Prosecutor's Office Develops and Promotes Computer Game

• [Permalink]  Prosecutor's Office Develops and Promotes Computer Game (03/28/2009)  (Southern Metropolis Daily)

 

 

Recently, the Jiangsu Industrial Park Prosecutor's Office and the Department of Education joined to design, develop and distribute an computer RPG (Role PLaying Game) game known as "The Sword of Justice" among primary and secondary school students in their district.

The game begins with a young man who dreams of becoming a proseutor.  During the process, he encounters numerous hardships and obstacles.  He learns to act righteously to defend himself and helps his fellow citizens to solve problems until he finally becomes a prosecutor.

According to the relevant government departments, "the game brings out knowledge and interest such as the as well as the cnotents of the civics textbooks used by primary and secondary students.  The objective is to let the children learn about the relevant laws and regulations that exist in their real lives."

In 2009, this game was given out as a "winter break assignment" at the Xinhai School.  Almost five hundred 7-th and 8-th grade students were given this "special assignment" and instructed to write a report after playing the game.

Student A: "After playing , I understood many things.  Whenever I cooperated with others to fight the monsters, I was almost invincible.  Why does lesson nine in the civics textbook say that people can never live apart from their social group?  Because the group is the cradle and fertile soil for the maturation of the individual ..."

Student B: "After playing this game, I learned that we must obey traffic rules.  I lost many HPs (Health Ponts) for disobeying the traffic rules.  Therefore, I urge all citizens to obey the traffic rules."

Student C: " is truly an excellent game.  It taught me to know and obey the law, which is a sword of justice in the fight against evil.  The storyline in the game inspires us to raise ourselves and move forward.  Let us all hold swords of justice in our hands and strive towards our dreams!"

Student D: "I am very happy that the teacher recommended this game to us for the winter break.  By playing this game, I learned a lot about the laws, including the laws about gambling, 'tofu' construction projects, bribery and so on.  I also learned that these illegal activities can cause great harm to me and my family."

According to one netizen, "This is a very lousy and crudely made game.  It is hard to imagine that something like this could be made part of the government budget and introduced as an official product.  The screens are awful looking.  It is impossible to imagine how this could attract the attention of young people who are used to playing games with high production values."  In the comments, one netizen said: "This game took 100,000 yuan (note: unconfirmed) to create, but I could have done it with the barest knowledge."  Another netizen commented: "If you give me 50,000 yuan, I could have created a game that is 100 times better."

Previously, the Zhenjiang province Ningbo city Party Disciplinary Committee had introduced the first computer game about government corruption.  During the game, the user faces many enemies, including corrupt officials, their children and even their mistresses.  Furthermore, the user is out there to arrest these corrupt officials; instead, the user is supposed to use weapons, magic and torture to kill these corrupt officials and gain exprience points.  The ultimate goal is to create a corruption-free environment in which people live happily forever in a wealthy and harmonious nation.  This game was introduced on July 25, 2007 and shut down on August 14 due to the immense publicity.

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