Collegiate Times

While most of us have little real control over the affairs in the Middle East, there soon may be a way for us to simulate the conflict on our computer screens.

Carnegie Mellon University graduate students Asi Burak, a 34-year-old Israeli intelligence officer, and Eric Brown, a 29-year-old game developer, alongside a group of other students, have been hard at work for the past year developing a video game based on the Middle East conflict. The video game, called ?PeaceMaker,? attempts to simulate the current Israeli-Palestine struggle and encourages players to find solutions to current real-life problems through the game.

Burak and Brown formed their company ImpactGames to make ?PeaceMaker? available for public use. They believe they will find success based on the appeal of other serious games, which deal with real-life conflict and problems as well. Another company, BreakAway Games, designed ?Incident Commander,? a game that allows players to face situations such as terrorist attacks, high school hostage situations and natural disasters. BreakAway?s president, Deborah Tillett, cited in an interview for the Associated Press that, ?her games have sold well, but she conceded they would have to be made less realistic to sell in larger numbers.?

?PeaceMaker? hopes to prove that video games can find success in terms of both education and entertainment, while appealing to a large audience. The games aim to educate public officials, students and professionals by using simulated technology to provide an in-depth, accurate look into the Middle East struggle.

When considering the benefits a computer game such as this would offer the American public, it seems that ?PeaceMaker? would serve as an educational tool, allowing people who have an interest in international affairs and conflict to become more involved in the policy decisions that government officials face everyday. In order to have any educational value whatsoever, the game needs to be realistic and interactive. While the likelihood that professionals will use the game is doubtful, there are questions regarding the educational value of implementing the game in schools for students.

Who could forget ?Oregon Trail,? undoubtedly one of the greatest computer games of all time? It allowed you to assume an identity, as well as control all the factors surrounding your journey in a covered wagon to Oregon. While the game was by no means complicated, it was also strangely addicting, as the number of possible combinations the game allowed for was endless. Allowing people control over decisions, which are not theirs to make in ordinary life, gives them a sense of freedom and adventure. ?Oregon Trail? was not only educational, but also interactive. If ?PeaceMaker? can be educational as well as entertaining, it could ? and should ? serve as an example of future education tools.