Video games find their political voice

The net has been an essential organising tool for political activists for some time. But video games with thought-provoking or political messages have emerged as a way of making those who play them a little more aware.

For activists who cannot take to the streets, the political activist group ChainWorkers has offered them the virtual equivalent.

There, they can take part in an online MayDay parade which allows people to add to the throng and stylise their own marching demonstrator in an avatar form.

In line with its radical politics, the aim of its games is to highlight what its creators believe is most unfair about global capitalism and the modern labour market.

Their online game, Tamatipico, gives players their very own employee whom they have to keep happy to maintain production.

Fail to give your worker enough sleep or time in front of the TV and he calls in sick or goes on strike. But ultimately the boss has the upper hand: if you are unhappy with your worker's performance, you can fire him on the spot.

"We don't think it's enough to simply change the graphics' look, or to change the characters in order to give a different message," games designer Paulo Pedercini explained. "The real meaning of a video, its ideology, is expressed mainly through the internal rules of the game, its structure and mechanisms."

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