Simulation Games Analysis

Peacemaker : A brief analysis

Background
Peacemaker was developed by Impact Games in Pennsylvania in 2006. Impact Games is a developer who makes simulation games with current events in mind. According to their website, their aim is to “partner with and enable organizations to change the way people consume information and understand the world around them,” through simulation video games.

Peacemaker seems to follow this line of reasoning. Through choices made, the player not only makes decisions that could impact the peace between Israel and Palestine, but actually chooses to be a leader of one of the countries involved and can choose to take opposing sides in alternate games of play. This allows the player to exhibit higher order cognitive thinking while trying to make decisions favorable to the chosen side, while at the same time remaining positive in the world view.

The general play consists of first choosing to act in the role of the leader of Israel or Palestine. Second, while watching video of actual events that have appeared in the media, the player must make decisions on what action to take. The real events projected onto the screen make the play very lifelike, with the player put very much into the role. Decisions are not easy and each has consequences.

Game Play
My definition of games is “a motivating activity with a purpose, following a set of rules, while having fun.” To fulfill my definition, Peacemaker would have to have a motivating force, something to make players want to continue the game. I see this as possible on different levels. Some learners would want to take control and be motivated to make decisions to find a possible outcome of their own choices. This alone would be motivation for some. Anther type of learner would find the stimulation of trying to force peaceful relations among two countries as a motivator. Still others would need a goal, such as higher playing levels or tougher decisions to keep their interest. Peacemaker meets some of these expectations. While I was playing the game, I became unmotivated. I found the waiting between targets too long and I was uncertain when decision-making was necessary.

As far as a purpose, this was definitely covered. The purpose of the game was clearly stated – to make decisions that met your countries security needs, keeping your country safe, while also trying to make peace with the other country and at the same time maintaining a positive world image. Personally I found it difficult to know what decisions had what outcomes, but my lack of simulation game experience might account for this.

Following a set of rules was present, although, again, I found it difficult to know what all the rules were. In my short play, the demonstration ended after 8 rounds, I was not sure I had the knowledge of all the rules, nor could I find a way to locate them on the screen. Some of the rules seemed confusing, although it would be interesting to see how a learner more familiar with these games would find this.

And finally, fun. The idea of this game was fun. The intellectual pursuit of peace between Israel and Palestine is fun. However, the actual playing of the game left me wondering if I did something wrong and that if I had had more information it might have been more interesting.

I chose Convergers as my learner group because they like to solve problems and find solutions to practical issues (Kolb). The Peacemaker game lends itself to this type of learner, as the intellectual processes are called upon more often than the social aspects of thinking. Although it appears as if it were a social awareness game (and on one level is just that), the main cognitive tools necessary are more practical than sensitive. For this group, therefore, I would propose the following list of objectives:
Problem solving – to find solutions to the targeted problems of the game that propel the player to a positive outcome.
Decision-making – to make decisions based on game play rather than individual preferences, considering outcomes from multiple perspectives
Self-evaluation - to follow through on decisions made and notice the impact of consequences, going back to think again on how decisions made are affected by the various positions

Implementation and Assessment
Resources needed to play this game in a classroom would be computers and the purchase of the Peacemaker Game. The main obstacle would be the resources of the learning institution – would money be available to provide a classroom with computers for each learner, as well as purchase the game? Another obstacle would be monitoring the classroom to be sure learners were involved in the game selected and not surfing the Internet or playing other games.

In my situation of teaching ESL, this game is interesting because of the subject matter. Since my students come from around the world they have varying opinions on the Middle East and the situation portrayed in this game. Therefore, to implement the game, we would have to take cultural attitudes into consideration and explain to students before implementation the social awareness qualities of this game. Relevant subjects to this game might include world relations, cultural awareness and social studies. Because the learners are learning to read and speak in English, the video portion of the game is especially helpful. They would be using English to master the vocabulary and understand the different impacts of the game.

To assess this game I would suggest a panel discussion, highlighting the two sides. Students could be divided into groups and each could have an opportunity to discuss decisions made while playing the game and the impact they had on the world at large as well as their defending country. Care would have to be taken with this approach that the discussions didn’t become as heated as the war already waging. Keeping the discussion on an intellectual level would be the focus for the classroom.