After playing the game through to the end, compose a short blog post (200 - 500 words) reflecting on your learning experience. Consider 2 or more of these questions in your response:
What is this game really all about?
Is it realistic or unrealistic?
What did you learn from playing the game?
What did you like about the game?
What did you dislike?
What did you notice about yourself as a player?
How has this game affected your understanding of misinformation, disinformation and fake news?
"As a player, I was sickened with myself as I played."
This game is largely about making the player aware of how susceptible people are to propaganda in the media, even when they know it is there.
I believe that the game is realistic to an extent. Creating and molding news stories to suit your personal beliefs and political goals is entirely possible. But, starting it from scratch and making an entirely new news source without any history to back you up is not very realistic.
I learned that it is very easy to create a biased news source, as opposed to an unbiased one.
I liked the gameplay and the message. I did not like how villainous the guide was, though. I think it would have made the message stronger if the guide wasn’t so purposefully unethical. I also would have liked to see statistics from other players based on the voluntary quiz.
As a player, I found that I was sickened by myself as I played. I chose to take the opposite side of my political leanings, and it conflicted with my morals greatly. I also noticed that I rejected the idea of impersonating others as I find that the easiest way to discredit a source.
I always knew that the news was biased to one side or another, but I never knew the extent to it. The fact that it starts from the headlines is terrifying and sickening, especially knowing that I have bought into it as well. It makes me feel distrustful of any media on its own and my own perception of it. I now wonder how often I see articles I think are fairly credible are actually just carefully written with me as an audience member in mind.
Deborah Sareth #COM416