  Can a computer game teach how to fight real-world
adversaries—dictators, military occupiers and corrupt rulers, using methods that
have succeeded in actual conflicts—not with laser rays or AK47s, but with
non-military strategies and nonviolent weapons? Such a game, A Force
More Powerful (AFMP), is now available.
A unique collaboration of
experts on nonviolent conflict working with veteran game designers has developed
a simulation game that teaches the strategy of nonviolent conflict. A dozen
scenarios, inspired by recent history, include conflicts against dictators,
occupiers, colonizers and corrupt regimes, as well as struggles to secure the
political and human rights of ethnic and racial minorities and women.
A Force More Powerful is the only PC
game about nonviolent struggle available today. AFMP puts the player directly
into the role of planner for a nonviolent movement seeking social change-a role
that is challenging, demanding, and sometimes even dangerous.
AFMP is primarily a game of strategy, emphasizing abstract
ideas and planning rather than reflexes, coordination or quick thinking. Its
realism does not depend on resource-hungry real-time animation, but on the
accuracy of its underlying political models.
 Designed for those with no previous gaming experience
and only basic computer skills, the game emphasizes substance over the flashy
action common to many popular games. A sophisticated visual interface includes
3D views and animation, but the game is compatible with hardware commonly
available in the developing world.
Game play is governed by detailed
interactive models-of strategic and political factors, ethnicity, religion,
literacy, material well-being, media and communications, resource availability,
economic factors, the role of external assistance, and many other variables.
Tactics include such basics as training, fund-raising and organizing, as well as
leafletting, protests, strikes, mass action, civil disobedience and
noncooperation. Many game-play decisions involve selecting which characters and
groups should take part in the strategy, and weighing the benefits of such
actions relative to their costs.
Game play involves the player's side
(the movement) and an opponent (the regime). The regime is created by the
designer of each scenario, and controlled by the game's artificial intelligence
(AI). The player takes charge of the movement's material and human resources,
assesses the strengths and vulnerabilities of the adversary as well as those of
the movement, then chooses goals, strategies and tactics.
Groups are the
game's basic political units, representing the interests and agendas common to
every complex struggle.
Groups are the
game's basic political units, representing the interests and agendas common to
every complex struggle. 
Recruiting characters and building alliances is a
principal game activity, involving labor, business, government, agricultural,
academic and professional, media, religious and military categories.
Scenarios involve these characters, groups and alliances, which interact
with and against each other, depending on the player's decisions, the particular
circumstances of the scenario, and the actions of the regime.
Playing
one or more of the packaged scenarios, users will learn strategic planning,
formulation of goals (such as compelling free elections or the resignation of a
dictator), and the choice of tactics (such as strikes, protests or boycotts).
Each scenario is played within a physical environment which affects the
conflict. A national map shows regions, cities, mining, industrial and farming
areas, rivers, mountains, ports, and the transportation network. Within regions,
zoomed-in city views are detailed down to neighborhoods and buildings. However,
a scenario may take place entirely within a single city or region.
AFMP includes a powerful suite of tools with which
users can re-create real-life political struggles, or create their own from
scratch. It is an unprecedented way for users to learn about the principles of
strategic nonviolent struggle, by making the decisions themselves.
Reviews:
Gamasutra: by
Rusel DeMariaThe game is rich
in features and feedback mechanisms, and even contains real-time rendered cut
scenes that show events that take place using parameters from the game state.
The city map view identifies specific areas of the city, and overlays can
quickly tell you their current state of fear, enthusiasm, etc. In addition, key
locations are highlighted on the city map, allowing players to direct actions to
those locations – such as government buildings, newspaper offices, etc. To
thicken the plot even more, players can send infiltrators into the enemy system,
but the enemy can do likewise.
I can attest from experience that this game accurately models many of the
challenges and struggles of an underground or citizen movement whose goal is to
affect nonviolent change and public awareness, in a situation with volatile
factions and the true potential for violence. From that perspective, I kept
saying “aha” when I received the demo of this game. Time and time again I
recognized the situations, struggles and choices that had to be made in such
circumstances. In short, this game rang true for me. Read more of this review...
Gamers with Jobs: by Adam LaMosca In any event, this is not a title for those who aren't prepared to invest
substantial time and brainpower. And despite its developers' aspirations, I'm
not sure that AFMP would prove a useful
training tool for fledgeling revolutionaries. It's hard to imagine that
individuals engaged in real-life conflicts over human rights would find playing
such a game a valuable use of their time. For those with the luxury of whiling
away their hours with detailed simulations of other people's struggles, though,
AFMP offers something entirely unique.
Unlike the conflicts in almost every other games, its scenarios unfold with
depth and believability, and they intelligently mirror what happens in the real
world.
You can't play AFMP without thinking
of events like Tiananmen Square or the march from Selma to Montgomery, and you
can't help but consider what those events' participants risked and sacrificed to
achieve their goals. Given the time it deserves, AFMP will change the way you think, about
games and about society. And it won't have you firing a single bullet. For a
computer game, that's quite an accomplishment. Read more of this review...
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