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Digital Planet: Serious Games

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A young boy plays on his video game

23/12/2014

Serious Games

BBC World Service - Digital Planet, Serious Games

News organisations are turning to video games to attract younger audiences and readership

News organisations turn to video games to attract a younger audience and readership

Some news organisations are turning to video games to attract a younger audience and readership. Recently, for example al-Jazeera brought out the game Pirate Fishing in which players are cast as reporters who take to the seas off Sierra Leone to investigate the multi-million dollar illegal fishing trade. But are serious games such as Pirate Fishing any fun?

Click is joined by a panel of experts to discuss whether it is viable for games to act as a platform for the reflection and dissemination of serious subject matters. The panel includes Jane McGonigal from the non-profit research group Institute for the Future, and author of the book Reality is Broken; the independent games developer, Alex Fleetwood; and Jo Twist, CEO of The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment.

(Photo: A young boy plays on his video game © Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images)

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