Reflections on Soliya

I found the first Soliya session to be fun and interesting, we weren't a lot in the session, we were about five or six during the session, and some people would come a long and leave, they weren't stable. I was always participating, and talking with the others, so that the session wouldn't seem boring and awkward, the facilitator tries as much as he can to keep us all connected with each other, bu talking to all of us and asking questions he was basically creating conversations. The activity that we did I during the first session was the same as the activity we did in our first class, so I found it very easy, I actually liked it as it was a fun way to introduce everyone together and so that we could all get to know each other much better. There were some similarities within our characteristics and aspects of our life, like a lot of us like to play football (most of them said soccer). I honestly didn't think that there was a huge culture gap between us as we communicate well, however tha main problem was other people's connection, there were only like 3 fixed people who didn't leave the others would just disappear then come back, and there were some which had problems with there headphones and caused interference, so it annoyed all of us, due to the horrible sound.

Overall I believe that the first session was a good one, however I would have liked to see more people as we weren't a lot, so that I could explore more cultures.

Gender Equality Game Final

Final Draft:

Reflection: Based on the feedback we had gotten we realized that the game was achieving its purpose of trying to raise awareness for Egyptians on how their unfair treatment of females, their words, their unrepresentative stereotype-based beliefs and the dictated cultural gender roles, put females through hardships and emotional pain on a daily basis. Through this game, it made male players both Egyptians and foreigners empathize with females in the Egyptian society as they “experienced the friction of society” (just like Keegan had expressed) over each life decision they made. We also got feedback from female players that this game was very relatable. These comment were very pleasing to hear.

However, we needed to make some changes to our game in order to enhance the storyline and gaming experience. Initially, we had a black and white minimalist theme in place but we were told that we needed to add images in order to convey the message even more. Therefore, we set a theme for the game revolving around female empowerment and added images to each slide to try to help the players feel like they are present in the situation. Each of the images we added to the game we had gotten using google searches with one of two usage filters: labeled for reuse and labeled for noncommercial reuse. This was in order to ensure we weren’t infringing any of the artists rights.

Additionally, we had received feedback on making the scenarios in our game more realistic and complex because we had several rare-case scenarios in place. And so, we made adjustments to our scenarios and revolved it solely on the experiences our research participants have shared in order to give the game a more realistic touch. Furthermore, in our first draft we had cemented the choices that involve resisting sexism and traditional gender roles as the ones that pave the road for successful, progressive women – while, sticking to the gender roles would always lead to unhappiness and little future prospects. However, we had to change that by making the decisions less binding to these scenarios and so we tried to highlight the relative safety of the traditional path and the struggles that a woman experiences when she does work against societal norms. This was to ensure that our game was not biased, and once again realistic, as the end scenarios were representative to an extent to real life as each lifestyle has its upsides and its downsides.

Lastly, if we had more time we would have stretched out our scenarios by adding more life stages and a wider variety of decisions for each stage – in order to be able to create a more wholesome game. Additionally, we would have also included secondary research about the topic as adding facts and statistics would make the game more educational and would help the audience empathize even more as these concrete statements will make them feel how real these scenarios are. Moreover, we would have liked to develop our game using a more creative software to create the game in the form of a storybook as it is relevant to our theme since our game revolves around the life story of girls but it was hard to find a software that allowed us to do so and inklewriter although it’s similar it was not what we were looking for as we couldn’t add images and colors.

URL: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/126ZOr6ev-g29F8ND9UBnuKTTmO0bGts7NVm9qlz4VGY/edit?usp=sharing

Links to images used in the game:

1. https://goo.gl/images/2HDumR
2. https://goo.gl/images/VHE8w4
3. https://goo.gl/images/MEUAxg
4. https://goo.gl/images/VyoVk3
5. https://goo.gl/images/fvsnTB
6. https://goo.gl/images/sMHvLS
7. https://goo.gl/images/YruDjZ
8. https://goo.gl/images/YXCs4x
9. https://goo.gl/images/w6xdFW
10. https://goo.gl/images/QQJZ82
11. https://goo.gl/images/q8seNa
12. https://goo.gl/images/2c72ZB
13. https://goo.gl/images/GpQJx4
14. https://goo.gl/images/ivKJuM
15. https://goo.gl/images/1k7v7V
16. https://goo.gl/images/tY6ftF

Gender Equality Game 1st Draft

Research Methodology:  We talked to 10 girls and women from AUC about the comments they'd hear from parents, extended family, friends and workers e.g. security guards and housekeepers. Then, we gathered all the comments they made and the suggestions and added them to the game (even though most were already in our prototype since we based it on comments that Fatma would hear as a girl and most females go through the same experiences)

