My games were inspired by McGonigal’s
EVOKE challenge and by Pollan’s The
Omnivore’s Dilemma.  I also live in a
food desert, but have the privilege of a car and a job with flexible hours that
is located in a food oasis.  I’m also a
vegetarian who would have a heck of a time eating in my own zip code.  Local zoning laws make small scale sustainability
 difficult.  To add insult to injury, there is a weekly farmers’
market held in the yuppified warehouse district with in the food desert --  it is pricey, “precious,” and not on a bus
route. 

Concerns that I had about creating
the game involved whether I was also being patronizing.  Was I demeaning or excluding the audience?  Is it trivializing a concern to gameify
it?  If the game does create a real world
map of fresh food, then I think it does have value.  I remain concerned that the population intended
to benefit from it may be on the wrong side of the digital divide, but the
increase in smartphone use  (as only
means of phone and internet) encourages me to think that bus riders could use
it.  I also hope the game builds empathy,
while not over simplifying or adding another layer of e-distance to the
reality.  It could smack of “ live on
SNAP” for a week stunts   --  the safety net makes it less real.

Working on the pedagogy   -- an added advantage for introverted
learners  --  we hate to learn new skills in publics and
cringe at taking part in  icebreakers  --  but
not so much online.   It allows more people to participate.   

A scholarly activity --   audience, 
awareness of social justice issues, thought –to-action motivation, rule design.  I also want to think about the ethics  -- 
does it allow a pat on the back  /
guilt cleanse for minor positive acts? 
Is that micro-ethical act worth doing? 
Do we think playing Kristof’s Half the Sky game means that we care or
changed the world?   

Rejected Game Ideas   -- 
rejected purely for technical and time constraints as well as
intellectual property concerns.  Several
of these are based on others’ work and exercises

·        
The Dice Is Loaded / Getting to the Starting
Gate / Privilege Chutes and Ladders --   a game where only some players start far
behind the others  or are knocked back disproportionately
during the game --  based on some of the
privilege  step back / step forward  exercises

·        
The Invisible Rainbow Backpack --  based on McIntosh’s article about white privilege
but adapted for sexuality issues.

·        
The Left Hand of Darkness Game (based on LeGuin’s
text in which people are gender-free for most of the time)

·        
The Turing Sexuality Test