5 games to think about

Posted by bordalix Thu, 28 Dec 2006 18:13:00 GMT

Still alive after last week home experiments? Good. Now is time to think about some issues (political & ecological) the best way I know how: by playing with it.

The following is a short compilation of web games from Water Cooler Games and Social Impact Games websites. Play it, share it, think about it:

  • Home Water Conservation - "Waterbusters" - A game to teach tips for water conservation around the home;

  • Darfur is Dying - In partnership with the Reebock Human Rights Foundation and the International Crisis Group, mtvU launched the Darfur Digital Activist Content, a competiton briging together student technology and activism to help end the genocide in Darfur. The game is a narrative-based simultaion where the user, from the perspective of a displaced Darfurian, negotiates forces that threated the surevival of his or her refugee camp. It offers a faint glimpse of ewhat it's like for 2.5 million who have been internally displaced by the crisis in Sudan;

  • McDonald's game - The McDonald's game from Molleindustria. Be sure to try out the Italian version of the website, as a Pope Speaking Generator can be found here;

  • Cyberbudget-France - The French government has taken a gaming approach to try and find a solution to the country's financial challenges. Budget Minister Jean-Francois Cope has launched an online Cyberbudget game that allows people to balance the books. The challenge is to ensure the €300 billion budget is spent wisely and that if tax cuts are made then services do not fall into deficit. There are a range of tests to face, including having to present the budget to a virtual parliament;

  • "Madrid" - An online game expressing feelings about the March 11, 2004 train bombings. The game was online less than 48 hours after the incident.

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An Inconvenient Truth

Posted by bordalix Fri, 22 Sep 2006 10:53:00 GMT

Yesterday I went to the cinema and watched the Al Gore documentary. After, I had mixed feelings about it, so I had to stop and think, and here are my main conclusions:

  • If you have political sensibility, you will feel that there is to much of Al Gore's life in the movie. I guess is important to contextualize you in why he's doing this, but it made me feel uncomfortable;
  • If you have real concerns (and plan to do something about it) about the global warming problem, you should watch the documentary: it has a lot of new data, and it has the ability to clear up your mind;
  • If you need to do presentations and slide shows, than you must watch this documentary. Al Gore presentation skills are awesome, and the looks of the slides are just smashing. I guess I'm allow to say that Steve Jobs is no more the reference on the subject.

Summarizing, I suggest every one to watch the documentary.

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