Peacemaker Serious Game Sees Mainstream Coverage

The 'serious game' Peacemaker, which "attempts to simulate the violence and political turbulence of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle", is receiving mainstream news coverage, thanks to a new Associated Press article on the title. The Associated Press' take on 'serious games' starts, interestingly enough, with the statement that: "Proponents of so-called serious games, an emerging genre of interactive games that tackle real-world problems, believe [that serious games will "attract players and investors"]. But major video game makers, while applauding such efforts, are wary of investing in them." It continues by profiling Asi Burak and Eric Brown, the creators of Peacemaker as part of the Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center, and who are now, according to the official website for the game, forming a company, ImpactGames, to publish Peacemaker and future social games. As for the future of that game itself, "A Windows-based prototype has been tested at schools and with game-industry figures. Burak and Brown hope to offer a downloadable version for PCs and Macs with $300,000 to $500,000 from people "interested not only in the investment, but the social cause," Burak said." More information on both Peacemaker and the entire serious games field, including quotes from noted serious games-related figures including David Rejeski and Mark JP Wolf, is readable via the AP/CNN story itself.