The Issue:
It is more likely for a society to be a peaceful place when everyone has the resources they need to survive and thrive, such as water, shelter, electricity, access to healthy food, freedom, and access to education. Catastrophes like violence and natural disasters can make it really hard for people to have these needs met, and people in power must make difficult decisions about how to ensure their citizens have the resources they need. What would you do in that situation?
The Game Design Prompt:
Design a game in an imagined world where players need to take action about how resources are shared and divided. The main goal is to keep the peace among all groups in a fair and equitable way in your game civilization.
Conflict is a part of life. We all encounter it, whether interpersonal or between groups or countries. Once we understand conflict and the unmet needs of parties, we can begin to solve it. This resource can be used in any grade.
SDG 16 Information
This video shows how power and culture can impact conflict and shape various societal norms. This resource can be used in any grade.
Understanding unmet needs is important to resolve conflict peacefully. This concept is critical regardless of the conflict between people, groups, or nations. This resource can be used in any grade.
Just as humans have needs, so does our planet. Planet Earth needs its resources and ecosystems protected, and it relies on us to protect its complicated yet delicate infrastructure. This resource can be used in any grade.
The effects of climate change and conflict can be felt around the world. The strain this puts on our planet’s resources can cause conflicts such as food crises, drought, water wars, and displacement of people, affecting our freedom, rest, and safe communities. This resource can be used in any grade.
We all have essential needs to survive and thrive as individuals and nations. This resource lays out the critical 9 needs categories we have to help us navigate conflict peacefully by understanding and meeting the needs of the groups involved. This resource can be used in any grade.
In this lesson, students are introduced to the concept that good health and well-being are influenced by many factors that impact physical and mental needs.
Students will consider the impact of inequalities in society. Inequality threatens long-term social and economic development. It impedes poverty reduction and destroys people’s sense of fulfillment and self-worth. In turn, it can create conflict, crime, disease, and environmental degradation.
Students will gain awareness of the importance of peace and stability in communities and individuals. “Peace is a fundamental precondition for social and economic development and stability. Without peace, societies are plagued by conflict, violence, and instability, which hinders progress and results in the loss of lives and resources.”
Game Title: Hear Me Out
Studio Name: Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative | Domestic Harmonizer Virtual Center
Game Description: A free, fun, and educational way for users to learn about real-life situations and problem-solve them. Players will learn about cyberbullying, restorative justice, teambuilding, negotiation, peer mediation, and more by playing the games and simulations featured in the app. No background knowledge on these topics is needed for playing.”
Game Title: Resilience
Studio Name: Sungrazer Studio
Game Description: Resilience is a sci-fi city-builder game for Windows, Mac, and Linux that fosters empathy for displaced peoples and explores how resource distribution impacts well-being in refugee camps. You assume the role of refugee camp manager on a distant moon and are tasked with the livelihood of an alien race fleeing planetary disaster. Confront the day-to-day struggles of camp life and the structural problems of an underfunded aid system.
Game Title: Troposphere
Studio Name: Michigan State Game Design Program
Game Description: Troposphere is a resource management game set on sky islands where players must collect resources to survive and expand their village. They must build bridges to other sky islands containing the resources needed to grow. Since these islands exist within the Troposphere, they are prone to frequent natural disasters. To combat these dangers, players must build fortifications and expand their village as fast as possible!
Game Title: Syndesi
Studio Name: ISART DIGITAL
Game Description: Play a nomad living on a farm perched on the shell of the imposingNi’lahh, the giant creature that accompanies you. Journey across a vast desert, explore the world, and trade with the merchant cities to find new resources.”
Game Title: Banished
Studio Name: Shining Rock Software LLC
Game Description: In this city-building strategy game, you control a group of exiled travelers who decide to restart their lives. They only have clothes on their backs and a cart filled with supplies from their homeland. Keeping them healthy, happy, and well-fed is essential to growing your town. The success or failure of a town depends on the appropriate management of risks and resources.
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