PeaceMaker Game Analysis

PeaceMaker

Background information

PeaceMaker is a simulation game developed by ImpactGames. ImpactGames strives to create “interactive experiences” based on actual current events. Their goal in developing “real life” simulation games such as this one that deals with the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict is to help people become educated on world events through interactive media. An ex-Israeli Army officer, Asi Burak helped develop PeaceMaker and says, “Unlike some other computer games, Peacemaker is not about killing as many enemies as you can. It's not about that, though you certainly have the option. You become one of the leaders in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” (NPR, July 18, 2007).

Play features

The object of the game is to make respond to catastrophic events (which are based on actual current events) in ways that will be agreeable to both national and international populations. The goal is to bring peace to this region which has been experiencing chaos for decades. In the game, you can be an Israeli leader or a Palestinian leader. The role you choose will greatly affect the game—so players can assume both rolls at different times to see how the perspectives differ. Players can choose from three different levels—calm, tense, or violent. Obviously, the violent level is the most difficult and cause for the most leader intervention.

In the end, you want both the national and international population to be happy with the decisions made and thus peace will be accomplished. Players can educate themselves about the locations they are make decisions about and the decisions themselves simply by clicking on the area or choice. The game gives descriptions of each major city in the area and provides advisors to help out with the decision making process.

Representation

The “game world” represented in PeaceMakers basically positions the player as the leader of a country (Palestine or Israel…you choose). The player has a view of the entire map-based region of conflict. When a conflict or event occurs, photos and videos of real people accompany the description. The events that occur in the game are actual events that have occurred and can even be referenced in newspaper and magazine articles. In addition to the actual information being about the real world, the decisions made regarding security, international speeches, border control, etc. affect the national and international acceptance toward the leader. These decisions of course, would have an effect on perspectives toward the leader in the real world.

Analysis

Game components

A game is complete and self-sufficient-it contains all of the rules and materials needed to play it to the end. The rules are explicit and there is no need to change or alter them along the way. Any game that needs the rules altered is not a good game. For an activity to be a "game" the parts of the game should interact with each other (the rules, the pieces, the players). These parts "interact" to create a fantasy representation of reality.

Components of a game include:

• Rules

• Pieces (cards, game pieces, board, computer, etc.)

• Players

• Interaction

• Representation of some form of reality

• Conflict

• Chance

• Safety

• Amusement

Strong Components:

Pieces: The computer game has several pieces within its interface which are used to aid the player. The player can use these “pieces” to take action, to ask for advice, or to simply gain information.

Safety: While the Israeli/ Palestinian conflicts are all too dangerous, the actions taken during play are absolutely safe for players.

Conflict: I was very overwhelmed by all of the conflict described in the game and the number of decisions and actions I had to take as a leader. Conflict with locals and international groups is prevalent.

Representation of Some form of Reality: It does not get much more real than a representation of a newsworthy conflict going on in our world.

Chance—There is definitely a element of chance in this game. The actions taken will affect the outcome of the game, so every play is different. Even one who is familiar with the conflict will probably not always make the correct actions—if there were “correct” actions, the conflict would be resolved!


Weaker Components:

Interaction/ Players—In this game, of course the opponent is the computer or conflict itself. While the game is there, I don’t feel the “opponent” interaction strongly. The game itself is interactive as far as the pieces and technology components.

Rules—I read the tutorial and still felt that experimentation would be the only way I could get a hang of the game. There were not really rules, but guidelines. To me, rules are cut and dry of what you can and can’t do to win.

Amusement: This game is amusing if you are interested/ educated on the Israeli/ Palestinian conflicts. If you are not, it is confusing and simply a point, click, and see what happens game.

Learner’s styles & Teaching / Learning objectives

Chosen Learner Group:

Assimilating (watching and thinking - AC/RO) - The Assimilating learning preference is for a concise, logical approach. Ideas and concepts are more important than people. These people require good clear explanation rather than practical opportunity. They excel at understanding wide-ranging information and organising it a clear logical format. People with an Assimilating learning style are less focused on people and more interested in ideas and abstract concepts. People with this style are more attracted to logically sound theories than approaches based on practical value. These learning style people is important for effectiveness in information and science careers. In formal learning situations, people with this style prefer readings, lectures, exploring analytical models, and having time to think things through (http://www.businessballs.com/kolblearningstyles.htm).



Objectives:

• Decision Making—As the leader of the country, decisions need to be made and actions need to be taken. As a teacher, I want to see if my students are able to make proper decisions based on the conflicts they encounter and (hopefully) background information they acquire both from the game and possible classroom activities.

• Logical Reasoning- This goes along with decision making. Actions can be taken in the game, but one will only move toward peace if the decision is logical for the issue. Being able to do this will take background information taught in the classroom or acquired through familiarity with current events. My AC/RO students enjoy gathering information and applying it effectively—especially toward an abstract concept like “peace.”

• Awareness of International Issues—This is a huge objective for this game. Many student probably do not even know where Israel is located, but you can use the game to learn about the conflict and the areas within the conflict. My AC/ RO students like reading and lectures, so this game may not score high as far as meeting this objective for these students. However, they can read about certain cities and issues, and hopefully have a chance to think about the issues at hand.

Implementation & Assessment

Settings

Resources needed to implement PeaceMaker:

• Downloaded game ($20).

• Computer

The resources needed to implement the game are rather simple. If you have a computer and the ability to download software, you can play. It could be an obstacle for some to pay the $20 for the download. I understand that each computer would probably need this download, so if you have a classroom set of computers, the cost could become quite high. I think the major stakeholders in this game are social studies teachers as the content directly relates to that topic. However, in a broader sense, we could all be stakeholders in this game because it is based on current world events upon which we should all strive to be educated.

Procedure

• Before the game is played, the teacher needs to provide some serious background information for the students. Perhaps some students will be aware of the situation being represented in the game, but most in my school will know nothing about it. Thus, presentation of background information could take a few days before the game could be played.

• After students are aware of what the game is representing, they should be instructed to use the tutorial before beginning. The tutorial is great for explaining the pieces of the game and what they do.

• The game takes 10 rounds to completely play, so the teacher should allot about 30 minutes to play. The first few times the game is played should be looked at as “experimental” until students get the hang of the procedure.

• Students will strive to score 100 in both national and international acceptance in order to achieve peace.

• Teachers should encourage students—scoring 100 is very difficult and would probably take many, many sessions of the game to figure out the proper actions to take.

• It would also be a good idea to have students take notes on what they have learned. It is not part of the game, but it would allow them to hopefully remember some of the valuable information they are learning.

Assessment

Performance Based: I would use performance based assessment for this game. I don’t so much care if student reach a score of 100 in both areas; I am more concerned that they are learning about a world event. Observing students, asking them questions about what they learned from the game, and asking open ended questions (not necessarily in the form of a quiz) would be the way I would assess the effectiveness of PeaceMaker for students.