Purposeful Games for Social Change

Activate

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 02:50:00 -0500

“Activate demonstrates how social change happens because of motivated individuals. Volunteer for an issue that affects you by holding a bake sale or writing to Congress. Directly affect your community by helping out at the animal shelter and convincing others to help you on your mission. If your movement grows large enough, you just might change the world!”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: iCivics

YEAR:

INFO: Online, free

PLAY: http://www.icivics.org/games/activate

A Decision of Paramount Importance

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 02:45:00 -0500

“A serious game aimed to warn people about teen dating violence, created for a game design contest run by a parents association.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Jennifer Ann’s Group. (U.S.A.) / Thomas Liu.

YEAR: 2010

INFO: Online, free

PLAY: http://www.jenniferann.org/2010-game-runner-up-1.htm

http://www.jenniferann.org/2012-game-design-challenge.htm

[You may try different browsers to play this game]

Admongo

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 02:40:00 -0500

“Admongo explores the fact that children spend billions of dollars a year on products and services, and influence billions more in family purchases. Advertising is ubiquitous, and the distinction between advertising and other content in new media — advergames, for example — often is blurred. It is likely that many children may not understand when they are being “pitched” a product or service.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Federal Trade Commission and PR agency Fleishman-Hillard

YEAR: 2010

INFO: Online, free

PLAY: http://www.admongo.gov/

Afghanistan (Qurya) [Global Conflicts]

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 02:35:00 -0500

“In a small village of Afghanistan, a small school has been attacked. Who is behind the attack? Can peace be negotiated? Can you balance the dangers, the idealism, and the needs for education, and reach a viable solution?”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Serious Games Interactive

YEAR: 2008

INFO: Online, 20 days-free trial for teachers. Single user 9,95 EUR. Class set (30 users) 49,95 EUR. School set (+250 users) 79,95 EUR

PLAY: http://www.globalconflicts.eu/products

(Source: http://www.globalconflicts.eu/)

Against All Odds

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 02:30:00 -0500

“Against All Odds is about the global refugee experience from the time people are forced to leave their countries of origin to the beginning of their new life abroad. A series of short challenges illustrates the complexity and danger of the refugee experience.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Developer: United Nations High Commission on Refugees. Funders: Microsoft, Ericsson, Datareal AB

YEAR: 2005

INFO: Online, free

PLAY: http://www.playagainstallodds.com/

AgoraXchange

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 02:20:00 -0500

“AgoraXchange is anOnline community for designing a massive multi-player global politics game challenging the violence and inequality of our present political system. Phase I was launched as a commission for the Tate Online on 15 March 2004 and now contains a database of ideas for the rules, game environment, and site look-and-feel.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Natalie Bookchin y Jacqueline Stevens

YEAR: 2004

INFO: Online, free

PLAY: http://www.agoraxchange.net/

America 2049

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 02:15:00 -0500

“Human rights are in peril, democracy in the dust. You: an agent of the Council on American Heritage, sent to capture mysterious fugitive Ken Asaba—and into high-risk situations that challenge you to ask: What if? How close are we already to America 2049? How can we work together in real life to build a better future? America 2049 is a new breed of Facebook game, reaching beyond the world’s most popular social network to include other social media, fictional websites, historical artifacts, real-life events, and Hollywood celebrities. Change the future—play today.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Breakthrough

YEAR: 2011

INFO: Online (only with Facebook account), free

PLAY: http://www.america2049.com/

(Source: http://www.america2049.com/)

Angry Anna

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 02:05:00 -0500

“Corrupt politicians don’t stand a chance against Angry Anna, a new social game that’s captured India’s social conscience. The game has earned over 200,000 playthroughs at about 3,000 every half hour since it hit the web two days ago (on Aug 24th, 2011). True to its name, this game is a small Angry Birds clone that contains four levels and features popular anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare as an Angry Bird, along with Baba Ramdev and Kiran Bedi. The baddies, or the green pigs, are implied to be the following political figures: Manmohan Singh, Suresh Kalmadi, P. Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal.

