Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community
This game is intended as a lesson in poverty, but it's also a lesson in how hard it is to make good games. The premise is that you are unemployed and homeless and need to get through the month. I think I did well in the game because I've been there. I made sure I had some income by taking the lowest rung job, made sure I had health insurance and good food, and managed to get through the month despite a huge rent increase, damage caused by my child, a car accident, and being fired for talking to a union organizer. There was no way in the game for me to get rid of the car - my single largest expense - even though I opted to live downtown (thinking I could walk or use transit). Other aspects of the game were equally simplistic and offered irrational choices. I like games like this, but when they aren't very realistic they undercut the lesson they are trying to teach.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2024 03:17 a.m.

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