De Menezes International Team Interviewed at GCG

Serious Games Source sister site GameCareerGuide.com has published an interview with the development team behind the Independent Games Festival student competition submission De Menezes International, a serious game that covers themes of terrorism-related surveillance and paranoia in an airport setting. Developed by 12 students at the IT University of Copenhagen, De Menezes International is a multiplayer Unreal 3 mod that puts players in the role of civilians, police agents, and potential terrorists in an airport. Players must manage personal tasks and make a scheduled flight while watching out for a terrorist who intends to sneak a bomb onto the airplane. The terrorist may or may not be present on different playthroughs, however, and players are encouraged to watch for and report suspicious behavior among fellow passengers. The interview covers the project's origins, goals, and influences. "Perhaps more importantly, our goal was to try making something different," says the development team. "Unsatisfied with many existing political games, our hope has been to explore alternative approaches to political games -- or rather, political gameplay." The team continues: "We would be thrilled if our game leads its players to see public spaces a little differently -- perhaps with more complexity -- on the next trip they take." The full text of the interview can be found here.