1. Spent

this game was enjoyable because it was an exposure into what reality is like. After graduation and independence from the parents, it is inevitable that each of us will be faced with the horrors of true life; the pressure or responsibility and commitments. The fact that I lost my money on the 8th day was not at all a good indicator for myself, but given the limited options, circumstances, and that it’s a game, I’d like to believe I’d do better in the real world. I didn’t really sympathize with the American individual I was representing in the game, mostly because I am highly biased against Americans and find that they’ve got it easier than others in life.

2. BBC Syrian refugees

This game inspired a lot of emotion within me. Several times, I had heard about the Syrian refugees and had little knowledge about their struggles, but little had I known that their struggles where this extreme. Being put in their shoes, I felt helpless and desperate for a lifeline to pull me up. I also related to them because to an extent, I identify as a fellow Arab and thought to myself that this could have been any one of us and that they are unfortunate to be the ones that were chosen to go through such unfortunate and heartbreaking situations in life.

3. September 7th, 2020

Honestly? I hated this game. It made me angry. First, because it was such an unrealistically portrayal of students’ struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic. All I could think to myself was that it’s impossible for one person to have it all: disabilities, mental problems, a struggle with gender identity, depression, diabetes, and more. It got me very frustrated because I felt like it belittled the struggles of people with each of these disabilities by making an effort to display an individual who just can’t be topped. With all my heart, I really disliked this game. It made COVID-19 out to be this monstrous and horrendous thing when in actuality, it was more than that.

4. Fake it to make it

This game was very effective in raising awareness that not all social media and online posts are true. Most times, people spread rumors and they lie to make money or gain popularity. It is very common in our modern world and most times, there are people who fall victim to such lies and end up believing and retelling the lies, which is just sad. Sad because I’ve seen my own parents, gullible as they are, become such victims and believe such lies, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and the never ending fake news and false claims being made online. Such news were taking advantage of the fact that nobody really knew or understood what was going on, and were hoping with any information they could grasp at any moment.

5. Sleep-deprived mom game

This game was a window into a mothers struggles. It got me scared of motherhood, especially knowing myself as being not very patient or good with kids. I felt sorry for my mother because I’ve been told that I wasn’t a very easy child growing up and that I was the cause of many parent therapy sessions and chaos at home.

6. Responsible partying

This game was very effective in raising awareness about irresponsible behavior at parties. I liked that about it. However, to an extent, I felt like it was attacking people’s choices and was highly biased against such behavior. It was extreme in its expressions and seemed a bit hateful. Some people might be triggered by such a game because it spreads shame and abides by limited thought processes, and what most might call, old cultural restraints. Personally, I didn’t really like that about it because I grew up in a half-Christian family which believe that drinking is okay as long as it’s responsible, smart, and in moderation, and they don’t find any reason not to pass on that message to their kids as well.

https://playspent.org/ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32057601 https://caitkirby.com/downloads/Fall2020.html https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScap1su2i270VXK3DtWGWA683lyU6UkXJer_cSpN2tl0rXCjQ/viewform?c=0&w=1 https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FUGGJrxTjq9YnmcRGJKG_CsX1npnBy9LpSrlYVAgiNE/edit https://diglit.creativitycourse.org/class-resources/assignments-and-activities/digital-narrative-games/