Homework # 2

So for this assignment we are suppose to take an existing iPhone game and turn it into an alternative game. I think that one game that would be prefect for this would be one of the best selling games in the iTunes App Store, which is: Angry Birds. We all know that this game is one of the most popular in the iPhone, ranking number one in the "Top Paid" and "Top Grossing" charts. So my idea involves taking this incredibly successful game and making it into something that isn't just fun, but that also gets an idea across. But first, I have to describe what the agenda that I want to push with this game would be.

For the last class time, we were told to think about things that we feel really strong about. And while I didn't get to share my ideas, mostly because I am kind of shy in big groups, I do have some opinions that I feel really strong about. And I'm saying this because it ties into what I want to say about turning Angry Birds into an alternative game. So here is what I thought last time: I absolutely love playing video games, I hate it when people say that video games make children violent, and I absolutely hate people that want to get rid of undocumented immigrants (in particular, those of Mexican origin) in the USA.

I was really struggling on how to at least get one of those ideas across while at the same time making it fun and without it being difficult and complicated like the McDonald's game that we saw in class. But then it hit me, I can make it so that instead of being birds vs pigs in the game, I can make it something like great human rights & pro-immigration activist vs politicians & laws that aim to kick undocumented immigrants out of the country.

The agenda is actually quiet simple and nothing new, simple to get people to realize that undocumented immigrants aren't all as bad as the media makes them out to be. While we constantly get bombarded by information from both sides of the issue, I think that if the information is told in a different medium it might be able to reach a lot more people. In particular, the younger generation that tends to be oblivious to current events and the news. While I'm not saying that the other people don't matter, I just think that the younger generation needs to be informed of what people are talking about and maybe a game wouldn't be a bad place to start.

Furthermore, I think that aside from the game, we can also include links to organizations across the US that are pro-immigration and maybe even update the players in events relating to immigration and immigration laws. This can be included in a separate part of the game, kind of like a credits window or something of the sort. This would be so that people don't get confused about the game and to not annoy the player before he or she even gets a chance to play the game.

URL : http://www.rovio.com/index.php?page=angry-birds