I’m a firm believer that interactive media can elicit stronger emotional effects than just reading a book or watching a movie.
But can playing video games change someone’s perspective on war and the refugee crisis?
Many video games feature war or armed conflict as a central inclusion to their story arc. War facilitates a reason to shoot people, defend a base, or just kick some ass.
And you’ll almost always be completing your objectives as part of the in-game military or government.
This War of Mine: The Little Ones uniquely puts you in control of those most vulnerable during war, the civilians.
Without much instruction, the game thrusts you into an abandoned house, one where you and your randomly selected group of survivors must hunker down until a ceasefire.
The problem is, you don’t know when that day will come.
Through my three playthroughs thus far, none of the groups I was given made it to the end.
The difficulty spikes in the game come from the unexpected nature of every encounter.
One night may be completely calm and routine, but following the next day, half of your group could be lethally wounded by raiders that also stole most of your supplies.
The setting of This War of Mine is all too real.
Gameplay from This War Of Mine: The Little Ones.
It’s inspiration comes from the Siege of Sarajevo, a battle for the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina that represented the longest siege of a capital in modern history.
Lasting for 1,425 days between 1992 and 1995, the siege claimed the lives of more than 10,000 people.
This War of Mine recreates the danger the Bosnian war presented by blocking off previously loot filled areas with fights and sniper fire.
The Little Ones add-on even subjects children to these perils.
The horrifically recognizable sniper alley of the Siege of Sarajevo manifests itself in “sniper junction” an in-game scavenger location, and tragic odes to the real-world travesty are seen everywhere in the game.
While slightly underutilized, the inclusion of children into the game hammers home one of the game’s central selling points; “In war kids are still kids”.
I often used their inclusion in the game to warrant the atrocities I committed. I didn’t want to add to the bodies littering the city, but I soon realized I had to kill in order to live.
I found no joy in robbing an elderly couple in order to feed my group of survivors. I tried to morally justify it by saying that they had lived a long life and that my group was still young.
I often risked too much for a simple set of bandages or basic crafting supplies, and got my best scavenger killed in the process.
I gathered toys for the children instead of feeding my group for the day, causing one of the adults to become immobile from starvation for several days.
I chose not to intervene when a soldier was attempting to rape a woman.
I decided the supplies were more important and the risk of being shot was too great.
And those were the choices I had the most control over.
I didn’t get to choose who would attack me on sight.
I made no decision as to whether I would be raided multiple nights in a row.
I especially had no choice when my first playthrough ended because my final survivor killed himself.
Gameplay from This War of Mine: The Little Ones
This War of Mine: The Little Ones is not a fun, light-hearted romp.
It is a grossly realistic look into the human element of war, including the often forgotten or downplayed numbers of civilians trapped by shelling and snipers.
While the Siege of Sarajevo took place more than 20 years ago, present day wars still ravage humanity in places like Aleppo, Syria.
Video games existed two decades ago, but their arguably mainstream appeal today would allow games like This War of Mine: The Little Ones to have a widespread impact on our collective thinking.
Will one game alter the perspectives of everyone who plays it?
I doubt it.
But games like This War of Mine have created a new entry point to dialogues on touchy subjects such as the refugee crisis.
You can’t solve a problem without first addressing its existence and I see video games as a way to shine light on the iniquitous pieces of humanity, whether they dwell in the past, present or future.
This story was originally published on ThePolyglot.net.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
Photo Credits: 11 bit studios
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The One Thing Clinton and Trump Need During the Next Debate According To Business School Professors
By Mario Moussa and Derek Newberry
As we get ready to watch the second presidential debate, you might be scratching your head about a tale of two countries.
In Trump’s telling, America is a nation in decline that needs a turnaround.
Clinton sees a leading world power that should continue on the positive trajectory created under the Obama administration.
As business school professors who specialize in the human side of organizations, there is one thing – that many may find surprising – each candidate needs during this next debate: a story.
At this point, you might be thinking that elections are really all about pocketbook issues and politicians’ stories are just a bunch of fluff.
We have a different point of view: hard-nosed policies and strategies are worthless without a good story. Whether people realize it or not, they think in stories. The best communicators know this and make the most of it.
Storytelling: The Crucial Leadership Skill
A famous experiment by two psychologists in the 1940s showed subjects a short clip of two triangles and a circle moving around, and asked them to describe what they saw.
Where some described a bully terrorizing two children and a jealous father protecting his daughter, others saw different dramas.
The imagined scenarios differed, but what they had in common was that nearly all of the subjects told a story about the shapes without any prompting.
Why are stories so pervasive?
Because they are how people make sense of their environment and get along with co-workers or fellow citizens.
The most brilliant policy can fall flat if it is not communicated with a strong narrative that makes it real and compelling for the people who are supposed to implement it.
Far from fluff, good story-telling is a crucial leadership skill for motivating commitment and moving a strategy from abstract idea to action.
Hence the importance of the two recent political conventions.
Like an annual corporate retreat, their purpose is not only to explain a specific policy platform but also to tell a story that motivates and guides those who need to carry it out.
In this respect, we think Clinton right now is in a stronger position as she goes into his next debate.
She does three things especially well.
And the next time you need to get your point across, you should remember them:
Create Empathy
In any good story, the audience should empathize with the main characters.
According to screenwriter Robert McKee, the key to creating empathy is to portray a character who is overcoming a struggle.
This can make even an unsympathetic person relatable.
Steve Jobs wasn’t known for his humility, but his story about returning to Apple after having been pushed out is one we can all root for.
Trump has been focused on communicating his greatness, but not on talking about overcoming hardships to get there.
