USC designs online game with politicians, voters in mind
The Redistricting Game demonstrates complexity, importance of Gerrymandering.
Torey Van Oot
Issue date: 6/20/07 Section: News
Take a step into the virtual world and you can slay monsters for gold on World of Warcraft or school Diddy Kong in a round of MarioKart - you can even learn about stopping the genocide in Darfur. But can you put an end to one of the most divisive and polarizing practices in American politics?
A group of USC game designers and researchers thinks so. Their free, online program, The Redistricting Game, was unveiled amid a crowd of lawmakers and redistricting reform advocates at its official launch at the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., Wednesday.
The Redistricting Game (www.redistrictinggame.org) is a virtual attempt to shed light on Gerrymandering, the practice of redrawing voting district maps to manipulate voter distribution and create an electoral advantage.
"A lot of people think redistricting is a dark corner of our democracy," said Chris Swain, the lead game designer and co-director of USC's EA Game Innovation Lab. "It's something that's not widely understood but has a dramatic effect on our representation."
The game puts the user in the shoes of the district mapmaker, exposing the user to the political realities of redistricting, said Swain, who is also a professor of interactive media at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. After completing several redistricting "missions" from the perspective of the Party head (the user can choose whether to play as a Democratic or Republican consultant), the user moves on to the "reform" mission, working for an independent commission. The user, Swain said, gets a first-hand feel of the challenges of creating voting districts.
"By doing it yourself you gain a deep understanding of how it works and why it's hard," Swain said. "You can't just draw the map any way you want because there are political realities to deal with."
Kareem Crayton, the game's political science research adviser and an assistant professor at the USC Gould School of Law, said the project is the closest any research project has ever come to linking the average American to the mapmaking process.
A group of USC game designers and researchers thinks so. Their free, online program, The Redistricting Game, was unveiled amid a crowd of lawmakers and redistricting reform advocates at its official launch at the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., Wednesday.
The Redistricting Game (www.redistrictinggame.org) is a virtual attempt to shed light on Gerrymandering, the practice of redrawing voting district maps to manipulate voter distribution and create an electoral advantage.
"A lot of people think redistricting is a dark corner of our democracy," said Chris Swain, the lead game designer and co-director of USC's EA Game Innovation Lab. "It's something that's not widely understood but has a dramatic effect on our representation."
The game puts the user in the shoes of the district mapmaker, exposing the user to the political realities of redistricting, said Swain, who is also a professor of interactive media at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. After completing several redistricting "missions" from the perspective of the Party head (the user can choose whether to play as a Democratic or Republican consultant), the user moves on to the "reform" mission, working for an independent commission. The user, Swain said, gets a first-hand feel of the challenges of creating voting districts.
"By doing it yourself you gain a deep understanding of how it works and why it's hard," Swain said. "You can't just draw the map any way you want because there are political realities to deal with."
Kareem Crayton, the game's political science research adviser and an assistant professor at the USC Gould School of Law, said the project is the closest any research project has ever come to linking the average American to the mapmaking process.
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