Part 1: Game Reflections
Spent
Spent is a game about choices that simulates daily life on a very limited income. Each day, you are presented with a variety of options related to work, health, family, and daily life. Your choices directly affect your stability, and the game emphasizes how easily that stability can be lost. The decisions are not framed as good versus bad, but rather as difficult versus more difficult.
What Spent does especially well is showing the emotional toll that these difficult choices take. The game is not only about money or spending but also about responsibility and guilt. One of the hardest moments is when your child comes home upset because he did not have enough money to participate in a school activity. In that moment, you feel like you are failing as a parent, even though the situation is completely beyond your control.
The game also forces you to ignore your own discomfort. For example, when you have a toothache, visiting the dentist is often too expensive, so you are left with no option but to use numbing gel and endure the pain. This reflects real life, where people living in poverty are often forced to postpone essential medical care and accept pain as part of their daily reality.
One of the most impactful aspects of Spent is that it positions you as a parent from the very beginning. This creates a constant sense of responsibility, where you are always trying to meet your child’s needs, even when it comes at a personal cost. You must work, provide emotionally, and make sacrifices, and sometimes you are forced to say no, such as when your child wants branded items or is trying to fit in. In these moments, saying no feels worse than sacrificing something for yourself.
BBC Syrian Refugees
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32057601
Syrian Refugees is a story-driven game that puts players in the shoes of a Syrian refugee seeking safety outside Syria. The player is faced with multiple routes and various decisions, each with different levels of risk and consequence. From the beginning, the game makes it clear that there is no completely safe option; instead, there are several choices with varying degrees of risk.
During my first run, I took many risks and made quick decisions, and by luck, I was able to successfully escape the country after being rescued during a boat crossing. On my second run, I played much more conservatively, trying to avoid as many risk-based choices as possible. I assumed that playing it safe would increase my chances of survival; however, this was not the case. Simply trying to avoid risk did not lead to a successful escape.
One of the strongest aspects of the game is its storytelling. The game provides bits of information about what happens to family members, along with risk indicators for each decision, without ever telling the player what the “best” option is. This forces you to rely on your gut feeling. When a decision leads to a successful outcome, it feels rewarding, and when it does not, the disappointment feels heavy.
At times, I found myself more focused on winning than reflecting on the experience itself. When I made the right decisions, my main concern was becoming successful in the game rather than fully understanding what the situation represented. Because of this, I sometimes did not fully appreciate the emotional weight of the story.
Depression Quest
http://www.depressionquest.com/
Depression Quest is a text-based game that puts the player in the role of someone dealing with depression. The game focuses on everyday situations such as social interactions, work, relationships, and mental health. Unlike most games, it does not give you full freedom of choice, and many options are unavailable from the start.
When I started playing, I did not expect the game to feel as heavy as it did. While going through different situations, I noticed that many of the choices I wanted to make were crossed out. At first, this felt frustrating and unfair, but as I continued playing, I realized that this was intentional. The game uses this mechanic to show how depression limits a person’s ability to act, even when they know what the right choice might be.
What I liked most about this game is how it visually represents depression through the interface itself. Being able to see the choices that you could have made but are unable to choose was powerful and helped me understand how overwhelming everyday decisions can feel.
Bad News
Bad News is a game that allows the player to take on the role of a fake news creator and distributor. The goal of the game is not to combat misinformation, but to actively use different techniques—such as emotional language, polarization, and doubt—to participate in spreading it. By doing so, the player gains followers and influence.
When I first started playing the game, I thought it was a fun and humorous way to pass the time. However, this quickly became disturbing. Creating outrageous headlines and gaining influence felt almost gratifying at first, until I realized that I was doing something wrong. As I continued playing, I began to see how easily people can get caught up in misinformation, especially when it appeals to their emotions.
