Thesis and Outline

I. Thesis Statement/Introduction: In both “Peta’s Super Chick Sisters” and “Planet Green,” change in our society is proposed to the player through viable information. The players of both video games are persuaded to believe the facts and support the claims within the games, due to the educational information. “Planet Green,” however, has advanced educational information, whereas “Peta’s Super Chick Sisters,” has trivial information for a player, who has no prior knowledge of the issue before playing the video game.

II. “Peta’s Super Chick Sisters”:
(a) The point of the game
- Represented in the form of Mario brother with baby chicks as Mario and Luigi and the colonel is a mechanical spider and Pamela Anderson as the princess is to be rescued, after being caught by the colonel
- Proposes a change in the treatment of the chickens killed to support KFC’s restaurant chain
(b) The message behind the game
-Visual: uses baby chicks rather than older chickens, bloody chicken bowls, bloody picture frames of the colonel, free other baby chicks throughout the game, and KFC restaurants with sleeping employees
- Claims: educational facts throughout the game about the treatment of the chickens (broken wings and legs, overfed chickens, beaks are removed, chickens are killed when still baby chicks)
- Advertises the Mario Brother Game and the Wii System: uses a fun game and a new game system to entice the player into believing and supporting the claims

III. “Green Planet”:
(a) The point of the game
- Explore the town of Evergreen and finds ways to reduce CO2 emission; warns about global warming and is impact on the society
- Provides factual information through challenges and teaches the player ways to change his lifestyle in order to become more environmentally friendly
(b) The message behind the game
- Visual: uses tutorials and challenges to portray to the player the different way to reduce CO2 emissions everyday with simple rules like closing the refrigerator door and turning of lights, which are not being used
- Claims: educational facts throughout the game and during every challenge to describe the types of changes these simple rules and their impact on the global warming issues in a positive way
- Advertises Starbucks and their changes to become more environmentally friendly

IV. The effects of persuasion in both games
(a) “Peta’s Super Chick Sisters”
- Causes the player to want to know more about the situation on the cruelty of the chickens
- It does not give direct factual information about the situation
- May cause the player to boycott eating at KFC or joining PETA to help make these changes
(b) “Planet Green”
- Does cause the player to want to know more information on the issue of global warming
- May impact changes in the player’s routine on an everyday basis
- Give factual and direct information on the issue in the introduction before the beginning of the game
V. Conclusion

Game Discussion

"PETA's Super Chick Sisters"

This game is set up to be similar to Mario Brothers. However, Mario is a baby chick, instead of an actual human being. The colonel is an evil mechanical spider and, if the chick does not kill the spider, it will kill the chick. It advertises the organization PETA, in order to inform other individuals about the cruetly many fast food restaurants carry out to produce the needs of their costumers. The game also advertises the Mario Brothers game for the Wii, because during the introduction of the game, Mario and Luigi are sore from playing the game system. The game, however, is entirely persuasive. It persuades individuals on an emotional level, which causes the players of the game to feel for the cruelly treated chickens. As mentioned before, the characters of the game are baby chicks and not older chickens. This fact of the game causes the player to feel more of an emotional attachment to the baby chicks, than if they were older chickens. The game could also cause players from ordering food from KFC ever again, and it presents the colonel as an evil villian. This may persuade the players to believe the colonel was an evil individual in more than just one aspect of his life.



"Darfur is Dying"

In this game, the player picks an individual for his character, and the characters range in sex and age. The purpose of the game is to find water and food for the other individuals in the refugee camp. However, the player must forage for food or water without getting caught by the Janjaweed militias. The player is able to hide behind rocks, grass, and other objects, in order to keep from getting caught before returning to the camp. It is a serious game, because it portrays to the players in certain ways the reality of their situation in Darfur. In many ways we are priviledge to live in the United States, even though we have our faults, however, we will never be able to know the true reality of their situation in Darfur without living it ourselves. After the game, the players are able to donate money to help aid the individuals in Darfur and to end the war. It allows information to the public, which an individual may not have know before playing the game.



"Planet Green"

It is a game about reducing your ecological footprint on earth. At the beginning, the player picks a character and then a transportation service. Based on the character's transportation service, the player will gain or lose points, depending on the CO2 emission of the vehicle, bike, etc. The player goes to different buildings, within the town, and learns about reducing CO2 emissions in a variety of different ways. It is a serious game, because it introduces the player with a lot of information on the causes and effects of the CO2 emission every single day on our planet. The game allows a player to think not only about his own ecological footprint but others as well. It also advertises Starbucks in the game, which in a lot of ways is ironic. However, within the past year, the company has tried to cut back on the amount of waste their products produce and in other words, produce less energy.