I remember reading an article on Wired.com about games being used in capacities other than to entertain. One example was a game used to simulate a hungry child in a impoverished country (if I can recall properly) and almost any move done on part of the player CAN result in the eventual death of the child and his or her dependents.
Pretty brutal yes? I was rather impressed though on how games can be used as a medium to convey real-world issues which most people (including readers of this blog in their cushy abodes) wouldn’t be able to experience in real life. One company that is bringing this kind of gameplay to the mobile space would ACW and its latest game, which is collaboration with UNHCR, titled “My Life as a Refugee“.
This iOS and Android app is an educational experience, allowing users to live the life of a refugee and encounter typical every day decisions with potentially devastating consequences. Check out the app description below:
“Every minute eight people are forced to flee war, persecution or terror. If conflict threatened your family, what would you do if each choice you have to make could be a matter of life or death. ‘My Life as a Refugee’ is the United Nations High Commission for Refugees’ (UNHCR) newly released Smartphone application that allows users to live the life of a refugee and encounter typical every day decisions with potentially devastating results. It hopes to make a real difference by raising awareness surrounding the inhumane conditions that refugees have to suffer.
Imagine being so desperate to escape that you would pay your life savings to a people smuggler so you could pack your whole family into an unseaworthy boat and risk a terrifying and life threatening boat trip. Or the terror of being caught by the army you were fleeing from and the trauma of being separated from your family by war? ‘My Life as a Refugee’ engages and educates players and compels them to wrestle with the same perilous dilemmas faced by millions of refugees worldwide.
The three stories within this free app are based on the real-life experiences of families torn apart by conflict or persecution. The role play revolves around three main characters who have been forced to flee. Months or years of narrative are compressed into each of the stories. Players have to make decisions along the way in order to reach safety. The events and outcome of each story depend on the decisions that the player makes, resulting in a potentially different experience every time.”
It sounds scarier than any survival horror game out there, and IMHO, it’s really worth checking out. The game is available for the iOS platform over here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/my-life-as-a-refugee/id530541420?mt=8 and for the Android platform over here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.acw.refugee&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5hY3cucmVmdWdlZSJd
