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According to CNN.com, PeaceMaker -- under development by Asi Burak, a 34-year-old former Israeli intelligence officer, and Eric Brown, a 29-year-old game developer with a degree in painting -- will have players managing hot-spot situations such as car bombings and assassinations as either the Israeli prime minister or Palestinian authority president.
While most serious game developers seem to accept the fact that their games have too narrow of an audience to bring in sizable amounts of dough, Brown, Burak and their newly formed company ImpactGames intend on changing that. They not only want to educate and inform with their game, but also reach mass-market penetration.
Burak feels that a game can achieve wide appeal if it wisely incorporates conflict. "We had a challenge to make a peace game engaging," he said. "What we see out there is all of those war games. There is a reason people are making them -- because they're engaging, there is a challenge, there is a conflict."
Of course, a game based on the Israeli-Palestinian struggle is going to have conflict in spades. As the leader of either nation, players will have to make important policy decisions, learn how to deal with the aftermath of violence, and wage diplomacy, although you do have the option to attack if you feel inclined. The main objective of the game is to achieve peace.
While industry onlookers respect the fervor of Brown and Burak, there are plenty of people who doubt that the game will accomplish the desired widespread appeal.
Wisconsin's Concordia University professor and game theorist Mark J.P. Wolf said that investors such as entertainment companies tend "to shy away from anything that's too political because they're afraid that could narrow their market, or even if something is more educational."
In addition, David Rejeski, head of the Serious Games Initiative said, "So one of the real issues is, what's the business model here? How can you actually do this and earn a decent living doing it? And that hasn't been resolved yet."
The game's $300,000 to $500,000 development cost is provided by people "interested not only in the investment, but the social cause," according to Burak.
The game is expected to release for PC and Mac in downloadable form.
By Kris Graft
Provided by Next Generation
- Interactive Entertainment Today
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