Darfur is Dying
From Eduwiki
Purpose
This game was created by students at the University of Southern California, in response to a competition funded by the Reebok Human Rights Foundation and the International Crisis Group. The contest was called the Darfur Digital Activist Content, promoted by mtvU, a college network produced by MTV Networks and distributed entirely through streaming broadband. The purpose of the game is to educate players on the dire situation in Darfur, and what refugees must endure on a daily basis.
Game Strategies
The game is very straightforward and simple to play. You begin with a family of eight, a father, mother, 3 young girls and 3 young boys. All family members have been forced from their homes by the Janjaweed militia. It is your goal to help them survive in the camp by directing them through daily tasks of collecting water, watering the garden to grow food, building mud brick for housing and collecting medical supplies when the arrive in camp. Your most common problem is a lack of water, and you must send your character to collect water from the well at least once a day. When away from camp your character is likely to be attacked and killed by the Janjaweed militia if you are not careful. But after a few tries the strategy for success (hiding behind bushes when the truck come by) becomes clear and it is easy to get back and forth from camp with the water. Once in camp your character collects water from the well and distributes it to the garden and the mud brick building areas of the camp. If you click on question marks in the camp you are educated about other member of the camp, and how they came to be living there with your family. You can also learn about different facilities in the camp (toilets, medical tent, etc) and why they are essential to your family's survival. Once a day the Janjaweed attack the camp and destroy some buildings and steal some of your food and water. Thus, you must forage for water again, and continue to replenish the garden and mud brick supply. Thus, the game become redundant and boring very quickly.
Educational Value
The game is a decent introduction to the crisis in Darfur, but does little to promote critical thinking about the crisis. The lives of the refugees are very one-dimentional and "cartoon like." The causes and background of the crisis are not addressed at all. From a :gamers" point of view, there is little strategy or problem solving, and I expect most player (especially students) would be bored quite quickly. Most of the educational value comes from reading the informational sidebars that are not well integrated into the game. When the Janjaweed attack the village you do have the choice of "Taking Action" rather than continuing the play. But this choice directs players to various mtvU webpages that encourage players to write to their Congressman, join a divestment movement or donate to the cause. Though noble ideas, these "actions" are not incorporated into the game, so few if any students will choose to stop playing the game and read about divestment of hand over their credit card. The game itself is merely a vehicle to get students to read more about the crisis. The game itself is too simplistic and superficial to truly educate and engage students to think about the complexities of the crisis.
