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Borrowing From Shoot Em Up vs. Guitar Hero

Posted by Hsing Wei on 02-13-08

Over at Gamasutra, the design of a new game about the genocide during the Rwandan Civil War, Hush , is contrasted with the design of Darfur is Dying.

How games about serious issues can be designed to be engaging while treating subjects respectfully and comprehensively is a craft still up for perfection. The article compares the role-play and resource constraint mechanics of Darfur is Dying to the slower paced, vingnette style of Hush (described as rhythm gameplay more similar to “Guitar Hero").

Another game to be released, Frontlines: Fuel of Oil borrows more from the traditional shoot-em up style. The developer hopes that, “If they play this game they will walk away thinking ‘wow, energy is a problem.’” However, like other games being produced around the theme of energy, critics are wondering whether players can get that message from such gameplay (and get hooked on understanding the environmental and social problems rather then the adrenaline rush).

The varying style of all these games point to the experimentation underway and the challenges in designing playable yet meaningful games for change.

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