The idea of using games for journalism isn’t intuitive — games feel inherently biased and sometimes frivolous. But games can be an ideal way of teaching about complex concepts. Wired Magazine developed Cutthroat Capitalism a few years ago at the height of headlines regarding piracy in the Gulf of Aden. The game has pretty simple mechanics, but it communicates the economics of piracy really well.
Players take on the role of a pirate who is backed on his pirate-ventures by backers interested in profit. Leading your pirate ship, you have to determine which type of ship–cruise, chemical, cargo–to hijack, and attempt to intercept it. If you are successful (a big “if” since most ships make it through the Gulf un-targeted or, if targeted, un-caught), you then need to negotiate for ransom.* All the while, you are making decisions about how to treat the hostages. You are coached by an experienced pirate, who applauds a reasonable amount of aggressiveness, but points out that no one pays for dead hostages.
Ultimately, you will likely end up settling for a fraction of your initial demands, and once you’ve paid off your backers and supporters, the actual pirates get a small percentage of the winnings. (Just like in the non-piracy world, those taking the risk aren’t the ones getting paid.)
What I like about this approach is that the game shows the player the economics of piracy. Cutthroat Capitalism allows the player to intuitively understand the economic drivers and the likely outcomes, including that most ships don’t get hijacked and most people who get hijacked don’t get killed. (Small comfort to the exceptions, I know.) And while I am not an apologist for pirates (except my nephew, though he seems to have outgrown the “Ahoy, Matey,” stage), it is interesting to have players get the perspective of the pirate. Even though it is pretty simple, it is a nice attempt at experiential journalism.
*Paraphrasing my high school English teacher: once you know how to use language appropriately, you may use it incorrectly.