Ayiti: The Cost of Life

By: Derek Yu

On: December 4th, 2006

The short description of Ayiti: The Cost of Life is that it’s like Oregon Trail, except a lot more topical (and consequently more depressing). Control a family of five living in modern-day Haiti as you battle a lack of educational options, poor working conditions, and bad weather.

Some background about the game:

“Playing 4 Keeps (P4K) is an innovative youth media project that involves a team of ”http://www.globalkids.org/“>Global Kids youth leaders at South Shore High School in Brooklyn, New York, USA. These young people learn to develop and produce socially conscious online games, while gaining skills in game design, digital media, leadership, and peer education. The program is a collaboration with the award-winning online game design company ”http://www.gmlb.com/“>Gamelab, with whom the Global Kids Leaders have worked closely in the production of the Ayiti game.”

I’d love to see more programs that get kids engaged in making educational games. Thinking back to my younger days, if you told me that we were going to make a game in class, I think my level of interest in the particular subject would have raised about a billion percent. And what other media requires such extensive creative, artistic, and technical skill? And then the final product is something that can educate OTHER people. It’s a no-brainer, right?

As a game, The Cost of Life is a well-made and fairly entertaining, although there are improvements that could be made to the interface. More information would make the results of your decisions more understandable. How much more money am I making if I “Work Hard” as opposed to “Take it Easy?” How much healthier is Patrick (stricken with Diphtheria) going to get staying at home and resting versus visiting a clinic?

Of course, The Cost of Life is also supposed to be a bit of a life simulator, and how often is it in life that we know the answers to those kinds of questions? Striking that perfect balance of educating and entertaining is difficult. But these types of games are getting closer day by day, I think.