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Games

Translation:
de


This Section provides access to an Online database of:
• The best educational Videogames and mobile apps available on the market
• The most suitable Videogames and Apps that, even if not specifically designed for educational purpose, can be used as teaching or learning tools with students

Videogames and apps are categorized, analyzed and assessed in order to provide the teachers with all the necessary information and hints to make full use of the Videogames and Apps in teaching contexts.

Partners' Institution
Universidad de Valencia
Author
Andres Paya and Santiago Mengual

APPS/VIDEOGAMES

Product type
Educational videogame
Name of the videogame/app
Democracy 3
Name of the producer
Positech Games, Red Marble Games
Year
2013
How to find it
To be Purchased
Direct link if available
http://www.positech.co.uk/democracy3/
Main technical requirements
Windows
Other OsX
Native Virtual Reality Support
Single/Multiplayer
Single, Multiplayer
Type
Simulation, Strategy
Target Audience
12-17 years, 18+ years
Augmented Reality
No
PEGI Clasification
12

Use in Educational contexts

Degree of required tutoring
Autonomous use after teacher introduction/explanation
Subjects involved
History, Math, Philosophy
Other
Political
Educational Potential
This game is more a serious game than a playful game. It is a political management simulator that allows the user to make decisions on all the political aspects that govern a society.

Decisions exclusively depends on an annual budget and the user will be able to make government decisions by exploring the ideological spectrum in decision-making.

Aspects such as crime management, health care (public-private), education, environmental decisions and immigration will allow us to obtain a general view of the people satisfaction.
This game allows you to develop teamwork skills. It also allows you to analyse the impact that political decisions have on a country.

Using moods it is possible to confront the student with specific dilemmas, and consequences of particular policies (such as the privatisation of health care). The game also allows you to establish an variance in the decisions in order to achieve a fair balance in the social demands. Any change of this intensity will affect the satisfaction of certain social groups. The final goal is to convince other voters of the quality of the decisions already made.

Learning Object / Suggested activities with students
To explore the differences that exists among decisions based on political ideologies (liberal, neoliberal, socialist)
Exploring the effects of privatization policies
Experiencing the complexity and effects of policy decisions on immigration effects
Understand the effects and scope of a country's economic management

Skills and competences

Skills and competences acquired
Critical thinking, empathy, assertiveness, decision making capacity skills.
Soft skills
Critical thinking, Problem solving, Self-confidence, Team working, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Coaching, Innovation

4 Comments


Partners' Institution
FH JOANNEUM
Author of the comments
Tina
Auf jeden Fall f
Partners' Institution
FH JOANNEUM
Author of the comments
Andreas Schuch
I have played this game for many dozens of hours and basically know all ins and outs! I have also developed a Democracy 3 workshop for upper secondary classrooms and have already taught it several times. Here are some of my takeaways:

- The game is primarily useful at visualizing the interconnectedness and complexity of political dimensions such as sectors like economy and taxes, satisfaction levels of different demographics, budgetary constraints, one's own political ideology, random events like world economy collapsing and so on.
- Democracy 3 is really good at giving feedback for your actions. For any action you want to take, you can see beforehand the projected changes these actions will lead to. You can also trace back results to certain actions you take after the fact.
- In my experience, it's best to have students work in small groups i which they discuss their next actions and decisions as well as keep a log of 1) all of their decisions and actions, 2) the expected outcome and the 3) actual outcome. This allows them to spot trends and - if they run into a problem - trace their actions to find the root of the problem.
- This game requires a lot of time and effort. It cannot be played and completed in a short amount of time - students and teachers have to commit to it for some time!
- Even though this game is a major simplification of real life, it is still rather complex. Beginners to the game and to video games in general will take some time to get used to the interface and to get a grasp of the inner workings and systems of the game.
- Democracy 3 has some limitations and simplifications that I recommend should definitely be discussed in class, including how in the game there is only a two-party system (one party in power, one party in opposition) and how we as the players act as quasi-dictators in the game! In real life, these policies would usually have to be examined and passed by parliament and go through many other hurdles before coming into effect!
- In my opinion, the recommended age for this type of game is AT A VERY MINIMUM 16 years. The older the students, the more likely it is that more of them will understand the underlying complex systems and connections simulated in the game in a "deeper" way and "get more out" of the game.
- This game is well suited for integrating different subjects into an interdisciplinary workshop or project. In my workshops, we played the game in English and discussed several in-game policies with a Geography teacher and History and Politics teacher. We also drew many connections to the city we live in - "We have a problem with X in the game, this is actually a real life problem our city also has to deal with - so what did they do to try and solve the problem? We can try doing the same in the game and see if that same approach helps us too!"
- Almost unanimous student feedback: "I didn't think it [politics] was this complicated!" :) Students also said they think the workshop was interesting and that I should definitely do it with other classes too.

There is a lot more that I could say about the game and how I conducted the workshop. If anyone is interested to hear more, you can contact me at my gmail address: schuch dot andreas (for spam protection I have to ask you to put the email together yourself)

Andreas (FH JOANNEUM)
Partners' Institution
FH JOANNEUM
Author of the comments
Claudia Linditsch
I would definitely use it in my lectures, especially in lectures where critical thinking on an international level is needed
Partners' Institution
Xano Channel
Author of the comments
Ignacio Pachés Giner
First of all, this game is for mature people. I wouldn't recommend it for people under 17-18.
It's a very special type of game that has its fans and its haters. People who like it, spend countless hours on it, whereas detractors are usually fed up in 5 minutes. Given the complexity of Democracy 3, this division of opinion will increase if players are asked to play it.



This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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