Digital games for international development: A field theory perspective

Abstract

While serious games have been used within the field of international development since 2005, their adoption as tools for social and behavior change has remained fairly limited. Using Bourdieu’s theory of practice as an analytical framework, this study examines the tensions created when the fields of international development and serious games are brought together. In-depth interviews with development practitioners and game experts responsible for creating the nonprofit Half the Sky Movement’s mobile phone and Facebook games are used to examine how logistical considerations and ideological conflicts between agents from differing fields shape the limitations and possibilities of bringing games into the development space. Further, this study analyzes the new forms of Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and capital created through this overlap in fields, filling an existing gap in the extant literature on the production and use of games for international development.

Digital games, developing democracies, and civic engagement: a study of games in Kenya and Nigeria

“…By educating a core team of young people about the issues and tasking them with taking the game out into the community, Afroes was able to ensure that more people were exposed to the game and Mobiv8ors were able to reinforce game messaging through conversations. These community-based dissemination programs allowed for a combination of digital message dissemination – which both aids in generating conversation and legitimizing community educators (Fisher, 2019) – alongside participatory learning through discussion, which is important to community building, active mobilization, and civic engagement outcomes in developing democratic contexts (Finkel, 2002). And through calls for player reflection and action post-gameplay, YAF was able to use Your Excellency to catalyze planning and mobilization around civic-issues relevant to the game’s audience.…”

“…Participants from both organizations spoke at length about the importance of involving the community in the game content and design process along with the importance of having local game development companies create the games. Unlike previous serious game projects for African audiences created by international organizations and game companies (Fisher, 2019), Afroes and YAF emphasized the need to have local organizations solving local problems. Both organizations began their game projects by talking with those in their respective target communities in order to obtain community feedback on game content and mechanics; and both saw peer-to-peer interaction and the building of a game playing community around the issue as key to their projects' success.…”

“…In developing contexts, games have been found to be an effective way to discuss a range of sensitive social issues, from family planning to gender dynamics (Fisher, 2019). The same is true of the civic engagement games examined here.…”

“…The Mobiv8or program trained youth from the community around relevant issues in the game, equipped them with the game, and then sent them out into the community to share the game with people on the street and to discuss the issues raised within it. As research on the use of games in developing contexts has shown, equipping local community educators with a game to show and discuss with community members gives the educators an added degree of credibility, and helps with engagement around sensitive issues (Fisher, 2019). In addition, Afroes held various community engagement sessions: 'we'd go to schools, we'd go to other community centers and have them play the game and discuss the questions that came up in the game' (A1).…”

Mapping participation in ICT4D: A meta-analytic review of development communication research

“…However, the dominant tendency of ICT4D practice and research alike has been to focus on new technology as innovation over the role of communication (Servaes, 2014). More problematic is this inclination toward ‘technology’ over ‘communication’ even when numerous studies point to the dialogic communication processes afforded by ICTs in terms of enabling community-level participatory approaches as an alternative to top-down one-size-fits-all model (Dasuki et al, 2014; Rega & Vannini, 2018; Tacchi, 2012). ICT4D researchers generally recognize its potential to facilitate democratic and participatory communication, particularly as a means to empower marginalized groups.…”