Global Kids' Digital Media Initiative

"Students at South Shore High School in North Carolina have been passing up normal after school activities for video games...though not to play them. For the past year they've been meeting after school in order to develop meaningful video games with messages attached. It's all part of a program that melds game development with social awareness, and with the help of Global Kids and local developer Gamelab their first game has just been released online. Called "Ayiti: The Cost of Life," it puts the player in control of a family of five poor Haitians in what can best be described as a family management sim.

As you can imagine, the game is dreadfully depressing. You deal with bad weather, low income, hunger, etc. as you desperately try to keep the family alive. It's not fun, but I suppose that was the point. It shows a level of social awareness you certainly wouldn't expect in a group of American high school students. I think the program a brilliant way to mix gaming and learning with extremely positive results. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go borrow a Zoloft."

North Carolina? Well, we in NYC can ignore that for the moment (we think this is due to their local network airing the NY1 piece), as there are some wonderful comments posted in response, like: "Very interesting concept. As a teen myself, the ideas behind it are not very surprising, but the way the message is put forward is very interesting, and indeed very good. It sets you thinking about what dilemmas such families have to face on a daily basis, and of the hardships they have to endure. It's all in a very sweet package (a video game) so it hits you even stronger than "any campaign" bashing you with ad-like content (you get the point)"