From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Video game genre
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 newsgame developers
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.
Video games in the news games genre are those that are based on real-world ideas, problems, and events. They resemble political cartoons in the context of video games and aim to provide players a fictitious experience based on actual events. According to game studies scholar Miguel Sicart, news games are a means of participating in public discourse, utilizing the unique affordances of the medium to engage players in important social and political issues.
[3]
[4]
History
[
edit
]
The format started with the game
September 12
by
Gonzalo Frasca
,
[5]
published in 2003. In
September 12
, the player is positioned in a bomber in the sky, with its sights set on a village in the Middle East. The player must find and kill a terrorist within the village, which is heavily populated with civilians. The player needs to decide when to fire on the village, with the goal of causing as little
collateral damage
, as too much destruction may cause other civilians to become terrorists.
Examples
[
edit
]
- The Voter Suppression Trail
is a simulation game that highlights issues in the American voting system.
[6]
- The Good, The Bad and The Accountant
features players as the general manager of a city having to juggle corruption
[7]
- Syrian Journey
puts players in the role of a Syrian refugee who just sold all of their possessions
[8]
- 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
, a game where the player throws shoes at
George W. Bush
[9]
- Madrid
, a game about memorializing the Madrid bombings
[10]
- September 12th
, a game about civilian casualties in the
war on terror
[11]
- Darfur is Dying
, a game about the refugee crisis in Darfur
[12]
- Bacteria Salad
, a game about the spinach
E. coli
contamination of 2006
[13]
- Jogo da Mafia
, a Brazilian game that explains how globalized Mafia works
[14]
- Filosofighters
, a journalistic game that explains basic philosophy concepts
[15]
- Snowden Run 3D
, a game based on the events surrounding NSA leaker
Edward Snowden
- 1000 Days of Syria
, a
hypertext
-based historical fiction game timelining the first 1000 days of the Syrian conflict
[16]
- Archanoid
, an arcade game based on
Breakout
(
Arkanoid
) which describes the destruction of over 500 historical buildings in Moscow
[17]
- HeartSaver: An Experimental News Game
, April 2013, GEN Editors' Lab Hackathon, by Al Shaw, Sisi Wei and Amanda Zamora
[18]
- Budget Hero
, a "policy flight simulator"
[19]
- JFK Reloaded
, a video game that simulates the
assassination of President John F. Kennedy
- Pule o Muro (Jump over the Wall, loosely translated) is a newsgame based on true events that takes place in communist
Berlin
during the early 1970s. The game challenges the player to attempt an escape to the west side of Germany by crossing the
Berlin Wall
.
[20]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
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
.
- ^
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
.
- ^
Baker, Chris; Moore, Brian; Lacher, Mike (2016-11-03).
"Opinion | 'The Voter Suppression Trail'
"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
2023-12-18
.
- ^
"The Good, The Bad and The Accountant"
.
jplusplus.github.io
. Retrieved
2023-12-18
.
- ^
"Syrian Journey: Choose your own escape route"
.
BBC News
. 2015-04-01
. Retrieved
2023-12-18
.
- ^
Hernandez, Ivan Dario Samudio (15 December 2017).
"Newsgames: periodismo y videojuegos ¿una herramienta utilizada en el ambito informativo colombiano?"
.
Comunicacion
.
37
(37): 48?49.
doi
:
10.18566/comunica.n37.a05
.
- ^
"MADRID"
. Newsgaming
. Retrieved
2010-05-05
.
- ^
"September 12th"
. Newsgaming
. 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, Edicao: Fred di Giacomo, Rafael Kenski, Andre Sirangelo e Alexandre Versignassi. Reportagem: Mauricio Horta. Desenvolvimento e design: Douglas.
"Newsgame: O Jogo da Mafia - Superinteressante"
.
super.abril.com.br
. Archived from
the original
on 2015-09-15
. Retrieved
2015-09-17
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Zanotello, Idealizacao: Raoni Maddalena; Edicao: Frederico di Giacomo e Kleyson Barbosa; Design, Interface e Som: Daniel Apolinario; Programacao: Gil Beyruth; Ilustracao e animacao: 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
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
"1000 Days of Syria"
. Mitch Swenson
. Retrieved
2014-05-04
.
- ^
"Mobile game documents demolition of historic Moscow buildings"
.
The Guardian
. 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"
.
gamesforchange
. Retrieved
2015-09-17
.
- ^
"Pule o Muro | 25 Anos do muro de Berlim | Galileu"
.
www.quedamurodeberlim25anos.com.br
(in Brazilian Portuguese)
. Retrieved
2023-12-18
.
External links
[
edit
]