identity — Volume 13:2 papers — Digital Culture & Education (ISSN: 1836-8301)

SERIOUS GAMES AS A MEANS TO PROMOTE THINKING ABOUT EUROPEAN IDENTITY: A CASE STUDY OF THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE RU EU? GAME

Written by:
Elizabeth Boyle, University of the West of Scotland
Melody Terras, University of the West of Scotland
Murray Stewart Leith, University of the West of Scotland
Duncan Sim, University of the West of Scotland
Athanassios Jimoyiannis, University of Peloponnese
Jannicke Baalsrud Hauge, Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik
Nadera Sultana Tany, Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik
Hans Hummel, Open University of the Netherlands
Petar Jandric, University of Applied Sciences in Zagreb

Abstract: The diversity of the EU is both a strength and a weakness, with Issues of National and European identity contributing to division, marginalization and exclusion. Many European citizens have very firmly entrenched, but frequently simplistic, views about the value of the European Union as good (pro EU) or bad (anti EU). To promote a culture of increased tolerance and inclusion, EU citizens need to develop a more mature and nuanced understanding of National and European identity that considers the validity of others’ points of view. Serious Games are increasingly recognised as active and effective methods for tackling complex social problems. Therefore, the RU EU? (are you EU?) project developed a game to increase players’ awareness of the complexity of European identity and values, to help players develop a more detailed understanding of European identity and promote critical thinking about their own views, the views of others, and the wider societal consequences. In this paper we describe the RU EU? Game as a case study explaining the thinking behind the game design. We outline the early design tasks that led to development of the multicomponent model of European identity that we used in the game, the adoption of the journalist narrative and the tools that assisted the player in his goal of compiling and publishing a set of articles about European identity. We discuss the potential of the game tools and mechanics to be used more widely to promote social understanding and inclusion.

Keywords: serious games; European identity; inclusion; case study; journalist narrative

KOREAN SOAP OPERAS, TELENOVELAS AND SCI-FI CONSPIRACIES: A GAME-MAKING EXPERIENCE WITH LATIN AMERICAN YOUTH IN LONDON

Written by: Bruno de Paula, University College London

Abstract: This paper explores a game-making programme for 14 Latin American migrants aged 13-18 in London/UK, carried out between October/2017-January/2018, where I investigated the relationships between game conventions, platforms and personal preferences in the curation of fluid identities through game production. Participants presented varying levels of affinity with games linked both to access issues and to other specific elements (e.g. perception of games in contemporary culture, gender). Questionnaires, observations, unstructured/semistructured interviews and gaming archives were employed to explore this participatory initiative and data was analysed through Multimodal Sociosemiotics. Findings remarked how shared understandings about digital games can find their way into platforms and act as “cultural-technical gatekeepers”, supporting or hindering the engagement with game-making of those often perceived as outsiders to gaming culture. This gatekeeping happens when there are “creative dissonances” between, for example, personal preferences and platforms aligned to normative/mainstream genres. These dissonances, however, can end up fostering subversive designs, contravening gaming conventions and potentially challenging traditional gaming boundaries. This insight is relevant for understanding “cultural-technical constraints” and subversive/non-mainstream game-making, especially in relation to innovation and appropriation of game-making resources/strategies by non-mainstream groups.

Keywords: game-making; Latin America; inclusivity; conventions; identities