Newsgame

Newsgames are a genre of video games that attempt to apply journalistic principles to the creation of a game. They can fall into multiple categories, including current events, documentary, simulations of systems, and puzzle and quiz games.

This genre of game is usually based on real concepts, issues, or stories, but the games can also be a hybrid representation of the original research, offering players a fictional experience based on real-world sources. They can also be thought of as the video game equivalent of political cartoons. Miguel Sicart describes them as games that "utilize the medium with the intention of participating in the public debate".^[1][2]

According to "Newsgames: Journalism at Play," written by newsgame innovators Ian Bogost, Simon Ferrari, and Bobby Schweizer, the authors define newsgames as “a term that names a broad body of work produced at the intersection of videogames and journalism.”^[3] This includes a number of subcategories that dive into different ways to incorporate gaming elements into journalistic work, whether they be long-form documentary news games (JFK Reloaded), games that simulate real-world systems (Sweatshop or Darfur is Dying), interactive infographics (Budget Hero), electronic literature (1000 Days of Syria), or quiz/puzzle-based games (Scoople).

Examples

• NarcoGuerra, a game based on the War on Drugs and Mexican Drug War released in June 2013.
• Endgame:Syria, a game exploring the Syrian Civil war that started in March 2011 which was refused by Apple's App Store and created a debate around the role of games, news and their distribution as a result.
• Madrid,^[4] a game about memorializing the Madrid bombings.
• September 12th,^[5] a game about civilian casualties in the war on terror.
• Darfur is Dying,^[6] a game about the crisis of refugees in Darfur.
• Bacteria Salad,^[7] a game about the spinach E. colli contamination of 2006.
• Jogo da Máfia, a brazilian game that explains how globalized mafia works.
• Filosofighters, a journalistic game that explains basic philosophy concepts.
• Snowden Run 3D, a game based on the events surrounding NSA leaker Edward Snowden
• 1000 Days of Syria,^[8] a hypertext-based historical fiction game timelining the first 1000 days of the Syrian conflict.
• Hong Kong Protest Game,^[9] a satirical newsgame to highlight the trials and tribulation of street protesters.

See also

• Immersive journalism

References

1. ↑ Sicart, M. “Newsgames: Theory and Design”. International Conference on Entertainment Computing. Pittsburgh, PA. 2008.
2. ↑ ,"Newsgames: Procedural Rhetoric meets Political Cartoons" by Mike Treanor and Michael Mateas
3. ↑ , "Newsgames: Journalism at Play," p. 6, by Ian Bogost, Simon Farrari, and Bobby Schweizer.
4. ↑ "MADRID". Newsgaming.com. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
5. ↑ "September 12th". Newsgaming.com. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
6. ↑ Darfur is Dying
7. ↑ "Bacteria Salad - Free Strategy Game from". AddictingGames. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
8. ↑ "1000 Days of Syria". Mitch Swenson. Retrieved 2014-05-04. 
9. ↑ "Hong Kong Protest Game". a case study by MarketJS. 

External links

• Journalism and video games come together as a new form of storytelling in Brazil