Newsgame

Newsgames are a genre of games that attempt to apply journalistic principles to their creation. 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.^[8]
• Filosofighters, a journalistic game that explains basic philosophy concepts.^[9]
• Snowden Run 3D, a game based on the events surrounding NSA leaker Edward Snowden
• 1000 Days of Syria,^[10] a hypertext-based historical fiction game timelining the first 1000 days of the Syrian conflict.
• Hong Kong Protest Game,^[11] a satirical newsgame to highlight the trials and tribulation of street protesters.
• Archanoid,^[12] an arcade game based on Breakout (Arkanoid) which describes the destruction of over 500 historical buildings in Moscow.
• HeartSaver: An Experimental News Game, April 2013 GEN Editors' Lab Hackathon, by Al Shaw, Sisi Wei and Amanda Zamora^[13]
• Budget Hero,^[14] a so-called "policy flight simulator."
• How Y’all, Youse and You Guys Talk - dialect quiz from The New York Times^[15]
• Can You Make It Through This Post Without Saying “Awww”? - Buzzfeed picture-based article^[16]

Brazil

In Brazil, 2007 seemed to be the year that the newsgames format started.^[17] That was when, (Brazilian media outlets) G1, Editora Abril and Estadão began to experiment with games. Superinteressante (a Brazilian magazine) made significant strides in the production of newsgames. Between 2008 and 2012, they created more than 12 games, led by newsgames pioneers Fred Di Giacomo^[18] and Rafael Kenski. Filosofighters, a game that brings the teachings of some of the foremost philosophers into a wrestling ring, was one of the most successful Brazilian newsgames and received positive reviews from PC Gamer.^[19]

See also

• Immersive journalism

References

1. Sicart, M. “Newsgames: Theory and Design”. International Conference on Entertainment Computing. Pittsburgh, PA. 2008.
2. Treanor, Mike; Mateas, Michael. Newsgames: Procedural Rhetoric meets Political Cartoons.
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. Kawazu, Edição: Fred di Giacomo, Rafael Kenski, André Sirangelo e Alexandre Versignassi. Reportagem: Maurício Horta. Desenvolvimento e design: Douglas. "Newsgame: O Jogo da Máfia - Superinteressante". super.abril.com.br. Retrieved 2015-09-17.
9. Zanotello, Idealização: Raoni Maddalena; Edição: Frederico di Giacomo e Kleyson Barbosa; Design, Interface e Som: Daniel Apolinario; Programação: Gil Beyruth; Ilustração e animação: Alisson Lima; Texto: Otavio Cohen; Agradecimento: Ana Prado, Breno Castro Alves, Bruno Xavier, Fabiane Zambon, Luiz. "Filosofighters". Superinteressante - Abril. Retrieved 2015-09-17.
10. "1000 Days of Syria". Mitch Swenson. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
11. "Hong Kong Protest Game". a case study by MarketJS.
12. "Mobile game documents demolition of historic Moscow buildings".
13. Shaw, By Al; Wei, Sisi; Zamora, Amanda (22 April 2013). "HeartSaver: An Experimental News Game". ProPublica. Retrieved 2015-09-17.
14. "Budget Hero, a game about debt we SHOULD play | Games for Change". www.gamesforchange.org. Retrieved 2015-09-17.
15. Katz, Josh. "How Y’all, Youse and You Guys Talk". Retrieved 2015-09-17.
16. "Can You Make It Through This Post Without Saying "Awww"?". Retrieved 2015-09-17.
17. http://www.niemanlab.org/2013/08/journalism-and-video-games-come-together-as-a-new-form-of-storytelling-in-brazil/
18. http://www.newsgaming.de/2011/05/brazilian-newsgames/
19. http://www.pcgamer.com/filosofighters-takes-the-phrase-battle-of-ideas-rather-literally/

External links

• Journalism and video games come together as a new form of storytelling in Brazil
• Play the News: Fun and Games in Digital Journalism, by Max Foxman, Tow Center for Digital Journalism, February 17, 2015 - Link PDF (654 KB) - Video of the report launch on YouTube
• Games for Change - Newsgames category
• American University JOLT program - Inventory of Newsgames