Can video games be a force for change?

Winda Benedetti Citizen Gamer • E-mail

I can’t say that “fun” is the first word that comes to mind when playing the computer game called “ICED.” And I wouldn’t dare use the term “entertaining” to describe a rhythm game called “Hush.” And as for “Darfur is Dying,” I wasn’t exactly leaping out of my chair shouting “Wheeee!” as I vigorously tapped keys in an attempt to win this particular game. 

Then again, how do you make a game about human rights violations fun? And can a game that drops players into the midst of Rwandan genocide squads — even one that’s a distant cousin to “Guitar Hero” — really be expected to create an experience one could call amusing?

Meanwhile, the only thing I shouted as I played “Darfur is Dying” — that is, as I helped a 13-year-old girl named Poni sprint across a scorching desert, past the rotting carcasses of dead cows, desperately seeking water for her malnourished family — was an unprintable curse word. A group of gun-toting militiamen had snatched up the poor girl and the game informed me that she’d likely be raped.

Genocide in Rwanda, torture in Sudan, poverty in Haiti, political shenanigans in the United States — video games are tackling some of the most pressing and depressing issues of our time. They’re called serious games, persuasive games and games for change. But while some developers and activists think these games offer a particularly potent and increasingly important method of getting information out to the world at large, some gamers and game industry folks seem to think sociopolitical messages and games go together like dog poo on a birthday cake.

The Believer
“I play games because I enjoy running around Dracula's castle killing skeletons, or doing a 720° kickflip-to-faceplant, or driving around a coastal city on a motorcycle while listening to '80s songs,” wrote a gamer called J. Kyle during a discussion on the topic at Kotaku.com. “I don't play games to be delivered a heavy-handed message about why my political views are wrong.”

Suzanne Seggerman doesn’t have anything against running around Dracula’s castle, but she definitely believes video games have more to offer the world than skeleton-killing extravaganzas.

“We believe that games can and should have a powerful impact on society,” she says.

Gamelab "Ayiti: The Cost of Life" tasks players with helping a family of five survive in impoverished Haiti.

Seggerman is the president and co-founder of Games for Change, an organization that supports and promotes the development of socially-responsible games and, earlier this month, hosted its fifth annual Games for Change Festival in New York.

Check out their site and you’ll find links to the likes of “ICED – I Can End Deportation,” a role-playing game that puts players in the shoes of a young immigrant trying to navigate the byzantine and often terrifying U.S. immigration system. There’s also “Ayiti: The Cost of Life,” a strategy game that challenges players to help a family of five in Haiti survive for four years.

“At the very least, some of these games are simply raising awareness of issues because they’re being played by millions of players,” Seggerman says, pointing to the likes of “Food Force” – a free game published by the United Nations World Food Programme that tasks players with managing the various challenges that come with distributing food to poverty-stricken people. “But what we hope to see is a shifting of both mindset and behavior.”

It’s a tall order, for sure. But Seggerman believes games like “Food Force” and “The Cost of Life” are especially good at allowing players to explore complex issues with multiple variables. And she believes that, unlike movies, games can help people feel more connected to an issue by actually putting them in control of it.

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