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Darfur is Dying
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Brief Description
it is thoughtful and emotional; motivational and also simple. creates a connection between game world and real world while facilitating activism.
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Darfur is Dying
Developer: interFUEL, LLC
Non-Profit: International Crisis Group was involved in an advisory capacity throughout the contest period as we searched for the best concept and prototype. They
Release Date: April 30, 2006
Project Lead: Project lead: Alexis Hyder, mtvU. Student lead: Susana Ruiz
Funding Sources: Reebok Human Rights Foundation
Sponsors/In-kind donations: N/A
Budget:
Overall: 50,000
Secured: 50,000
Brief Description
Darfur is Dying is a web-based, viral video game that provides a window into the experience of the 2.5 million refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan. It is designed to raise awareness of the genocide taking place in Darfur and empower college students to help stop the crisis.
Full Description
Darfur is Dying is a web-based, viral video game that provides a window into the experience of the 2.5 million refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan. It is designed to raise awareness of the genocide taking place in Darfur and empower college students to help stop the crisis. Students at the University of Southern California, winners of mtvU�s Darfur Digital Activist contest, created the winning prototype. The game was developed in cooperation with humanitarian aid workers with extensive experience in Darfur. The content and the creative are woven together throughout the game, beginning with the first phase where the user selects an avatar to forage for water. Upon success or failure, they learn that their chances of succeeding were predetermined by their gender and age. The navigation system at www.darfurisdying.com enables a player to learn about the situation in Darfur, get involved with stopping the crisis, and understand the genesis of the project. Darfur is Dying helps make activism intuitive in the digital age. Action items are embedded within the game, so that the user may send an automated note to President Bush to support the people of Darfur, or petition Congress to pass legislation that aids Darfur�s refugees, and by doing so increase the overall health of the camp. To further enhance the reach of the game, Darfur is Dying was designed to be spread virally. Players can contact everyone in their email address books and social networks about the game with a click of the mouse.
Target Audience: College students around the world
Social Issues Addressed: global conflict, Civilian protection/humanitarian aid & Human rights,
Purpose:
The purpose of the game is twofold: 1) To inform our audience about the plight of Darfur�s refugees and inspire them to help stop this crisis, through a medium and language that is second nature to them, and 2) To uniquely empower college students to help stop the genocide by embedding real world ways to take action into game play. While our working theory of change and change management as it relates to interactive design is not solidified but rather itself in flux, we did adhere to a methodology by which the virtual world and the real world present a coextensive space of possibility rather than a plurality of world views. We did not see the game space as necessarily fictionalized by definition nor did we see the physical world as impervious to play action and behavior.
Metrics:
How? We are measuring engagement with Darfur is Dying in two primary ways: 1) website traffic and 2) attention from opinion-makers (press summary found in section #18).
What outcomes have been measured? Here is a rundown of the outcomes we have measured and the impact of the game: Inspired more than one million people to take action to help end the genocide. � Engaged more than a million people in one year. Since launch, Darfur is Dying has been played nearly 2.5 million times by more than one million people. � Empowered tens of thousands to take real world action. More than 25,000 people invited friends to play the game, wrote letters to President Bush and petitioned Congress to support the people of Darfur. � Removed barriers to entry. Anyone with computer access could play our web-based game because it requires little to no download time, is free, and is designed in flash. Received critical acclaim from opinion-makers and the Games for Change community. � Received significant press attention. Outlets from Time to The Washington Post, and tech specialists from Wired to Gamasutra have featured Darfur is Dying. In a May 7, 2006 column, The New York Times op-ed writer Nicholas Kristof called Darfur is Dying �one of the best presentations of life in Darfur.� � Generated a Congressional endorsement. At a press conference about online activism, specifically youth involvement in the Darfur crisis, Members of Congress Gregory W. Meeks, Adam Schiff, Al Green and Steve Israel announced that �mtvU has done a powerful job helping to empower college students to be heard on the critical issues of our time.� � Invited to present at gaming and video festivals. mtvU was asked to present Darfur is Dying at the Peace Games and International Efforts session of the 2006 Games 4 Change conference, as well as the 30th Anniversary of the Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival. Encouraged students to engage in a unique form of activism, blending education and entertainment. � Helped make activism intuitive in the digital age. By embedding real world means to take action into game play, tens of thousands of people got involved in the effort to help end the genocide in Darfur. � Partnered with diverse coalition to get the word out. While select musicians supported the game on their MySpace pages, the UN World Food Programme teased Darfur is Dying on its Food Force site, and Hillel sent a mass email to its members, reaching students with diverse interests and backgrounds.