Here is the link for the game:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vRkNYF58M3gQe0KS6uGNMaOhxU_TjBMtD1hlIMv2rM2Yg28zjQ6RCgCI_QZfLNnavKaWdHAxLC5FF-4/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000

Dissecting The "Digital Divide": A Case Study in Egypt

Reading this case study I have learnt a lot, what really interested me was that technology isn't enough to bridge the digital gap, we need transformation. The example in Egypt really shows this, as the government has provided schools with the technology needed, but that was it. There wasn't enough teacher training, and they didn't know what to do with the computers, they held them aside, as they scared that they would be damaged. The students didn't really use them to learn, as there wasn't a transformation. Many things needed to change so that the students and teachers would be able to adapt to the new technologies given. In my opinion and as stated in the article, the Egyptian Government's efforts were not enough as, they provided very little, it seemed that they didn't study the case well at all, they just wanted to have the technologies, but they didn't know what to do with it, also it was very clear they weren't spending correctly, as the spent very little on teacher training. People in charge in the government, were scared to take decisions, due to the fear for their job security, they didn't care about making a difference and taking initiative.

My Question would be, when will there a government in Egypt that actually takes care of this problem of education, and that will actually the study this area and will appropriately spend on all aspects of education in Egypt?

Exploration of Self: Biases and Political Views

Binna Kandola's Video:

I found this video as very interesting, as I really like the topic concerning bias. Personally I try as much as I can not be a biased person as it might hurt someone, but living in this society especially the Egyptian society it's hard to do so, as we always to make fun of everything and we are very biased, I see that everyday with my friends, some people might joke about something, however this represents their true personality. Kandola addressed different things like how bias can be imposed, I didn't really agree with that point as, when he talked about the image with the dog, i didn't see a dog either before or after he stated that there is a dog, which means that imposing isn't a huge example of bias, however i believed that all of the other points where very interesting and valid, I found the guy very informative and fun.

IAT Tests:

The first that I did was the race test, personally I’m neutral when it comes to race, I don’t really care if someone is black or white, however the result was that I have a slight preference for white people more than black, I was surprised as I know that I don’t prefer a race, this makes me feel a bit racist when i’m not and I hate racism.

The second test was the religion test, and it turned out that i moderately prefer islam than judaism, which is true being that i’m muslim, but that doesn’t mean that I have anything against jews.

The last test was the gender- science test, honestly before taking the test I knew what my result would be, and that was that i believe that there is a strong link between males and sciences and females and liberal arts, maybe that’s because of what I see everyday in the university, that my engineering classes have mostly males and probably because of the society that I grew up. I believe that there shouldn’t be a link however that’s just the world we live in.

Political Views:  

Personally I don’t really understand a lot of the political language, like right, left, socialism, libertarian, etc. I kind of have a basic understanding, I would consider myself of being neutral, as I do care for the poor and less fortunate and on the other hand the economy is important too. I have basic knowledge when it comes to world wide politics and economics, my results show that I am more economically left wing and the socially libertarian, however the correlation is very low, which kind of confirms my prediction that I am neutral.

Prototype Digital Narrative Game: #GenderEquality

Our Thought Process:

In just under 15 minutes, my partner Fatma Halawa and I came up with 5 topics that we could potentially create a digital narrative game about. Being that I'm obsessed with airplanes initially we suggested basing it around the PTSD that affects those who experienced a plane crash. Unfortunately, we felt that we would have a very limited number of scenarios to include and so the game would turn out boring if the audience attempts to play it more than once – so we dismissed the idea. Additionally, we thought of themes like PTSD for bomb survivors in Egypt, the daily struggles of a person with HIV/AIDS and the daily struggles of an illiterate person.  However, the one we decided to go through with revolves around the gender discrimination women in Egypt face from a young age up until they become full-grown, independent adults.

Intended Audience: The Patriarchal Egyptian Society – (In particular, Males and Children)

Purpose: To raise awareness for Egyptians on how their unfair treatment of females, their words, their unrepresentative stereotype-based beliefs and the dictated cultural gender roles, put females through hardships and emotional pain on a daily basis. Through this game, we believe it would not only make the players empathize with females in the Egyptian society but we hope it acts as a motive for males to take action and stop acting this way in order to reduce this dominant gender inequality and improve the females’ future. 

Note: We also think that this game can help females who experience severe discrimination to achieve their full potential by motivating them to change their fates as they see the outcomes of choosing the defying options.

