Game on Darfur Crises Looks to Educate

If you thought computer games were all about entertainment, fun and very little learning, then here is a game that is aimed to sensitize and create awareness about the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan, in which many have died and more than two million people have been displaced. This game is called aptly called 'Darfur is Dying'.

The idea of a Darfur-related computer game came from MTVU, MTV’s network for university students. The network has partnered with the Reebok Human Rights Foundation and the International Crisis Group. Together, they announced a contest called ‘Darfur Digital Activist Contest’ and offered a grant of $50,000 to anyone willing to make a video game about Darfur.

"We saw neo-Nazis and hate groups using online video games as tools of hate with evil games like 'Concentration Camp Rat Hunt' and realized the medium could also be used to effect positive change in the world," said Claudia Bojorquez, MTVU Public Affairs.

After receiving many entries, MTVU put the game up on its website along with other entries, asking visitors to choose their favorite and 'Darfur is Dying' won. This game was created by Susana Ruiz, Ashley York, Mike Stein, Noah Keating and Kellee Santiago of the University of Southern California. The team spoke to genocide experts and those who had worked in the refugee camps.

Darfur is Dying was officially launched on 30 April 2006 at the Save Darfur rally on the National Mall and can be played online for free.

The game is set in a refugee camp where the player has to choose from a number of Darfurian characters of all different ages and genders. Once the character is chosen, the player has to begin with a task of fetching water for the camp. The character is moving across a barren landscape, clutching an empty container. Along the way, it has to dodge trucks filled with armed militiamen. If the player is lucky, the he will reach the water pump and then back to the camp. If the player is unlucky and gets caught, the player is told what happens to his character. For example, a player learns that a young boy is likely to be killed or kidnapped by the militias, or that a young girl is likely to face rape and abuse.

MTVU says that the game has been played over 2 million times by one million people since its launch. But some ask if the game is doing what it was designed to do – to increase awareness of and activism around the situation in Darfur. “Darfur is Dying was designed to be engaging and is passed from friend to friend via e-mail, so it would educate and spread the message about what's going on in Darfur. Gamers can also take real world action by sending a letter to the president or a local legislator urging them to take action while playing the game,” says Bojorquez.