'3rd World Farmer' teaches of hardships

— -- While most video games are made for entertainment, some are developed with a more serious purpose. 3rd World Farmer was developed by a group of students from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark for the purpose of letting others experience what it is like to be a farmer in a Third World country.

Acting on the belief that players invest in game characters whose fate they control, the developers created a simulation of a farm in Africa owned by a poor family. The initial game design fashioned a scenario that never allowed you to overcome the poverty. Frederik Hermund, one of the designers of the game, explained that they started with that design choice "to stress the need for real life action." But Hermund and his team of designers decided to modify the initial game because they found that "some players were slightly traumatized by a totally unwinnable game, and because we wanted to show some ways out of poverty." The game is playable at www.3rdWorldFarmer.com.

The simulation starts with a husband and wife, two children, $50, and a plot of land with a hut. You play the game by making decisions on a yearly basis that include whether to use your land for crops or livestock, send the children to school, have more children, spend money on medicine, invest in infrastructure (buy a shovel, plow, or tractor) or your community, and more.

While making these decisions sounds complicated, it is not. The decisions are presented in a straightforward manner, and, once they are made, the simulation moves you forward a year and informs you what has happened to the family and its farm as a result of your decisions.

Initially, our kid testers found playing the simulation to be a very bleak experience until they adjusted their thinking about how to play it. My own experience was similar until I played the simulation with Tsheko Mutungu, a Princeton University student from Zambia, who was visiting my family. Mutungu encouraged me let go of my "American ideals" to educate the farm children, explaining that until the farm prospered, I needed them to work on the farm.

He also had me select the option to have more children — one every year — so that I could have more help on the farm. It costs $30 a year if you try to send a child to school, a luxury you can't afford at first since you start with only $50. And because the school is so far away, not only do you lose crucial money you need for the operation of the farm, but you lose the child's ability to contribute to the work. It is best to make enough money to build a school and then send the kids to it, even though they will be older when they attend.

By playing 3rd World Farmer, you will experience many other occurrences that aren't a part of farming in the United States, including civil war where both sides plunder your resources, raids by guerrilla forces and theft from refugees. The game presents an endless series of setbacks, including drought and disease.

The graphics are rudimentary; the game mechanics are too repetitive (you have to drag and drop a lot); the pages are static without animation; and some of the events are unrealistic (you can raise elephants as livestock). But, the simulation is thought-provoking. Playing the game will teach kids the importance of investing in infrastructure, political leadership, insurance and community projects like health clinics, schools, roads and communication. Kids experience the problems instead of just reading about them.

Because the game presents yearly information in an annual-report format, this game is best played by teens and adults, although younger players can benefit from it if they play with someone older. Parents need to gauge their child's ability to accept that their African farm family will probably die the first few times the simulation is played.

3rd World Farmer is a game that can be a great catalyst for discussion about some of the issues facing Africa and other Third World farmers. And for kids motivated to help, the website provides links to international organizations dealing with world hunger including The World Food Programme and UNICEF.

Gudmundsen is the editor of Computing With Kids magazine (www.ComputingWithKids.com). Contact her at gnstech@gns.gannett.com.