Government Game

Hello All,

I know that it is a snow day for many individuals on the east coast today (or at least I know that our nonprofit corporate office stationed in Pennsylvania is having a snow-day), so I thought that I would share a fun new government game that with you that I found on a friends facebook page today. Besides, when I had a snow-day as a child, it meant go outside and go sledding and/or play video game.

The ReDistricting Game (http://www.redistrictinggame.org/index.php)

About the Game:

The Redistricting Game is designed to
educate, engage, and empower citizens around the issue of political
redistricting. Currently, the political system in most states allows
the state legislators themselves to draw the lines. This system is
subject to a wide range of abuses and manipulations that encourage
incumbents to draw districts which protect their seats rather than risk
an open contest.

By exploring how the system works, as well as how open it is to abuse, The Redistricting Game
allows players to experience the realities of one of the most important
(yet least understood) aspects of our political system. The game
provides a basic introduction to the redistricting system, allows
players to explore the ways in which abuses can undermine the system,
and provides info about reform initiatives – including a playable
version of the Tanner Reform bill to demonstrate the ways that the
system might be made more consistent with tenets of good governance.
Beyond playing the game, the web site for The Redistricting Game
provides a wealth of information about redistricting in every state as
well as providing hands-on opportunities for civic engagement and
political action.

Who We Are:

The Redistricting Game was created at the USC Game Innovation Lab –
part of the USC School of Cinematic Arts’, Interactive Media Division.
It was developed for the USC Annenberg Center for Communications by the
following people:

Lead Game Designer and Project Lead
Chris Swain
Assistant Professor
Co-Director, EA Game Innovation Lab
Interactive Media Division
USC School of Cinema-Television
cswain [at] cinema [dot] usc [dot] edu
http://interactive.usc.edu/research/games

Design and Writing
Producer / Game Designer
Peggy Weil
Visiting Assistant Professor,
Interactive Media Division
USC School of Cinematic Arts
pweil [at] usc [dot] edu

Game Designer / Writer – Jeremy Bernstein

Programming & Development: Red Hot Learning, Inc.
Project Lead – Duane Dunfield
Programming Team – Chris Collings, Andrew Saunders
Web Team – Andrew Saunders, Heather Todd
Testing Team – Anne Shi, Heather Todd
http://www.redhotlearning.com/

Political Science Research Advisor
Kareem Crayton
Assistant Professor of Law and Political Science
USC Gould School of Law
kcrayton [at] law [dot] usc [dot] edu
http://law.usc.edu/

Additional Game Design/Production/Writing
Max Geiger
Henry Goldberg
Greg Johnson
Richard Hodkinson

Art and Graphic Design
Art Director – Kurosh Valenejad
Character Design and Illustration – Sean Nadeau
Graphic Artist and Character Design – Rocky Almodovar
Graphic Artist – Mike Rossmassler
Website Design – Suzie Roth

Opening Animation
Script and Direction – Jeremy Bernstein
Animation – Brian Lee
Score and Sound Effects – Vince Diamante
Voice Over – Jeremy Bernstein

Design Consultant / Subject Matter Expert
Ben Sawyer, Digitalmill, Inc.

Additional Research:
Sonya L. Lebsack, J.D., Ph.D.

Co-Principal Investigator
Douglas Thomas
Associate Professor
USC Annenberg School for Communication
douglast [at] usc [dot] edu
http://annenberg.usc.edu/

Advisors
Jonathan Aronson, Executive Director, USC Annenberg Center for Communication
Geoff Cowan, Dean, Annenberg School for Communication
Pierre DeVries, Senior Fellow, USC Annenberg Center for Communication

Public Relations Contact
John Zollinger
Associate Dean for Communications
USC School of Cinematic Arts
850 W. 34th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90089
(213) 740-9514
jzollinger [at] cinema [dot] usc [dot] edu