Video games for political education: learning through seriousness!

Video games for political education: learning through seriousness!

In recent years, video games have increasingly focused on serious topics. This is particularly evident in political education, where they are used as a means of transfer of knowledge. According to RBB24, developments in this area report numerous initiatives that create Serious Games. These games should not only entertain, but also convey content -relevant content and thus arouse the interest of young people in complex historical and socio -political issues.

An exemplary example is the game "The Darkest File" , which plays in the Frankfurt public prosecutor in 1956 and deals with Nazi crimes. Players take on the role of fictional prosecutor Esther Katz and investigate against Nazi perpetrators. The game deals with real cases, such as the murder of a man by police officers. Jörg Friedrich von Paintbucket, who developed the game, expresses that many blockbuster games do not adequately illuminate the historical context and thus do not exhaust the full potential of video games in education.

The role of Serious Games

Serious Games have the potential to revolutionize political education. Historian Matej Samide emphasizes the "democratic force" of video games and describes a clear trend towards more serious content. In Germany, around 60% of the population play video games, which offers the opportunity to convey democratic values ​​through innovative approaches. Fadl Speck from the Kreuzberg initiative against anti-Semitism, for example, has developed the game "The Ilios experiment" , which addresses tolerance and has students interacted in a fictional city with a tolerance score. He emphasizes that it is important to pick up young people where they are and enable them to reflect on them through these games.

These developments not only promote learning, they are also part of everyday life for many people. In addition to developers, educational institutions and institutions that work together to integrate games into class are involved in the creation of Serious Games. The Federal Center for Political Education emphasizes that Serious Games not only serve the entertainment, but can also convey significant educational aspects.

Examples of innovative Serious Games

In addition to "The Darkest File" there are numerous other interesting serious games. my Child Lebensborn , developed by Teknopilot and Sarepta Studio, addresses National Socialist racial policy and is suitable for players aged 12 and over. The game bureaucratopoly , created by Martin Böttger, addresses power structures in the GDR and enables the players to climb from the worker to general secretary.

• Playing History: A game development company that specializes in the imparting of historical and socio -political topics.
• turning points: a card game that deals with life decisions in the former GDR and is intended for players from 16 years.
• this War of Mine: A survival simulation that plays in a war scenario, developed for players from 16 years.
• Ligato: Help for transfer of knowledge about the Cold War, available free of charge in the app store.

The future of Serious Games in education offers promising opportunities to increase learning success through creative and distinctive approaches. At the same time, it is important to take into account the challenges and risks in the development and use of Serious Games in order to secure their effectiveness in the long term.

Overall, the current developments show that video games are able to treat serious and complex topics in an accessible and captivating way. This form of political education could make a significant contribution to the formation of consciousness and encourage young people to actively deal with history and society. In this sense, it remains to be seen how this trend will develop and which new impulses are set in the educational landscape.

For more information on this topic, see RBB24 and the Federal Center for Political Education.