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Last update - 06:42 21/09/2008 Don't just read the news - play the news By Ofri Ilani Tags: Technology, Ehud Olmert  The game, Olmert's Interrogation, clicked open after Morris Talansky's preliminary testimony, in which he related how he transferred cash to the prime minister to cover his expenses. The person playing Olmert didn't have time for a break: After reviewing all the information, he had to decide whether to resign from his position, suspend himself temporarily or cling to his seat and fight to prove his innocence. Olmert's Interrogation is only one of the many games posted on playthenewsgame.com, a unique Web site where news events are presented and analyzed via interactive games. At the end of each game, the player must decide two things: what he thinks should be done and what he thinks will actually happen in reality. The opinions and forecasts are then collected and turn into a kind of public opinion survey. The player also has to follow the news and see if his forecast materializes in the real world. Israeli-American Asi Burak is the creator of Play the News and was also behind PeaceMaker, the game which offers the dubious pleasure of trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The games on the site are fairly simple and are not essentially different from older Web games. Yet there is one important difference: Every few days a new game, based on actual events, is posted. In this respect, the site is a kind of journalistic project that the world hasn't seen until now. Advertisement Every morning, a team headed by Burak meets and reviews the day's news. "We have a small newsroom, a reporter and someone who does graphic design. Every morning we look at the headlines around the world and choose an issue that interests us. It has to be an issue with a dilemma, which will eventually have to be resolved in reality." In recent weeks, games have been released dealing with attacks in China, restrictions on fast food in the United States, the release of Gilad Shalit and Barack Obama's presidential candidacy. In one game, the player was even asked to choose a running mate for Obama. To do so, he had to ponder the different options: Would it be Hillary Clinton, the contender who lost to Obama in the Democratic race, or Michael Bloomberg, the millionaire mayor of New York City? Reality has since taken Obama on a different course. Burak notes he is now in talks with American media companies to include a link to the game in their Web sites. "People will surf to the paper's site, read the headlines and then can click on Play the News. It will make news consumption less passive than it is today. The objective is not to transform the news into something superficial, but to create greater involvement. You have an interest in the events because you are also taking a side." Burak acknowledges that the current version of the game requires considerable interest in current events and is not exciting as far as the action it contains. "We're now in the preliminary stage and limited in terms of resources. But I think that many of the gamers are not looking for the heavy and complicated games in terms of graphics, but the simple games." Recently the American press published surveys indicating that young Americans, from the generation of online social networks and instant messaging, do not watch the news and do not know who their political leaders are. It is possible that those who surf Play the News may be more exposed to the news. The site was recently featured at a conference organized by DiGra Israel, the local center of the international organization for the study of digital games that operates in conjunction with the Holon Institute of Technology (www.digraisrael.org). Dr. Hanan Gazit, the chairman of DiGra Israel and the blogmaster of www.vrider.net, thinks this is the first harbinger of games that will transform the news experience into an interactive one. "Instead of being a passive reader, this game allows you to play the news and be involved in decision making, on the basis of bits of information from the real world," says Gazit. There are certainly other more direct ways of actively taking part in society: attending demonstrations, joining organizations advocating social change or simply voting in elections. But according to Gazit, who is also a consultant for the Association of Virtual Worlds, the gaming form of news consumption is revolutionary. "This is a revolution that we live in," he explains. "They say you are the medium that you grow up with. Today children grow up with computer games and virtual worlds and in the not too distant future, people will use them to also learn about what is happening around them. With Play the News, you're not just reading a lone news report in a newspaper. You can see the process and compare your decisions to those of the other players." However, says Gazit, the knowledge about the influence of computer games is still limited, and there is a need for developing research in this area. News games are only one example of the large variety of adult "edutainment" games, a recently evolving field. Prof. Sheizaf Rafaeli, the head of the University of Haifa's Center for the Study of the Information Society, feels that the higher education network also has to instill this form of learning. "Games are the most natural way to learn," he says. "Through games, we learn to talk, to be with others, to go and fight. Today online games are becoming increasingly relevant to academic studies as well. The Western world has already discovered this, but in Israel this is less well-known because most of the games were not adapted to the Hebrew language." Rafaeli is currently developing games that would help teach managerial skills. The games his team has developed focus on decision making and the ability to cope with a flood of information. Is it possible to use this method to also study social science subjects? Rafaeli believes it is. "With games like Sid Meier's Civilization, you can learn history in a much more interesting and in-depth way and also one that is much more faithful to the reality than the methods in practice today," he says. Gazit agrees. "The education system is built on rules and standards taken from the era of the Industrial Revolution," he says. "But we know that on the outside, the world is changing. Most learning is not formal." Bookmark to del.icio.us   'The Mossad dove' Official Syrian state paper says Livni can have peace if she desires it. Abbas the columnist PA Chief: History will judge none of us kindly if we squander chance for peace.   1.   Game this!! 08:57  |  Akiva P 21/09/08   2.   This is a game? Have a look for yourself 09:38  |  Joe Sittizen 21/09/08

Read & React Olmert expected to announce resignation Sunday Responses: 2 ANALYSIS / Even Assad has a better opinion of Livni than Barak Responses: 10 Abbas: Failure to reach peace will 'change parameters of debate' Responses: 101 Hamas accuses Israel of back-pedaling in Shalit negotiations Responses: 96 Yossi Sarid: Economic crisis forces us to rethink 'American dream' Responses: 65 More Headlines 08:52 Olmert expected to announce resignation at Sunday cabinet meeting 08:43 PA chief of staff: We must be ready to use force against Hamas 08:30 Labor sources: Barak seeks early general elections 08:55 Iran: We will stop any attacker before he can 'pull the trigger' 08:20 ANALYSIS / Even Assad has a better opinion of Livni than Barak 09:20 Report: Palestinian woman dies after being shoved to the ground by IDF troops 05:17 Yad Vashem to honor unheralded Holocaust hero 06:42 Don't just read the news - play the news 08:32 Diplomats: No evidence Syria site bombed by IAF was nuclear reactor 03:10 Researcher: Despite gov't claims, female civil servants paid less than men 05:59 Ghetto Fighters' Museum sends first-ever group to Germany, ends boycott 00:57 At least 40 killed in massive truck bombing in Pakistan 18:24 Obama campaign cries foul after Republicans block Iran divestment bill 22:22 Tony Blair's sister-in-law leaves Gaza after being stranded in Strip for nearly a month 04:16 Syria state-run paper: If Livni wants peace, she will achieve it Previous Editions Select Day 19 sep 18 sep 17 sep 16 sep 15 sep 14 sep 12 sep 11 sep 10 sep 09 sep 08 sep 07 sep

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