outline and thesis

Gina Rhodes
Outline

I. Introduction
A. Talk about third world countries: Africa
B. There is disease lurking everywhere and government killing citizens
C. Different ways to make people aware
D. Video games-almost everyone plays. Good way to educate people especially teens about world issues
E. Thesis:
1. The proposal at the end of both games Darfur is Dying and Deliver the Net are geared towards educating the players of ways to help people suffering in Africa whether it be through placing the player in third world conditions to show the hardships people face in Darfur or to save African people from malaria.

II. Body 1-Darfur is Dying
A. Explain game- before game even begins some background info on Darfur
1. Beginning of game need to pick family member to get water for community
2. Have to hide from Janjaweed militias so you do not get caught
3. If caught, explains what happens to girl/boy typically. Rape, abuse, etc.
4. Can go to refugee camp and try to help community
5. Stories of all people losing families and getting hurt.
-widow mother of ten who is separated from seven of children
-women being raped police do not do anything
-man lost got herd stolen and police did not help
-woman’s cry for help, “Can someone please help us?”
6. Explains specific details about people in Darfur
7. Jobs 13 year old girls and boys have in order to help community survive
B. In camp Janjaweed attacks, gives player options.
1. Send message to President Bush
2. Ask representative to support people in Darfur
3. Start divestment movement on campus
4. Find more ways to get involved
5. Return to game
C. Educational video game
1. Not just used for entertainment but rather to inform people of what is going on
in world
2. Links to explain more about Darfur and to show something needs to be done

III. Body 2- Deliver the Net
A. Explain game- background information about malaria in Africa
1. Objective- to deliver as many bed nets as you can to children in Africa before
the infected mosquitoes come out at night. Can pick up more from UN trucks
carrying them
2. Game is very easy to play and impossible to lose
B. After done have options to help save the children in Africa from malaria
1. Donate $10 to save a child
2. Send game to a friend-“Show your friends how easy it is to save a child”
3. Play again
C. Running tally of how many nets have already been sent
D. Show poor conditions people are living in
E. Links to explain more about malaria and how to send bed nets

IV. Body 3- Compare/Contrast games and effectiveness
A. Both games are educational and very effective
1. Both easy to play
2. Both inform about problem and propose many solutions to help save lives
3. Video games are very popular and they are using that to their advantage by
creating games to educate about poor conditions in third world countries.
4. Give a lot of information
B. Games are different in own way to be effective
1. Darfur is Dying is hard to retrieve water for community
-takes awhile for someone to get to the well to show hardships they are
facing
-in camp it is hard to read stories of people and to see people living in such
awful conditions with the Janjaweed constantly attacking and taking away
property and lives.
-once viewing that hopefully gives players incentive to help
2. Deliver the Net is easy to play and very simple to save lives
-So easy to deliver nets before sun goes down
-shows how simple it is to save people’s lives
-living conditions are not easy to live in and how mosquitoes come out at
night and are infesting children with malaria
C. Darfur shows how difficult it is to survive while Deliver the Net shows how easy it is
to help

V. Conclusion
A. Reword thesis to wrap up paper
B. Explain how easy it is for people to help African people survive from genocide and
disease
C. Games use video games in positive way to educate and inform about problem
D. Propose many solutions that are simple
E. People should play game and get involved in learning about what is going on

Video Game Analysis

The first game I played was called Deliver the Net. The point of the game was to drive around Africa delivering bed nets before the mosquitos came out in order to save the people. The faster you went and the more nets delivered, the less people in Africa dying from malaria. I believe this game is very educational in a positive way. It is educating people on what is really going on in Africa with deadly diseases. It is showing that the government needs to send bed nets over there to save the people. If enough people play this game, the incentive to send more nets over seas might increase. This is an effective game because it allows people to be aware of what is going on in other parts of the world that we don't necessarily hear about.
The next game I played was an Obama influenced game. The way to play was to answer questions about the United States such as who was the first president, what the colors of the American flag are, etc. Each question that you answer no matter if it is right or wrong, you are donating 400 pixels toward the Obama advertising campaign. By donating pixels, you are ideally helping post "Obama for President" signs all over the internet. This game is, I feel, a persuasive game because it is persuading you to keep answering questions in order to help promote Obama. They are persuading you to help because if you are willing to help him advertise, you are essentially planning on voting for him.
The final game I played was Darfur is Dying. In this game, you choose a child or adult in Darfur to get water for his or her family. While you are running to get the water, the Janjaweed militias are coming to capture you and bring you to the camp. When you see them coming, you must hide behind a rock. If you happen to get captured, you have to try to survive in the camp while your family is back at home trying to survive. This game, although very sad, is extremely educational. It is making the people aware of how bad life in Darfur really is. This game shows the realism of the hardships those people are going through every single day. If enough people play this game, a change could be made. Darfur is a very serious and dangerous place and something really needs to be done to help those people. I believe a video like this; giving people an idea of how terrible Darfur is at this time, could make people want to make a change and try to help those people in the best way they can.