In recent years, gaming has made great inroads with non-traditional demographics like women and senior citizens. There is one segment of the population, though, that has remained extremely hard for the game industry to crack: former Supreme Court justices.
That looks like it might be changing, though, if Sandra Day O'Connor's recent speech to the Games for Change conference is any indication. The former associate justice for the country's highest court is using her retirement to help design an educational game called Our Courts with University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor James Paul Gee. The game, due out in September 2009, will let players "step into the shoes of a judge, a legislator, an executive" and "teach [players] how to think through and analyze problems, take action and voice opinions to their elected representatives," according to O'Connor.
O'Connor sees the game as the first step to fixing the American public's deplorable knowledge of civic matters. "Only one-third of Americans can name the three branches of government, but two-thirds can name a judge on American Idol," she told the conference. Maybe if some of those branches of government passed a bill commenting on Sanjaya's hair they'd get more attention. We're just saying ...
Reader Comments (23)
Posted: Jun 6th 2008 12:27PM (Unverified) said
Our Courts,Phff.
Where is the charm on that? It should be called Sandra Day O'Connor's Justice for ALL! or the least exciting Sandra Day O'Connor's Trials and Tribulations.
Reply
Where is the charm on that? It should be called Sandra Day O'Connor's Justice for ALL! or the least exciting Sandra Day O'Connor's Trials and Tribulations.
Posted: Jun 6th 2008 12:35PM ComicShaman said
Well, Judge Scalia would make a pretty good level boss.
Reply
Posted: Jun 6th 2008 1:32PM (Unverified) said
Does beat justice around the head with his arbitrary definitions. You could throw dictionaries at him until he learns the English language properly!
Reply
Posted: Jun 6th 2008 12:45PM (Unverified) said
LMAO... you beat me to it! That's the first thing that came to mind.
Reply
Posted: Jun 6th 2008 12:46PM DonaldMick said
You sure you want to trust someone who gets life advice from NFL players?
Also, PODCAST HO! And you don't need to give your life to the Party Van!
http://podcasts.aolcdn.com/joystiq/podcasts/Joystiq_Podcast_052.mp3
Reply
Also, PODCAST HO! And you don't need to give your life to the Party Van!
http://podcasts.aolcdn.com/joystiq/podcasts/Joystiq_Podcast_052.mp3
Posted: Jun 6th 2008 12:37PM (Unverified) said
I don'k tnow, maype thiy shuld fex the screwls and axtually teech yings like; History, Govt, Ethics, etc.
I remember these classes quite well from HS, and they were the joke around classes, the teachers did nothing, and neither did we. It all about reading, writing, and well no kids still graduate with about being able to do those.
Maybe games will be our savior just like in that one movie!
Reply
I remember these classes quite well from HS, and they were the joke around classes, the teachers did nothing, and neither did we. It all about reading, writing, and well no kids still graduate with about being able to do those.
Maybe games will be our savior just like in that one movie!
Posted: Jun 10th 2008 12:14PM hvnlysoldr said
Just because you want to say schools are bad is absolutely no excuse to use bad grammar intentionally.
Reply
Posted: Jun 6th 2008 1:35PM Korova Pamplona said
Its gonna teach abstinence and be called Cold Coffee.
It'll be up there with the Bible Game.
Trust me, she is a Reagan appointee.
Reply
It'll be up there with the Bible Game.
Trust me, she is a Reagan appointee.
Posted: Jun 6th 2008 1:51PM (Unverified) said
The answer is....
Executive
Legislative
Judicial
Do I get points for that?
Reply
Executive
Legislative
Judicial
Do I get points for that?
Posted: Jun 6th 2008 3:12PM (Unverified) said
Im proud to say that I went to school under her name
Reply
Posted: Jun 6th 2008 6:32PM WiredKnight said
A judge and a professor...
this game isn't going to be any fun at all, rendering it thoroughly ineffective, unless they get some real game designers to help out.
"Day O'Defeat," anyone?
Reply
this game isn't going to be any fun at all, rendering it thoroughly ineffective, unless they get some real game designers to help out.
"Day O'Defeat," anyone?
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