Promoted solely from Facebook ‘Likes’ and word-of-mouth via Twitter, Geek Mentors Studios plans to eventually release the game for the iPhone and iPad.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Geek Mentors Studios

YEAR: 2011

INFO: Online, free

PLAY: http://www.angryanna.com/

Antiwargame

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 02:00:00 -0500

“Antiwargame explores the politics of the war on terror via a game simulation. In Antiwargame you take actions such as setting your budget, sending troops overseas and manipulating the media, with the goal of maintaining a popularity high enough to remain president.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Josh On

YEAR: 2001

INFO: Online, free

PLAY: http://www.antiwargame.org/antiwargame.html

Ars Regendi: The Arts of Politics

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 23:59:00 -0500

“Ars Regendi is a browser-based political game that lets you take the reigns of your own, realistically simulated state. You will be asked to weigh in on various matters of state and - faced with a number of choices - any decision you make will have ramifications for the well-being of your virtual populace! In addition, you will be able to form alliances with other countries, initiate reforms and adjust the budget.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Responsable: Redmaze Marc Böttenberg

YEAR: 2008

INFO: Browser-based, online, basic version for free

PLAY: http://www.ars-regendi.com/

(Source: http://www.ars-regendi.com/)

A Seat at the Table

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:58:00 -0500

“Step into the world where food is often scarce and difficult decisions have to be made every day.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Oxfam America

YEAR: 2007?

INFO: Online interactive media, free

PLAY: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/multimedia/flash/a-seat-at-the-table

(Source: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/multimedia/flash/a-seat-at-the-table)

Astérix et le tour des droit/ Asterix and the children rights tour

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:51:00 -0500

A game created to let the player discover children’s rights with Asterix: the exceptional ambassador of the children’s rights defense.

” ‘Asterix et le tour des droit’ est un jeu crée pour vous permettre de découvrir les doits des enfants avec Astérix, ambassadeur exceptionnel du Défenseur des Enfants”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: La Defenseure des Enfants. Republique Francaise

YEAR: 2009

INFO: Online, free

PLAY: http://www.asterix.com/tour-des-droits/

(Source: http://www.asterix.com/tour-des-droits/)

A Work in the Park

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:16:00 -0500

“A serious game aimed to warn people about teen dating violence, created for a game design contest run by a parents association.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Jennifer Ann’s Group. (U.S.A.) / Jared Sain

YEAR: 2008

INFO: Online, free

PLAY: http://www.jenniferann.org/2008_game_contest_runner_up1.htm

http://www.jenniferann.org/2012-game-design-challenge.htm

[You may try different browsers to play this game]

(Source: http://www.jenniferann.org/)

Ayiti: The Cost of Life

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:13:00 -0500

“Global Kids has established itself as an innovative leader in using online games to promote global awareness and engaged citizenship. Through the Playing 4 Keeps program, Global Kids trains urban youth to develop games about important world issues.” “The youth chose to design a game that focuses on the issue of poverty as an obstacle to education and uses the country of Haiti as a case study. The game and its associated curriculum were released through UNICEF’s Child Alert: Haiti website and TakingITGlobal’s network of over 170,000 educators worldwide. Curriculum material is available for educators. Since it was released in October 2006, hundreds of thousands of people have played Ayiti. The game and the after school component are being evaluated by the Center for Children and Technology.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Global Kids Youth, GameLab, UNICEF, and TakingITGlobal, among others

YEAR: 2006

INFO: Online, free

PLAY: http://ayiti.globalkids.org/game/

Backlash

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:07:00 -0500

“The game BlackLash is part of the Mongrel’s campaign National Heritage, an international project that forces audiences, artists and collaborators to confront their complicity with cultural, biological and technological racism. Mongrel is a mixed bunch of people and machines working to celebrate the methods of an ‘ignorant’ and ‘filthy’ London street culture.”

