Peace Games

With so much mainstream press about asocial video games, it's refreshing to see that this month Water Cooler Games covers two games aimed at enacting nonviolent resolutions to incendiary political conflicts.

Although still in development at Carnegie Mellon University, you can watch a demo of Peace Maker, which is currently being tested for classroom use. Peace Maker focuses on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the player can adopt the role of leader of either state forced to make real-time decisions in response to escalating crises. Video clips are designed to enhance the realism of the user's experience.

Documentary filmmakers at York Zimmerman have sponsored a videogame version of one of their films, A Force More Powerful, which is now available for downloading/purchase. The game deals with strategies for nonviolent resistance (protests, strikes, nonviolent resistance, etc.) and the more mundane infrastructure of activism (fundraising, organizing, etc.) that supports these tactics.

For a game about nonviolent transnational competition, there is also the official videogame of the Torino Olympics.