News:

GinGly.com - Used by 85,000 Members - SMS Backed up 7,35,000 - Contacts Stored  28,850 !!

Main Menu

Games Commenting on Budgets and Bailouts

Started by gopu, Aug 02, 2009, 10:58 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

gopu

Unsurprisingly, a few games about the economy were released this month. 

Requoting Kate Connally, VP of Addicting Games, “News events are something that really unite our culture, everyone experiences it together, so adding games into the mix of how people are experiencing major national events is just part of what we do… They’re not just a silly past time. It’s a form of social commentary.” Attuned to recent headlines, Addicting Games released Trillion Dollar Bailout earlier this month.  Players are empowered to grant bail out dollars or deliver a slap in the face to troubled homeowners and corporate executives popping up requested aid.  While the game’s stated aim is to give players “the chance to experience what it’s like to make a decision about who to bailout and who not to,” the simple game play doesn’t really delve into the nuances.  As commentary, however, the game clearly sends a message:  help averages Joes + punish high-powered executives = saved economy (+ released frustration). 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Gotham Gazette recently released a news game (a reprise of a similar 2003 game) where players balance New York City’s budget.  There is no clear winning or losing.  After pushing sliders representing various revenue and spending line items, you can compare your choices against the Mayor’s current recommendations for closing a $4 billion budget gap.  The paper is tracking all the solutions that players come up with.  The more novel piece is the open source spirit of this news game.  Their intention is for the code to be available and accessible to anyone to adopt (as part of the Knight News Challenge).  More here.

The tech-savy Obama administration has been encouraging accountability and transparency about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act budget via the Recovery.gov website.  Aside from visual charts and story submission boxes, perhaps they too should consider some game-like elements?