REVIEW: PeaceMaker – Can You Bring PEACE to the Middle East?

PeaceMaker http://www.peacemakergame.com has just been released following substantial time in the design phase and after receiving several awards, including first prize at the 2006 Reinventing Public Diplomacy Through Games Competition sponsored by the USC Center on Public Diplomacy (S. D. Harris, 2006). The game, designed by students at Carnegie Mellon University, focuses on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and targets Palestinian and Israeli youth, though it is attractive to adults and others who are not gamers. Its aim quite simply is to teach peace (Burak et al., 2005). The player takes on the role of the Israeli Prime Minster or Palestinian President (or both) and must make a variety of choices based on their responsibilities and current occurrences within the game (Thompson, 2006).

As the leader of one of the sides, the player must react strategically to in-game events, from diplomatic negotiations to suicide bombing and military atrocities, and interact with eight other political leaders and social groups to establish a stable resolution of the conflict before his or her term in office ends (Burak et al., p. 2).

Playing either side of the conflict allows the player to develop a more comprehensive understanding and empathy for the other side wherever they come out on the political spectrum.

Though it is a peace game, a player is not penalized for a “judicious” use of military actions, especially against “extremists” which may bring about positive results (Burak et al., 2005). However, too much force will plunge the area into chaos (Musgrove, 2005). The game combines news and video segments with turn-based game play. One positive of the game is that its produced by ImpactGames, an independent company formed by the students who began the project (Gudmundsen, 2006) which avoids the controversy of a peace game being produced by a company that also produces first person shooter games.

I played the game as the Palestinian President and found the game to be intriguing though it did not take me long to finish. I liked the video segments which helped me understand the reaction of the public. I also appreciated the minimization of graphic violence. There were some challenging aspects of the game play though after I figured out how to utilize a variety of strategies to raise my scores, I was able to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The game does offer the opportunity to play at a more challenging level and as both sides, though after I played it once I have not had much desire to play it again which says something. One strength of the game is that it is designed for youth (though it should have broad appeal as well). It is also a very affordable $20.

I must say that after I played this game and then read the news about the latest violence in Palestine, I had a weird disconnect between my virtual peace and the lack thereof in the real world. Group play, play within the context of a workshop, and/or a debriefing would all be helpful in assisting the player in working through such possible outcomes.

References:

Burak, A., Keylor, E., & Sweeney, T. (2005). Peacemaker: A video game to teach peace, INTETAIN 2005 INtelligent TEchnologies for interactive enterTAINment. Madonna di Campiglio, Italy: Carnegie Mellon University.

Gudmundsen, J. (2006). Movement aims to get serious about games. Retrieved February 26, 2007, from http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2006-05-19-serious-games_x.htm

Harris, S. D. (2006). Healing games: Computer simulations don’t have to be violent — they can give peace a chance. Retrieved March 9, 2007, from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/21/INGS8I0VV434.DTL

Musgrove, M. (2005). Video game world gives peace a chance. Retrieved February 26, 2007, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/15/AR2005101500218_pf.html

Thompson, C. (2006). Saving the world, one video game at a time. Retrieved November 22, 2006, from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/arts/23thom.html?ex=1311307200&en=5737158797091966&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

Originally posted 07/30/2007 at 10:54 GMT

~ by jlseagull on June 27, 2009.