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Newsgames are a genre of
video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
that attempt to apply journalistic principles to their gameplay. Newsgames can provide context to complex situations which might be hard to explain without experiencing the situation firsthand.According to "Newsgames: Journalism at Play" written by Newsgame innovators
Ian Bogost Ian Bogost is an American academic and video game designer, most known for the game ''Cow Clicker''. He holds a joint professorship at Washington University as director and professor of the Film and Media Studies program in Arts & Sciences and ...
, Simon Ferrari and Bobby Schweizer, Newsgames are a “body of work produced at the intersection of video games and journalism.”, "Newsgames: Journalism at Play," p. 6, by Ian Bogost, Simon Farrari, and Bobby Schweizer. Journalists use Newsgames to expand on stories so the audience can learn more about the information in an immersive way. This genre of game is usually based on real concepts, issues, or stories, but the games can also be a representation of the original research, offering players a fictional experience based on real-world situations. They can also be thought of as the video game equivalent of political cartoons, Miguel Sicart describes them as games that "utilize the medium to participate in the public debate".Sicart, M. “Newsgames: Theory and Design”. International Conference on Entertainment Computing. Pittsburgh, PA. 2008.


Examples


#''Hacked''
simulates the role of an investigative journalist who is working against a timeline to learn as much information about the Syrian War as possible.

is a simulation game that highlights issues in the American voting system.
''The Good, The Bad and The Accountant''
features players as the general manager of a city having to juggle corruption.
''Syrian Journey''
puts players in the role of a Syrian refugee who just sold all of their possessions. *'' NarcoGuerra'', a game based on the
war on drugs The war on drugs is a Globalization, global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of prohibition of drugs, drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the Unite ...
and Mexican drug War, was 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. * '' Sock and Awe'', a game where you fling shoes at
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
. * ''Madrid'', a game about memorializing the Madrid bombings. * ''September 12th'', a game about civilian casualties in the
war on terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...
. *''
Darfur is Dying ''Darfur is Dying'' is a flash-based browser game about the crisis in Darfur, western Sudan. The game won the Darfur Digital Activist Contest sponsored by mtvU. Released in April 2006, more than 800,000 people had played by September that year ...
'', a game about the refugee crisis in Darfur. *''Bacteria Salad'', a game about the spinach ''E. coli'' 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 Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...
. *'' 1000 Days of Syria'', a
hypertext Hypertext is E-text, text displayed on a computer display or other electronic devices with references (hyperlinks) to other text that the reader can immediately access. Hypertext documents are interconnected by hyperlinks, which are typi ...
-based historical fiction game timelining the first 1000 days of the Syrian conflict. *''Archanoid'', an arcade game based on ''Breakout'' (
Arkanoid is a 1986 block breaker arcade game developed and published by Taito. In North America, it was published by Romstar. Controlling a paddle-like craft known as the Vaus, the player is tasked with clearing a formation of colorful blocks by deflect ...
) 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. * ''Budget Hero'', a so-called "policy flight simulator". * ''
JFK Reloaded ''JFK Reloaded'' is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed and published by Traffic Games. It Simulation video game, simulates the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, according to the report of t ...
'', a video game that simulates the assassination of President John F. Kennedy


September 12th

The format started with the game ''September 12'' by
Gonzalo Frasca Gonzalo Frasca (born 1972) is a game designer and academic researcher focusing on serious and political videogames. His blog, Ludology.org, was cited by NBC News as a popular designation for academic researchers studying video games (see ludology fo ...
, published in 2003. In ''September 12'', the player is positioned in a plane in the sky, with its sights set on a village in the Middle East. The player must find and kill a terrorist within the village, which is heavily populated with civilians. The player needs to decide when to fire on the village, with the goal of causing as little collateral damage, as high amounts of it may cause other civilians to become terrorists. This marks the start of the newsgames format, in which experience and commentary from direct experiences are cited instead of news reports.


See also

*
Immersive journalism Immersive Journalism is a form of journalism production that allows first person experience of the events or situations described in news reports and documentary film. Using 3D gaming and immersive technologies that create a sense of "being there ...


References


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 The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sc ...
, February 17, 2015 -   - {{YouTube , id= -j_glAzk74w , title= Video of the report launch * Games for Change
Newsgames category
* American University JOLT program
Inventory of Newsgames
* University of Miami JournalismGames.com
Inventory of 60+ Newsgames
Humanitarian video games Video game types Types of journalism