Gaming as Social Awareness

http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2011/10/27/gaming-tool-of-pedagogy-or-oppression/

I thought this article addressed a lot of the discussion we had on Wednesday regarding the ethics of video games as tool for social awareness. Hobson is more concerned with the use of violence to make statements in these games, but she still makes several relevant points. She asks, " in mobilizing games for pedagogy are we reinforcing oppression or modeling liberation?" I think this is definitely a question to ask, if Darfur is Dying is in fact targeting a child gamer. What is a child supposed to take away from this? Especially a gamer, who is probably desensitized to any kind of violence? Hobson says that assuming the position of the oppressed is more "subversive and empowering" than assuming the position of the oppressor. This may be true but as we found in Darfur is Dying, and as Hobson addresses, even this strategy has its limits when it inscribes warfare and genocide into an entertainment platform.

Hobson also mentions her frustration that most politically conscious games do not provide tools for liberation, and I think this is crucial to our discussion as well. I think Darfur is Dying would be more effective if it presented alternatives to ending the genocide, or directed gamers to actual organizations to take political action. I know the purpose of this game is to show the helplessness of the situation, and make the gamer feel it as well, but perhaps by directly suggesting some way for the gamer to become involved it could more strongly advocate social change.

At the moment I think that outside of an academic context, the game merely presents a situation that distances the gamer from the severity of the actual issues. I also do not believe this is intended for children, because they are not the kind of audience who could realistically be targeted to bring about social change. I think it was created as a subversive art piece, but I don't think it has the power of film or the YouTube clip we watched, because it dehumanizes the victims and reduces the gravity of the situation.