Newsgame
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Newsgames are a genre of video games that attempt to apply journalistic principles to their gameplay. Newsgames can provide context to complex situations which might be hard to explain without experiencing the situation firsthand.[1]According to "Newsgames: Journalism at Play" written by Newsgame innovators Ian Bogost, Simon Ferrari and Bobby Schweizer, Newsgames are a “body of work produced at the intersection of video games and journalism.”[2] Journalists use Newsgames to expand on stories so the audience can learn more about the information in an immersive way.
This genre of game is usually based on real concepts, issues, or stories, but the games can also be a representation of the original research, offering players a fictional experience based on real-world situations. They can also be thought of as the video game equivalent of political cartoons, Miguel Sicart describes them as games that "utilize the medium to participate in the public debate".[3][4]
Examples
- #Hacked, simulates the role of an investigative journalist who is working against a timeline to learn as much information about the Syrian War as possible.
- The Voter Suppression Trail is a simulation game that highlights issues in the American voting system.
- The Good, The Bad and The Accountant features players as the general manager of a city having to juggle corruption.
- Syrian Journey puts players in the role of a Syrian refugee who just sold all of their possessions.
- NarcoGuerra, a game based on the war on drugs and Mexican drug War, was released in June 2013.
- Endgame:Syria, a game exploring the Syrian civil war that started in March 2011, which was refused by Apple's App Store and created a debate around the role of games, news and their distribution as a result.
- Sock and Awe,[5] a game where you fling shoes at George W. Bush.
- Madrid,[6] a game about memorializing the Madrid bombings.
- September 12th,[7] a game about civilian casualties in the war on terror.
- Darfur is Dying,[8] a game about the refugee crisis in Darfur.
- Bacteria Salad,[9] a game about the spinach E. coli contamination of 2006.
- Jogo da Máfia, a Brazilian game that explains how globalized Mafia works.[10]
- Filosofighters, a journalistic game that explains basic philosophy concepts.[11]
- Snowden Run 3D, a game based on the events surrounding NSA leaker Edward Snowden.
- 1000 Days of Syria,[12] a hypertext-based historical fiction game timelining the first 1000 days of the Syrian conflict.
- Archanoid,[13] an arcade game based on Breakout (Arkanoid) which describes the destruction of over 500 historical buildings in Moscow.
- HeartSaver: An Experimental News Game, April 2013 GEN Editors' Lab Hackathon, by Al Shaw, Sisi Wei and Amanda Zamora.[14]
- Budget Hero,[15] a so-called "policy flight simulator".
- JFK Reloaded, a video game that simulates the assassination of President John F. Kennedy
September 12th
The format started with a game called September 12 by Gonzalo Frasca,[16] published in 2003. In September 12, the player is positioned in a plane in the sky, with its reticule set on a village in a Middle Eastern setting. You are searching for a terrorist and when you spot him, your mission dictates you to kill him. But the reticule is broad and the village busy with regular civilians, women and children included; collateral damage is unavoidable. Of course, you shoot when the terrorist is in a quiet area, however, launching a missile has the potential to be disruptive and cause attention as it approaches its target. The result may perpetuate collateral damage, which can enrage the villagers and turn them into terrorists.
This marks the start of the newsgames format, in which experience and commentary from direct experiences are cited instead of news reports.
See also
References
- ^ Cabales, Victoria. "A Brief Introduction to Newsgames". Northwestern University Knight Lab. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
- ^ "Newsgames - the MIT Press". Archived from the original on 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2012-06-21., "Newsgames: Journalism at Play," p. 6, by Ian Bogost, Simon Farrari, and Bobby Schweizer.
- ^ Sicart, M. “Newsgames: Theory and Design”. International Conference on Entertainment Computing. Pittsburgh, PA. 2008.
- ^ Treanor, Mike; Mateas, Michael. Newsgames: Procedural Rhetoric meets Political Cartoons. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.190.1724.
- ^ Hernández, Iván Darío Samudio (15 December 2017). "Newsgames: periodismo y videojuegos ¿una herramienta utilizada en el ámbito informativo colombiano?". Comunicación. 37 (37): 48–49. doi:10.18566/comunica.n37.a05.
- ^ "MADRID". Newsgaming.com. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ "September 12th". Newsgaming.com. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ "Darfur Is Dying - Play mtvU's Darfur refugee game for change". Archived from the original on 2006-08-03.
- ^ "Bacteria Salad - Free Strategy Game from". AddictingGames. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ Kawazu, Edição: Fred di Giacomo, Rafael Kenski, André Sirangelo e Alexandre Versignassi. Reportagem: Maurício Horta. Desenvolvimento e design: Douglas. "Newsgame: O Jogo da Máfia - Superinteressante". super.abril.com.br. Archived from the original on 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2015-09-17.
- ^ Zanotello, Idealização: Raoni Maddalena; Edição: Frederico di Giacomo e Kleyson Barbosa; Design, Interface e Som: Daniel Apolinario; Programação: Gil Beyruth; Ilustração e animação: Alisson Lima; Texto: Otavio Cohen; Agradecimento: Ana Prado, Breno Castro Alves, Bruno Xavier, Fabiane Zambon, Luiz. "Filosofighters". Superinteressante - Abril. Archived from the original on 2015-08-18. Retrieved 2015-09-17.
- ^ "1000 Days of Syria". Mitch Swenson. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
- ^ "Mobile game documents demolition of historic Moscow buildings". TheGuardian.com. 16 June 2015.
- ^ Shaw, Al; Wei, Sisi; Zamora, Amanda (22 April 2013). "HeartSaver: An Experimental News Game". ProPublica. Retrieved 2015-09-17.
- ^ "Budget Hero, a game about debt we SHOULD play | Games for Change". www.gamesforchange.org. Retrieved 2015-09-17.
- ^ Bogost, Ian; Ferrari, Simon; Schweizer, Bobby (October 2010). "Newsgames: Journalism at Play," p. 11, 12, by Ian Bogost, Simon Farrari, and Bobby Schweizer. ISBN 978-0262014878.
External links
- Journalism and video games come together as a new form of storytelling in Brazil
- Play the News: Fun and Games in Digital Journalism, by Max Foxman, Tow Center for Digital Journalism, February 17, 2015 - "Link" (PDF). (654 KB) - Video of the report launch on YouTube
- Games for Change - Newsgames category
- American University JOLT program - Inventory of Newsgames
- University of Miami JournalismGames.com - Inventory of 60+ Newsgames
- Articles with a promotional tone from July 2016
- All articles with a promotional tone
- Articles that may contain original research from July 2016
- All articles that may contain original research
- Articles lacking reliable references from July 2016
- All articles lacking reliable references
- Articles with multiple maintenance issues
- Humanitarian video games
- Video game types
- Types of journalism