Qrius
  • Business
    • Banking
    • Finance
    • Investment Guide
    • Policy
    • SMEs
    • Net Worth
    • Startup
    • Pros and Cons
  • World
    • Entertainment
    • Climate
    • Culture
    • Economy
    • History
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • Sports
      • Scrabble
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
  • Science & Technology
    • Archaeology
    • Nature
    • Space
    • Tech
    • AI
    • Fintech
    • Futuristic Technologies
    • IOT
  • India
    • Culture
    • Economy
    • History
    • Politics
    • Sports
    • Entertainment
    • Climate
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
  • Contributors
    • Digital Marketing Guest Post
    • Education Guest Post
    • Travel Guest Post
    • Fashion Guest Post
    • Fintech Guest Post
    • Health Guest Post
    • IOT Guest Post
    • Politics Guest Post
    • Sports Guest Post
    • AI Guest Post
    • Technology Guest Post
    • Literature Guest Post
  • Content Services
  • Business
    • Banking
    • Finance
    • Investment Guide
    • Policy
    • SMEs
    • Net Worth
    • Startup
    • Pros and Cons
  • World
    • Entertainment
    • Climate
    • Culture
    • Economy
    • History
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • Sports
      • Scrabble
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
  • Science & Technology
    • Archaeology
    • Nature
    • Space
    • Tech
    • AI
    • Fintech
    • Futuristic Technologies
    • IOT
  • India
    • Culture
    • Economy
    • History
    • Politics
    • Sports
    • Entertainment
    • Climate
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
  • Contributors
    • Digital Marketing Guest Post
    • Education Guest Post
    • Travel Guest Post
    • Fashion Guest Post
    • Fintech Guest Post
    • Health Guest Post
    • IOT Guest Post
    • Politics Guest Post
    • Sports Guest Post
    • AI Guest Post
    • Technology Guest Post
    • Literature Guest Post
  • Content Services
05 Nov, 17
05 Nov, 17

The Venezuelan crisis understood through video games

The innovators behind #VzlaCrisisJam have created 15 games based on the national crisis, seen from different perspectives by different people.

By Zimble Digital

By Laura Vidal


Protests against a multi-pronged national crisis in Venezuela have seen citizens pour onto the streets in their thousands, but anti-government sentiment has also found other less typical outlets.

In June and July this year a group of programmers and digital culture enthusiasts gathered to design collaboratively a series of video games focusing on the Venezuelan crisis. Thus was born#VzlaCrisisJam, a “game jam” brainstorming session to create computer games that reflected the nature of the crisis.

Screenshot of the page hosting the games under #VzlaCrisisJam | Image Courtesy: As provided by the author

 

The first “game jam” in Venezuela took place in the capital Caracas in 2009 and around 80 online video games have been made through similar events.

The organizers of the politically-themed Crisis Game Jam said:

Any platform is welcome, but I believe that in order to have a better outreach [the platform] should be easy to access: desktop games (either Linux, Windows or Mac), or games for html5. Mobile games wouldn’t be bad if [the developers] have the possibility to put it on a ‘store’.

Among the creations of the #VzlaCrisisJam, that can be viewed here, is “Faces of the Guaire” (the Guaire river flows through Caracas). The setting is the day of the April 19 protest that took place on the Francisco Fajardo highway, adjacent to the river.  Protesters were famously forced to jump into the water to escape from tear gas attacks on that day.

Another game  created by the jam was “The Economy of an Arepa”, the typical Venezuelan dish, in which players run a virtual restaurant and need to deal with the rapid soaring prizes of products (due mostly to inflation) and the difficulties of finding them. Two of the games, “Reality Revealed” and “Vzla2017?, a game that recreates the protests and the represion; and finally, “Feria” centers on a character: a soldier that needs to keep the order in front of a group of people asking for food and medicine:

A game prototype where you, as the military, must distribute the basic products among the population. But there are some things you most certainly cannot distribute. Click the military with the mouse and drag back to launch the product. Right click to invert the next product you’ll launch with the one after. Click on the queue to send repression.

In total, the jam produced 15 blueprints, of which six can be played online and nine can be downloaded and played on Windows. The goal is to offer different looks inside of a crisis that affects different parts of the population in a wide diversity of ways that are not always understood for the different parts in conflict.

According to one of the promoters of the project:

Right now we’re focusing on the outreach of the games and in collaboration. If the comments and the feedback are generally positive we can repeat the experience. I invite people to try at least one of the games, the one that calls their attention the most, and to leave a comment on that page.


This article was originally published on Rafael Uzcátegui‘s blog but has been translated and republished by Global Voices under Creative Commons 3.0.

Featured Image Credits: MARQUINAM via VisualHunt / CC BY-NC-ND


Stay updated with all the insights.
Navigate news, 1 email day.
Subscribe to Qrius

About Author

Zimble Digital

Visit Homepage

what is qrius

Qrius reduces complexity. We explain the most important issues of our time, answering the question: "What does this mean for me?"


Featured articles

1

Before Christ

What Does BCE Mean? Difference between BCE, CE, BC and AD
2

GDP

Revealing the Top 10 GDP Countries of 2024: A Deep Dive into Global Economic Powerhouses
3

Android

The Ultimate Guide to the Best Car Racing Games for Android in 2024
4

cars

Best Family Car in India in 2024: Experience Memorable Journeys with Loved Ones
5

Extreme sports

Hidden Chess Rules: Elevate Your Game with Secret Strategies
6

adventure sports

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Why Cristiano Ronaldo Is Better
7

40 Top GK Questions: Boost Your Knowledge Quotient!
8

Why has increased productivity not led to more free time?
9

gita

Gita quotes on karma: Want to live your best life? Laws to live by…
10

Facebook

Facebook and Instagram down: What reason did Meta give?

About Qrius

  • About Us
  • Content Services
  • Contributors
  • Become a Contributor
  • Contact

Contribute

  • Digital Marketing Guest Post
  • Education Guest Post
  • Travel Guest Post
  • Fashion Guest Post
  • Fintech Guest Post
  • Health Guest Post
  • IOT Guest Post
  • Literature Guest Post
  • Politics Guest Post
  • Sports Guest Post
  • Technology Guest Post
  • AI Guest Post

Quick Links

  • World
  • Entertainment
  • Climate
  • Culture
  • Economy
  • History
  • Politics
  • Elections
  • Sports
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science & Tech
  • Archaeology
  • Nature
  • Space
  • Tech
  • AI
  • Fintech
  • Futuristic Technologies
  • IoT
  • India
  • Culture
  • Economy
  • History
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Climate
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
2018 QRIUS. All Rights Reserved