Press Coverage:
Print & Online: a) The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 11, 2005, �Students Take Action to Aid Sudan,� Patrick Kerkstra b) The New York Times, April 17, 2005, �Mr. Bush, Take a Look at MTV,� Nicholas D. Kristof c) The New York Times, July 26, 2005,�All Ears for Tom Cruise, All Eyes on Brad Pitt,� Nicholas D. Kristof d) The Washington Post, October 16, 2005, �Video Game World Gives Peace a Chance,� Mike Musgrove e) Wired, March 27, 2006, �Games Fight the Good Fight,� John Gaudiosi f) The Boston Globe, May 6, 2006, �Political Action with a Flick of the Joystick,� Hiawatha Bray g) The New York Times, May 7, 2006, �Heroes of Darfur,� Nicholas D. Kristof h) Time, May 8, 2006,�Deadly Chores: Taking Action Online,� Jeninne Lee-St. John i) AP, June 4, 2006, �Crisis in Darfur: Online Edition,� Meghan Barr j) The New York Times, July 23, 2006, �Saving the World, One Video Game at a Time,� Clive Thompson k) San Jose Mercury News, Dec 30, 2006, "Forget Sonic, These Video Games are Serious," Chuck McCutcheon l) LA Times, March 11, 2007, �Gaming gets its consciousness on,� David Sarno m) Politico, April 11, 2007, �Genocide in Darfur: Generating Student Activism in U.S. Like No Other Issue,� Amy Kaufman Broadcast: n) CNN International, September 14, 2004, Former Sudanese slave Francis Bok speaks about his enslavement in southern Sudan and his collaboration with mtvU. o) CNN Headline News, April 7, 2005, STAND co-founder and mtvU Sudan Correspondent Nate Wright was interviewed about his trip to Africa with mtvU. p) CNN Sunday, July 24, 2005, mtvU Sudan Correspondent Stephanie Nyombayire shares her family�s stories from the Rwandan genocide and explains her personal activism. q) CNN International, May 9, 2006, �CNN Today,� Darfur is Dying creator Susana Ruiz highlighted the goals of the game, and the process of developing it. Radio: r) NPR�s "On The Media," April 27, 2005, mtvU General Manager Stephen Friedman and mtvU Sudan Correspondent Nate Wright discuss mtvU�s Sudan campaign. s) NPR�s �Marketplace,� February 6, 2006, �Video Games Give Investors Pause on Sudan,� discussed gaming as a new medium for Darfur activism. t) NPR�s "All Things Considered," May 5, 2006, �Online Game Peers into Life in Darfur Refugee Camp,� Susana Ruiz talked about using a game to compel a broad audience to act. u) PRI�s �The World,� July 13, 2006, The World�s technology correspondent discussed Darfur is Dying.
Press Release URL: Not available online but electronic copy can be provided upon request
Public Contact Information
Name: Jason Rzepka
Email: Jason.Rzepka@mtvstaff.com
Press Contact Name: Jason Rzepka
Press Contact Email: Jason.Rzepka@mtvstaff.com
Game Tags: social change, game, issue-driven, genocide, Darfur, game design, activism, thesis, interactive design, games for change, play, participatory design, participatory culture, online activism, possibility space
Where you can play this game: The game lives at www.darfurisdying.com. Darfur is Dying is an online game that requires little to no download time, is completely free, and is designed in flash. These were deliberate decisions because they make the game accessible to anyone with computer access, and remove barriers like time and cost.
Darfur is Dying
Developer:
Non-Profit:
Release Date:
Project Lead:
Funding Sources:
Sponsors/In-kind donations:
Budget:
Overall:
Secured:
Brief Description
It shows how a game can create social awareness. very well done.
Target Audience:
Social Issues Addressed:
Purpose:
Metrics:
How?
What outcomes have been measured?
Press Coverage:
Press Release URL:
Public Contact Information
Name:
Email:
Press Contact Name:
Press Contact Email:
Game Tags:
Where you can play this game:
