Emarian

While gaming may not get a whole lot of respect from mainstream media and politicians, those groups aren't above using games as a means to an end. Two new politically themed games showcase drastically different uses of the medium: one for simple entertainment, and the other for making a point.

Visitors to CNN.com today can play Presidential Pong, which is, predictably enough, a game of Pong using caricatures of prominent 2008 presidential candidates as paddles. Each candidate possesses a power-up move based on some factoid that is explained in varying degrees of coherency. For example, according to the site, "[Barack] Obama's special strength--The Lincoln's Statehouse Power Up--allowed him to hold on to the ball and throw it back whenever he wants, because nothing seems to stick to him unless he wants it to." On the other hand, former prisoner-of-war John McCain has a military veteran power-up, which "made the movement of the ball on his opponent's side of the field unpredictable, like during war."

In a more ambitious exploration of the intersection between games and politics, the University of Southern California today announced the imminent unveiling of The Redestricting Game. A joint project between the university's Annenberg Center for Communication, Annenberg School for Communication, and School of Cinematic Arts, The Redestricting Game deals with the practice of gerrymandering, or redrawing electoral districts with the goal of securing a favorable outcome for one party or another.

"The game exposes how redistricting works, how it is abused, and how it adversely affects our democracy," according to USC. "It provides hands-on understanding of the real redistricting process, including drawing district maps and interacting with party bosses, congresspeople, citizen groups and courts. Players directly experience how crafty manipulation of lines can yield skewed victories for either party--effectively allowing politicians to choose their voters instead of voters choosing their politicians."

The Redestricting Game will be made available to play for free online. It will be formally debuted to politicians and press alike next Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

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