WHAT does the word 鈥済amer鈥� mean to you? Chances are it鈥檚 a 20-something slacker blasting away in a mindless shoot-鈥檈m-up.
That鈥檚 why the idea of 鈥渟erious games鈥�, designed to inform people about real-world problems and even help to solve them, seems so surprising (see 鈥淕amers hold the world at their controls鈥�). Won鈥檛 gamers simply shrug and reach for their weapons?
Many will, but that鈥檚 no reason to write off serious games. Prime-time TV and trashy novels don鈥檛 stop people watching documentaries or reading social commentary. If serious television and literature can thrive amid the junk, why not serious games?
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In fact, such games may achieve more than any documentary or highbrow book ever did. Gamers are already getting stuck in. Prepare for some cultural prejudices to be toppled.