Spent Game:
Spent game is an interesting one. However, what makes it sometimes really tough is the limited options that we ought to choose from. Sometimes, the choices available are not all the possible solutions out there, maybe there are other ways out. But I think this is done for a purpose. Maybe we ought to learn from this that we might be in a situation where we only see some limited ways out, but we do not realize that there could be other options. For example, in the game, there was that situation where the child is performing at school and the parent can either attend his child’s performance or go to work to gain money for their living. When I chose that the parent should skip the performance and go earn a living, the result was that this causes weak relationships between the parents and their children. However, I do not think this is always the case. I believe we have to take some hard decisions to face the circumstances, and I also believe that there are ways to make up what is missed. In this particular example, the family could go for a picnic in the weekend and the parent could ask the child to perform again and they all have fun. This might not be the same as if the parent attended the performance at the school, but it could satisfy the children and make them feel that his parents do care about them and have time for them even if they are going through tough circumstances. Another example is that in which you are to choose either to send your child to a birthday party with a present that costs a certain amount of money or send the child without a present or not to send him/her -as far as I recall- but I think there are other options that are cost less than the specified amount for the present and in which the child will enjoy. A possible way out is that the parent help the child make a homemade present, something very simple that would definitely cost less. In addition, the child will enjoy the preparing it with the parent, in addition to joining the party and having fun. One more example, it was that question in which you are asked to contribute 20$ helping a co-worker who is ill, the available options are to contribute or to lie saying that you forgot your wallet, but there is another option that might sound harsh but it does not include lying. It is simply choosing not to contribute. By having the not contributing option as “lying”, it makes me feel that I have to contribute and I am to blame myself if I did not. And this is not true since I do not have to contribute.
BBC Syrian Refugees:
The game is scary but I liked it. The most difficult thing is that I am not deciding only for myself but also for my family. When I played the game the first time, I made sure that I chose the least risky paths to ensure the security of my family and myself. Sarcastically, I liked that when I chose to follow the path through Turkey, the final result was that the family survived and reached the destination, but when I played once more and changed my answers to take the path through Egypt, it ended up with the family being left in the desert.
Seeing the first question about the gender, I actually thought that the paths would have have some choices that depend on the nature of women being more emotional and so. But I did not find this. May be because I did not try all the possible paths, or may be it is just not considered in the game. If it is not considered in the game, I think it would have been worth to add it making the game more difficult and the player more stressed. But this is not guaranteed, since if the player is a male, and he just continues playing, he might forget his being a female – regardless of how weird this phrase is :)- and he would not have this carefulness that I believe women usually have.
Liyla:
From the very first moment, I really liked the graphics of the game. I liked that almost everything was in black except for a slight moon light AND the rockets and the gunshots. I think it also pointed out that there is no electricity in Gaza. I liked that the game provides different languages, so that the message reaches as many people as possible. I also liked the notification at the beginning of the game that it would be better to turn off the lights and put the headphones, but I could not and kept a slight light :). The game itself is difficult, I took nearly 3-4 minutes to pass the truck level and I lost like 4-5 times, I was just put under a stress that I need to pass this thing before I am hit by a rocket or so, I can hear the sounds but I do not know when exactly it is gonna hit. I reached a level where I did not know where to go and there was no instructions, so I have to discover if there is some existing thing I could use and so on. But the game is really hard and I am almost always in a serious danger. I felt helpless, when I am by my own trying to survive, I do not have any assisting tools and I am alone, nobody is helping me, just trying to escape or survive, I can’t defend or hit back, rather than that, I can’t even resist!
Sleep-deprived Mom:
The game is pretty interesting. I have three nephews and I thought I knew enough about children. But it is never enough as long as I do not actually live with them. I felt that the choices provided in the game are pretty much close to what I see from my nephews specially the right-before-sleep part. When they stay overnight, they keep asking me for telling them stories, drinking or eating something or watching a cartoon or so. I think the game needs more negotiation situations to be added. It takes time and effort from the mother as well.
Defying Gender Rules:
I liked the game. The situation presented are carefully selected so that the greatest average of the the Egyptian girls had went through. But I did not like the polarity that existed in some choices as if the two choices are contradicting each other when they are not. For example, the phase when it is time to graduate and the options are getting married or focusing on your career. I did not like this division because it make it seem like marriage is something that is hindering you from reaching your career goals and that you are not supposed to choose it. Moreover, I think both things can be done at the same time successfully. One last note, I think some of the pictures attached are not appropriate for the situation described. The photo below for example expresses violence while the situation is way simpler than that!
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