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Friday, July 28, 2006
Cool kind of games
Play a game, learn about the problems of the world. My first instinct was that these real-world, problem-solving games were condescending: why give me the feeling that I can fix the problems of the Middle East with a few mouse clicks, a six pack of Capitol, and a party-size bag of blue corn chips?
In fact, the point of the games is not to win -- though you have to have some sort of victory conditions, or it's not a game -- but to teach people about the competing forces and the difficulties involved in trying to win. For example:
A Force More Powerful is considerably more complex. Players must make dozens of decisions as they try to foment democratic uprisings, but each action brings unexpected consequences. A huge demonstration may get your leaders arrested by the police, a boycott is safer but less effective, and so on.
