A Look Into Educational Gaming

Darfur is Dying

http://www.darfurisdying.com/
Target Age: 16-22 (High school)

1. How the scarcity of basic resources is incredibly common and essential to the survival of the people of Darfur.

2. That the people of Darfur all have individual stories, and many of them are depressing and incredibly sad. It tries to put a human face on the grand tragedy.

3. That help is possible and can be done in a variety of ways—sending a letter to a politician, donations, and more are all available to do through the game.

Critique: Overall, I felt the game to be lacking very much gameplay, challenge, or interest. Sure, it conveyed some basic information and stories, but there was very little interaction. There is no replay value nor any reason to go back to the game after its initial play through.

Climate Change

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/hottopics/climatechange/climate_challenge/
Target Age: 18-30 (Young Adults & Middle Aged)

1. That drastic policies and measures by the government is needed in order to combat global warming effectively.

2. There is no popular road or one way to combat global warming, and a combination of changes will need to take place—nearly all of them being unpopular (such as CO2 and gas taxes)

3. Even when you “win” the game, you may have destroyed your country’s wealth or popularity in the world. You must balance everything as best as possible, which seems downright impossible at times.

Critique: Sometimes, it felt like there was little feedback in terms of how much of resources you needed. Also, when the game was over, it informed me I destroyed my country’s economy and wealth. Which seems odd, since I had tons of extra money and there was no indication that I was destroying our wealth. Oh well, stopped global warming.

Third World Famer

http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com/
Target Age: 16-25

1. How massive, tragic events happen nearly every year, and it effects economies of third world nations every year. From famine to civil war to rebellions to death to disease, there’s always something taking its toll.

2. You must use extremely limited resources to turn your farm around and become successful. However, the ability to actually succeed and “win” the game is a nice change, rather than Darfur is Dying’s “you just survive” mechanic.

3. That simple necessities, such as food, medicine,  education, and communications, takes years (if not more) to save for. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices in order to get these things.

Critique: Overall, I enjoyed this game. It made you think about the decisions you were making, and yet you felt a sense of progression and achievement by making good decisions.

Pandemic 3

review coming soon