A Force More Powerful - The Game of Nonviolent Strategy

This project draws on the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to entertain game players while educating them and shaping their behaviour. It simulates campaigns for political and human rights for minorities and women, as well as nonviolent struggles to win freedom and secure rights and justice from dictators, occupiers, colonizers and corrupt governments. AFMP puts the player directly into the role of planner for a nonviolent movement seeking social change, spurring him or her to make the key decisions. It is primarily a game of strategy, emphasising abstract ideas and planning rather than reflexes, coordination or quick thinking. Designed for those with no previous gaming experience and only basic computer skills, the game stresses substance over "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.

Specifically, 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. 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. Recruiting characters and building alliances is a principal game activity, involving labour, 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 scenarios, users may learn strategic planning, formulation of goals (such as compelling free elections or the resignation of a dictator), and the choice of tactics (such as training, fund-raising, organising, leafletting, protests, strikes, mass action, civil disobedience and noncooperation). Each scenario is played within a physical environment which affects the conflict; maps (with zoom-in views) are provided.

An interactive website accompanies the game; it features community forums, links to other resources and organisations concerned with nonviolent conflict in theory and practice, and an invitation to contribute supporting materials such as lesson plans, worksheets, or training guides for use with the game. Those materials already available may be downloaded free of charge by clicking here. As of this writing, the materials include separate Player and Editor guides for the game and editors, a scripting guide, and the Resistopedia - a collection of resources describing the nature of nonviolent conflicts and explaining how the concepts of nonviolent resistance are represented in the game.

Conflict, Rights.

This game grew out of a film and book project. In 1997, York Zimmerman's Steve York began development on an in-depth examination of the history of nonviolent conflict. "A Force More Powerful" debuted as a feature-length documentary in the fall of 1999 and was expanded into a 3-hour series for broadcast on national (United States) public television in the fall of 2000. A printed book was also published in concert with the film. That September, as "A Force More Powerful" was airing on PBS, a call came into the York Zimmerman offices from someone doing pro-democracy work in the Balkans who wanted permission to translate the film into Serbo-Croatian and broadcast it on television in the former Yugoslavia. At that same time, Slobodan Milosevic was contesting the results of an election and the citizens there had come into the streets to protest. Steve York flew to Belgrade two weeks later to begin interviewing the main players in the Serbian nonviolent revolution. The resulting one-hour film, "Bringing Down A Dictator," aired on PBS in the spring of 2002. It has been honoured with numerous prizes and, like "A Force More Powerful," it has been translated into some ten languages and broadcast around the world. Click here for information about how to order the game (on CD-ROM, for US$19.95 plus shipping and handling), film(s), and/or book.