Peacemaker Wins USC Public Diplomacy Prize

Yesterday at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy in Los Angeles, California, in an awards ceremony that was simulcasted on sandbox MMOG Second Life, ImpactGames and CMU-developed title Peacemaker was announced the winner of the Reinventing Public Diplomacy through Games Contest and took home the first place prize of $5,000. The contest challenged the game mod community, and current and aspiring game designers to "design a prototype or modify a game incorporating the fundamental characteristics of public diplomacy." PeaceMaker is a single-player game where the player takes on the role of either the Israeli Prime Minister or the Palestinian President and must react to in-game events, from diplomatic negotiations to military attacks, and interact with eight other political leaders and social groups in order to establish a stable resolution to the conflict before his or her term in office ends. Judges for the competition included John Seely Brown, Bing Gordon, T.L. Taylor, and Cory Ondrejka. The other finalists were: Exchanging Cultures, a diplomatic game that fosters the creation of virtual communities and relationships based on the exchange of cultural items; Global Kids Island: Fostering Public Diplomacy Through Second Life Global Kids, Inc. where youths in the after-school program spend a month learning about a global issue, and experience an interactive and experiential workshop covering the issue; and Hydro Hijinks, a class project designed to promote discussion about international water issues. More information, as well as photos of the winners, are available at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy webpage documenting the event.