consumers play. Some of these games donate based on time played, while others donate when players reach a certain level or achievement.”

I think that is a super cool and impactful way to go about raising money. As long as the money is actually going to the right place. You get to have fun and help make a difference in some way, rather than playing a game that has no other impact.