WHAT does the word “gamer” mean to you? Chances are it’s a 20-something slacker blasting away in a mindless shoot-’em-up.
That’s why the idea of “serious games”, designed to inform people about real-world problems and even help to solve them, seems so surprising (see “Gamers hold the world at their controls”). Won’t gamers simply shrug and reach for their weapons?
Many will, but that’s no reason to write off serious games. Prime-time TV and trashy novels don’t stop people watching documentaries or reading social commentary. If serious television and literature can thrive amid the junk, why not serious games?
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In fact, such games may achieve more than any documentary or highbrow book ever did. Gamers are already getting stuck in. Prepare for some cultural prejudices to be toppled.