What I enjoyed most about this game is that it teaches how fake news works in an indirect way. Instead of explaining misinformation, the game places you in the position of the person producing it. This helped me understand how small manipulative choices can build into something much larger and more harmful. At times, I found myself more focused on gaining followers than reflecting on my ethical behavior. The game mechanics made it easy to treat the experience as a challenge to win rather than an opportunity to think critically.
Gender Inequality
by Mohamed & Fatma
In the game Gender Inequality, you play as a female creating your life in Egypt as you progress from childhood into adulthood. Your life is shaped by strong cultural norms regarding gender roles. The game takes you through different stages of life, and at each stage, you are judged based on whether your decisions conform to or challenge societal expectations for women.
While playing this game, I felt stressed throughout most of it. The reactions I received from parents, teachers, and society were often disconnected from how I personally felt about my decisions. Whether it was choosing toys, education, or marriage, I was judged based on social acceptance rather than what felt right for me.
What I liked most was how realistic the situations felt. The repetition of being praised for conforming and discouraged for resisting made the experience emotionally heavy and believable. I disliked how limited some choices felt, but I also understood that this reflected how restrictive societal expectations can be.
Newsroom Sensation
by Heidi & Mazen
Newsroom Sensation is an online board game that simulates the role of someone working in a newsroom. At first, I did not really know what to expect and assumed my choices would not matter much. As I continued playing, I realized that even small decisions had a strong impact.
Each headline I chose shaped public reaction and the popularity of the news source. I was surprised to find myself focusing more on attracting attention than on presenting truthful information. I liked how the game showed the tension between ethics and popularity, and how easy it is to drift away from honest reporting under pressure. This helped me realize how pressure in media environments can slowly change intentions and blur ethical boundaries.
Offline Classroom Activity (Wooden Pieces & Blindfold)
In this offline classroom activity, we were a group of three. Two of us were blindfolded, and I was the only one who could see. We were all given the same wooden pieces. My role was to create a composition, after which I was not allowed to help or give feedback.
One blindfolded teammate described my composition to the other, who then tried to recreate it. At first, the activity was fun for me because I enjoyed doing something creative. However, I became frustrated when I saw misunderstandings happening and was unable to intervene.
Watching them struggle while knowing the correct answer but not being able to help was stressful. In the end, they managed to recreate the composition correctly, which made the experience rewarding.
Part 2: My Ikigai & VIA results
My Ikigai
What I love:
I love reading and writing, especially in Arabic. I enjoy expressing ideas through words and telling stories that reflect real experiences and emotions.
What I am good at:
I am good at designing and using digital tools, and I am also good at understanding people and seeing situations from different perspectives.
What the world needs:
The world needs better communication and more understanding between people. Many conflicts happen because people do not take the time to understand what others are going through.
What I can be paid for / get credit for in this course:
I can be credited for my ability to listen to others, take in their input, and help them find solutions when they are struggling with tasks or decisions, rather than only following my own point of view.
VIA :
I used Chat GPT to help me come up with ideas for a choose-your-own-path narrative game based on my Ikigai and VIA results. The tool suggested ideas that focus on empathy, communication, and understanding different perspectives. Some of the ideas were about handling difficult conversations, seeing the same situation from more than one point of view, and helping others through emotional or ethical challenges.
You can find the AI conversation here:
(https://chatgpt.com/c/69a3450d-d384-8332-9256-f20ff8cbcbf2)
I liked If I Were You because it focuses on stepping into someone else’s place and seeing life from their perspective, even for a short time. I found this interesting because it shows how small, everyday decisions can feel very different depending on the situation and the pressure someone is under. This idea felt realistic and closely connected to empathy and understanding others.
I also liked Unsent Messages because it focuses on things people think or feel but never say. The idea of choosing whether to send a message, rewrite it, or keep it to yourself felt very relatable. I liked how this game highlights that communication is not only about what we say, but also about what we choose not to say.
I used AI for grammar and wording support, but the reflections are my own.
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