Just recently, he stumbled again by referring to the jobs he has created as one of his “sacrifices.”
Clinton creates empathy by acknowledging that she struggles with the “public” part of public service – that is, the aspect of it that involves public speaking.
She deftly turns this weakness into a strength by recounting how she pushes through it because she cares deeply about the service part.
Paint a Picture
If you boil any rom-com movie down to its most basic elements, they are all pretty much the same: beginning, middle, and end.
In other words, every story starts with a typical everyday situation, which is then disrupted by some new or unusual event, which sets in motion of series of actions that lead to a resolution and a return to normalcy.
So what separates a classic like Annie Hall from a flop like Gigli? The difference is in the detail.
Good stories use vivid imagery to make abstract ideas feel real and bring the audience along.
On this count, Trump misses the mark. When his family talks, their speeches provide a great opportunity to show the candidate’s lighter side.
While the Trump clan mentions plenty of great qualities, their speeches are light on anecdotes that would help us visualize how he lives these values in his everyday life.
By giving details about Hillary’s personal life, such as how she met Bill or how she stays connected to Chelsea while on the road, the Clintons paint a more compelling picture of the Democratic candidate’s values.
Make the Audience Your Hero
As speaking coach Nick Morgan reminds us, every story has a hero and when you need other people to help you get things done, you are likely to get more buy-in if you put them in the starring role.
Think of how rockstar Bono has driven support for his ONE campaign by imploring: “We can be the generation that ends poverty.”
This is why Trump’s declaration that “I alone can fix” the political system is perhaps the weakest moment of his debate.
Clinton, by contrast, hits on the theme of becoming “stronger together,” making voters the heroes of her campaign’s story.
Far from fluff, stories are a critical execution tool.
On the campaign trail, they help leaders communicate strategy, rally support and guide implementation.
Republican strategist Mark McKinnon, who headed up communications for the George W. Bush campaigns, once said that the successful candidate is the one who tells the better story.
So far, by this measure, we think Clinton is pulling away from her opponent.
Dr. Mario Moussa and Dr. Derek Newberry are the authors of Committed Teams: Three Steps to Inspiring Passion and Performance. Dr. Moussa teaches in the Executive Programs at Wharton School of Executive Education. Dr. Newberry is a lecturer at the Wharton School. Connect with Dr. Moussa at www.moussaconsulting.com, and with Dr. Newberry via Twitter, @derekonewberry.
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So You Want To Send Some Amazon Packages To Croatia? That Will Be $1 Million
David Beslic just wanted to send a few items back to family in his native Croatia from his home in Toronto.
So he went to Amazon, purchased what he wanted (A blender, one laptop case and two keyboard covers) and listed an Croatian address as the place of delivery.
Sounds simple enough in this ever connected globalized economy. Nothing that Amazon can’t handle.
Yeah, not so much.
Yep. The shipping and handling was 1,000,000 for the four items that only cost $59.96.
Beslic took his surprise and frustration to Facebook where a friend of his who works for Amazon became aware of the situation. The friend is apparently bringing it to the attention of higher ups at the company.
Beslic, a regular Amazon customer is taking it all in stride however.“It would be more I guess if [I were] not a regular customer,” Beslic said. “A billion or so.”Like this piece? Rise News just launched a few weeks ago and is only getting started. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date with global news. Have a news tip? Send it to us- [email protected]
Photo Credit: David Beslic/ Facebook
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After Irma, North Miami Turned To Hardy Refuge Of Bagel Bar East
The day after Hurricane Irma impacted South Florida was a blur for many in the region.
Houses were plunged into darkness, almost all street lights were off and many streets were left impassable.
But after a stressful week, many people needed to get out of their homes and feel a sense of normalcy.
That’s what Bagel Bar East (1990 NE 123rd St) specializes in.
On a typical day, Bagel Bar East is a local eatery that people go to find interesting characters in North Miami and traditional New York style fair.
But over the years, it has also become known for being open almost immediately after hurricanes.
People line up outside of Bagel Bar East in North Miami the day after Hurricane Irma struck the region and caused widespread damage.
The joint is owned by Steven Hochman, a Brooklyn native who has lived in South Florida for over 20 years.
He believes that the community needs his place to be open in times of stress.
And he takes that commitment to his customers seriously.
As Irma started to impact South Florida on September 9, Bagel Bar East remained open until conditions became too dangerous and it reopened at 6:30 AM on September 11, even before the curfew in Miami-Dade County was lifted at 7:00 AM.
” I do it for the community,” Hochman told RISE NEWS as he served food the day after Irma passed. “Everybody needs ice, water and food. People have been saying thank you all day.”
Few locals were surprised by this.
“They know Bagel Bar is going to be open,” Hochman said.
They have a generator that runs the lights and gas powers the cooking equipment.
Dozens of locals from all around Northern Miami-Dade County waited hours to be served.
Bacon, eggs and cheese sandwiches were the big sellers that day.
This isn’t the first time Bagel Bar East has served the community.
They were open soon after Hurricane Wilma hit the area in 2005 as well.
“As long as it’s safe, they are going to be open,” Tracey Heldenmuth a North Miami resident and Bagel Bar East regular said while cheerfully waiting in line. “Thank you Steve for pulling through.”
Thomas Alexander, a baker at Bagel Bar East and North Miami resident was proud of his work that day. He’s worked at the restaurant for over 20 years and understands what it means for the community.
“Without us, they won’t be eating,” Alexander said. “It makes me feel happy. I love to see people eat and be happy.”
While Hurricane Irma caused widespread damage across South Florida, it also exposed a level of human goodness.
It also taught some folks in Miami how important something as simple as a bagel can be in the face of crisis.
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