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Revolution 1979 - How to Make a Documentary Game - Extra Credits

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• published: 06 Jul 2016
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Revolution 1979 cracks the code of how to make games function as documentaries, showing how we can educate players about a real world topic and let them experience it without locking them into a passive role. By casting the player as a minor participant, rather than a traditional game hero, this game makes the events personal and retains their agency without asking them to change the course of history. (---More below) _________ Subscribe for new episodes every Wednesday! http://bit.ly/SubToEC Get your Extra Credits gear at the store! http://bit.ly/ExtraStore Play games with us on Extra Play! http://bit.ly/WatchEXP Watch more episodes from this season of Extra Credits! http://bit.ly/1GwiJWQ Talk to us on Twitter (@ExtraCreditz): http://bit.ly/ECTweet Follow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/ECFBPage Get our list of recommended games on Steam: http://bit.ly/ECCurator ___________ Revolution 1979 doesn't stand out in terms of gameplay - it's clunky, in fact - but it may have figured out how to make a documentary game. It's a Telltale-esque game about choice and storylines, but it's set during the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Unlike many games where the setting is just window dressing, in this case, the setting is the game and the entire focus and point of its narrative. It casts the player as a photo journalist who returns home to visit family in Iran right before the fateful events of the revolution begin. Because this is a documentary, you can't actually change the course of events, but Revolution 1979 allows the player to maintain agency: in your minor role as a photographer, you have a reason to be on the scene of major occurrences, but you are neither one of the main historical characters nor the typical video game superhero come to save the day. Instead, you focus on the small choices that relate to yourself and your family. This allows the player to experience firsthand the culture that is being affected by these events and develop an emotional connection with the people of Iran. Previously, there have been educational games (or edutainment) that attempted to tell history, but the player's role is too often that of a static learner. Revolution 1979 might crack the code for how to make a good video game documentary, and it does so through the narrative choice of who the player will be, leaving the door wide open for other developers to make documentary games that build off that narrative choice and alter or improve the mechanics to fit a variety of situations. ___________ Would you like James to speak at your school or organization? For info, contact us at: soraya[at]extra-credits[dot]net ___________ ♪ Get the intro music here! http://bit.ly/1eIHTDS ♪ Get the outro music here! http://bit.ly/29qgn4e