Where We Work
ShareThisShare this page with a friend or add it to Del.icio.us, DIGG, Reddit, and more.
Electronic Games Take on Violence Against Women – Background
Background
Violence against women and girls is a pervasive global problem, often deeply rooted in cultural practices. However, people are often willing to adopt new attitudes, behaviors, or practices if they are convinced that such change can improve their lives. Effectively targeted educational tools can help boys and young men identify destructive gender stereotypes, think critically about the role of gender stereotypes that support violence against women, identify the negative personal and community costs, learn and practice alternative behaviors, and understand the personal and communal benefits of changing their behavior. Electronic games present a unique tool set to provide this type of learning.
Electronic games possess the power of experiential and immersive learning. The player repeatedly performs tasks. The tasks become progressively more difficult until true mastery is attained. The player’s ability to customize the experience, explore and receive “on demand” and “just in time” information are game design constructs leading to player commitment to perform and to learn. Part of the uniqueness of an electronic game is that a safe environment is established in which the player experiences differing roles and viewpoints — often playing multiple perspectives in one game — leading to a deeper understanding of various choices and outcomes.
Well-designed electronic games are replayed multiple times with resultant different endings. In repeated play, new attitudes and skills are refined and practiced. The player learns the causative effect of actions. The participatory nature of electronic games provides the opportunity for experiential learning, where players make decisions and the consequences of these decisions are then played out through their character. The player is faced with a variety of different obstacles and can create their own story about overcoming these obstacles through the decisions that they make. One of the benefits of gaming is that you can start over and reconstruct your story (by making different decisions) in order to make it successfully to the next level.
Visit EMC’s blog, Games Take on Violence Against Women, and learn more about the student trip to South Africa and the process of developing the game.
