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Food Force 2 Beta Release
Posted by Hsing Wei on 06-29-09Belated posting on the beta release of Food Force 2. This open source sequel of the World Food Program’s Food Force game aims for a more holistic approach to educating and motivating people to solve world hunger. Taking on the role of an Indian village administrator; by constructing facilities, upgrading facilities, and trading resources, the player aims to make a village self-sustaining in terms of nutrition, housing, health, education and training (nice screen shots on their wiki). While able to run on almost all platforms, Food Force 2 has been under development for the XO—an aligned channel since OLPC reaches out to developing and third-world countries.
Documentation of deployment testing at Delhi Police Public School provides an initial picture of the strategy game’s potential ability to impact children and teachers on how to achieve self sustenance. ”... One could realise this thing with a very simple statement of theirs, one of them questioned ‘Sir, How can I increase the money in my village’ the feeling of belongingness that the children were able to get with the game really made me feel that we have done something which can lead to the betterment of a child’s future.” Also visible in the documentation is the value of initial play testing, where feedback included a desire for more of a Help Menu. In general, the Food Force 2 wiki which summarizes the game’s learning goals and implementation is a useful overview.
The code for downloading and trying the game is here. The team is seeking suggestions.