Peacemaker, a Carnegie-Mellon University student made game that simulates the Israeli-Palestinian struggles, has been picked up for commercial sale by publisher Manifesto games. Peacemaker recently won the University of Southern California's Public Diplomacy Games Contest for it's excellent content. The game is one of many such games that have come about recently that deal with real world issues.

PeaceMaker allows the player to try his or her skills of diplomacy and leadership by playing as either the Israeli Prime Minister or the Palestinian President. Incorporating real-world events and news stories, the game challenges players to succeed as a leader where others have failed; to experience the joy of bringing peace to the region - or the agony of plunging the Middle East into disaster.

I got to hear a lot about these types of games at the Living Game Worlds Symposium last month. Unfortunately most of these are web based games or student projects and not many people have heard of them. Hopefully, this will be the start of a trend towards getting games of real purpose in the hands of gamers. Flynn De Marco

Peacemaker Blog [Peacemaker]
[via GamePolitics]