Rough Storyline:

• Toddler: (Setting: Playtime & father says pick a toy)

– Option A: Remote Control Car and Option B: A Baby Born – Based on the choice the father will either criticize the girl for choosing an inappropriate toy when the other will be more beneficial as she’ll grow up to be a mother (for A) or praise her for making the right choice as its good practice for when she’s a mother (for B).

• Child: (Setting: School & teacher asks “What do you want to be when you grow up?”)

– Option A: Fireman, Option B: Teacher, Option C: Stay at home mom, Option D: Engineer, Option E: Nurse – Based on the choice the girl will hear either that this is not a job suitable for girls (for A and D) or it will encourage her as this is what girls are fit for because they are naturally nurturing and caring (for B, C and E).

• High-school Student: (Home Desk: Studying – Father Enters and says it’s a waste of time you won’t do anything with a degree – you belong in your husband’s home)

– Option A: Stop Studying (Consequence: Get Bad Grades – Not Accepted into a good University) and Option B: Continue to Study Hard (Outcome: Achieve good grades – Get offered a scholarship) 

• University Aged: (Living Room: Mother encourages daughter to look for a husband and get married soon)

-Option A: She agrees (Consequence: Pregnant at 20, social outcast and a University dropout) and Option B: She doesn’t (Outcome: Graduated with highest honors, great social life and getting job offers)

• More scenarios like these would be added to cover the working woman, mother, divorced and old-age phases of the female’s life which lead to an outcome of two:

1 – Congrats on succeeding in life – you defied the odds and made decisions that shaped a strong, successful, independent woman.

2- Society has influenced your decisions which left your character unhappy, weak and dependent – just like they pictured you to be.

Digital Narrative Games

Spent:

I really enjoyed playing spent, even though it’s a stressful game, but I liked the different decisions that I had to take also by the end of the month I had some money, others were bankrupt so I would take that as an achievement. This game shows how tough life could be and how you have take a lot of harsh decisions for a better future. I learned from spent that a person has to think very well before taking decisions as bad decisions could lead to bad consequences. One way in which this game would have improved is by being a little bit more positive, as every choice I made ended up in leaded into something horrible and losing money.

BBC Syrian Refugees:

I didn’t really like this game as I don’t like the fact I am simulating someone’s life or the distress of a family. A lot of Syrian’s have suffered over the last couple of years, however BBC decide to make the simulation seem as real as possible, we will never feel their suffer. I understand that the game is made to inform people of the different routes and very tough decisions and consequences refugees have been through, but I think that it should not be incorporated as a game. I learned from this game the different routes that syrians have to take to flee their country, for example going through turkey. I also learned that the refugees don’t want to be put in a camp as they would feel like prisoners, they want to live a free and happy life without an violence to keep their families safe. I honestly believe that this game doesn’t need any improvements as I think it shouldn’t be there from the beginning as some people might take this as joke, when it isn’t.

Sleep-Deprived Mom:

I chose this game so I could test myself, and compare my decisions to a mom’s decision as I was curious to see what the questions would be like. I really put myself in a single mom’s position, and I took decisions that would really comfort my child. I didn’t really know how little things would affect the amount of hours I slept as a mom. Before taking any decisions I put in considerations what my mom would have done with me, so this really influenced what I chose. This game showed me how moms work really hard just to for their child to be comfortable and have a simple life and grow to be good people. This game would have improved if there were images to illustrate the different contexts so that it would be a little bit more fun.

Responsible Partying:

I really enjoyed this game, as it shows how peer pressure has a huge effect on a person, also this game kind of separates the people who have a strong personality and morals from people who would just do anything to enjoy themselves. I like how the game had videos which informed people the dangers and drawback of drinking in parties, and that you don’t have to drink to be cool, or if a friend offers you a drink when you don’t drink. As people who just drink when they don’t or never had alcohol before are just followers, they don’t have a strong personality. This game really focuses on a huge subject in our current society, which I think is a good way to inform people especially younger people.

Activate:

I found activate really fun, as it talks mainly about raising awareness about certain topics. I chose to play a person who volunteers to make a campaign to stop littering parks, as they should be a clean and beautiful place where people enjoy themselves. I chose this as personally I hate littering and I always argue with my friends when they just throw something on the ground and I force them to pick it up. This game shows the amount of work needed to make a topic popular, and there are many different ways to raise awareness, and that you have start by yourself for the sake of a certain topic, and that you could motivate more people to join you.  

Reflection:

Overall, I can say that the digital world has offered a lot of things like the different ways in which we could convey our ideas. The five games that I played portray an image of our society and the different problems that we could face. I like how informing people can be fun, it doesn’t have to be either very boring, dramatic or serious like in the news. So I believe that games are great way in informing people in a new and enjoyable way.