“El jugador asume el punto de vista de un joven negro que sobrevive en una ciudad de los años 90 eligiendo su propia representación entre 4 estereotipos de personajes negros que deberán pelearse contra las fuerzas de Satán. La premisa del juego es que las autoridades dominan la sociedad porque han reforzado sus filas con oficiales de policía racistas, con nazis y con miembros del Ku Kux Klan que mantienen el control de las calles con sus pistolas y sus drogas. Los jugadores deben aniquilarlos para conseguir el coche de sus sueños, ganar su libertad,… y el juego.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Mongrel colective: Matsuko Yokokoji, Richard Pierre-Davis Harwood, and Mervin Jarmen

YEAR: 1998

INFO: Online, free

PLAY: http://synworld.t0.or.at/level2/gaming_reader/artofgaming/backlash.htm#

Balance of Power: 1990 Edition

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:04:00 -0500

” The objective is the same as the original Balance of Power: use your military, covert, and industrial forces to make your country the most prestigious in the world while avoiding nuclear war. However, it is now 1989, and the Communist Block is crumbling…

Chris Crawford, who rarely ever made a sequel to a computer game, was besieged by mail asking him to update his classic from a few years before to reflect the new state of the world. Russia was falling, the Iron Curtain was shattering, and smaller countries were beginning to assert their own regional power with more freedom from the bipolar world of the Cold War.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Chris Crawford

YEAR: 1988-1990

INFO: Twelve floppy disks PlatformsAmiga, Apple IIgs, Atari ST, DOS, Macintosh. On sale

PLAY: http://www.mobygames.com/game/balance-of-power-the-1990-edition

(Source: http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/balance-of-power-the-1990-edition)

Beaner

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:01:00 -0500

“Beaner is a computer-based game that appropriates the classic arcade game Frogger, where players must direct a frog across a treacherous road and swiftly moving river to reach an area of safety at the top of the screen. In Ilich and Valdez’s version, players navigate a sombrero through a river, a desert, and a freeway—all critical barriers related to illegal border crossings—to reach the land of opportunity. The reward for a successful crossing is the same fate faced by many migrant workers without papers—backbreaking and poorly paid clandestine work.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Blas Valdez, Franz Illich

YEAR: 2000

INFO: Online, free

PLAY: http://diegodelavega.net/ficcion//beaner/

Border Crossing (Mexico/USA) [Global Conflicts series]

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:52:00 -0500

“A girl was shot at the Mexican-American border. How was she killed? What future is waiting for her baby?
You arrive in Latin America with a bag full of journalistic ambitions. The region is one of the most turbulent, violent, and poverty-stricken places on the planet. In a region where politicians and police are feared rather than respected, people try desperately to grab a piece of the land and call it their own. All too often, however, it ends badly. Can you make a difference by writing investigative stories?”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Serious Games Interactive

YEAR: 2008

INFO: Online, 20 days-free trial for teachers. Single user 9,95 EUR. Class set (30 users) 49,95 EUR. School set (+250 users) 79,95 EUR

PLAY: http://www.globalconflicts.eu/promote?productId=1000002&hash=d15adeeca5509b0c37d9f1dc1c823b35bee03f53

(Source: http://www.globalconflicts.eu/products)

Bordergames

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:48:00 -0500

“Bordergames es un proyecto de arte colaborativo que se basa en una red de trabajo construida a partir de una serie de talleres, un editor y motor de videojuegos libres y gratuitos diseñados con código abierto, que permiten a jóvenes construir , colectivamente un videojuego a partir de su experiencia inmediata con el entorno donde viven. El videoguego plantea la intensificación y negociación de las fronteras, tanto físicas, como simbólicas, culturales, de género, de clase social, etnia, identidad cultural, etc… El objetivo del juego es trabajar en red las múltiples fronteras de la vida diaria de las ciudades y otros entornos a través de una herramienta de trabajo cercana y atractiva a las jóvenes actuales como son los videojuegos.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: La Fiambrera Obrera (Spain)

YEAR: 2008

INFO: Visual Basic 2++ open source editor, free

PLAY: http://www.ravalnet.org/bordergames/

Branches of Power

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:36:00 -0500

“Players engage in the law making process from the perspective of all three branches of government. As the President, they set the agenda and sign and veto laws. As the congress, they gather support and try to pass legislation that complies with their values, and as the Supreme Court, they evaluate laws for their constitutionality.”

DEVELOPER/DESIGNER: Filament Games

YEAR: 2010

INFO: Online, free

PLAY: http://www.icivics.org/games/branches-power