A FORCE MORE POWERFUL
The Game of NONVIOLENT Strategy
Can a computer game help people learn how to defeat dictators, military occupiers, and corrupt rulers–not with laser rays and AK47s–but with a non-military strategy and nonviolent weapons?
Such a game is now available: A Force More Powerful – the Game of Nonviolent Strategy is the first and only interactive teaching tool in the field of nonviolent conflict. Developed by The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC), media firm York Zimmerman Inc. and game designers at BreakAway Ltd., the game is built on nonviolent strategies and tactics used successfully in conflicts around the world.
Featuring ten scenarios inspired by history, A Force More Powerful simulates nonviolent struggles to win freedom and secure human rights against dictators, occupiers, colonizers, and corrupt regimes, as well as campaigns for political and human rights for minorities and women. The game models real-world experience, allowing players to devise strategies, apply tactics and see the results.
Nonviolent conflict is a way for ordinary people to fight for their rights using disruptive actions such as strikes, boycotts and mass protests. As people are mobilized to take action and withdraw their cooperation from the oppressor, the balance of power is shifted democratically to the people. And it works: in the last 33 years, nonviolent civic resistance has played a critical role in 50 of 67 transitions from authoritarianism.
The ICNC and York Zimmerman Inc. recognized the demand for an interactive teaching device when they saw the overwhelming response to their recent television documentaries, A Force More Powerful and Bringing Down a Dictator–films that tell stories of historical successes achieved by nonviolent action. Quickly embraced by activists, scholars and individuals throughout the world, the films revealed an unmet need for new educational materials in this field.
About the Game
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Audience– AFMP is designed for people who want to use nonviolent action in their own struggles for rights and freedom. The game will also serve as a valuable simulation model for academic studies of nonviolent resistance, as well as an educational tool for civil society groups and anyone who wants to learn more about the power and strategic use of nonviolent action.
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Game Play– AFMP is a single-player, turn-based game in which the player takes on the role of chief strategist in a nonviolent movement against the opponent in one of ten pre-packaged scenarios. As the player takes charge of the movement’s materials and human resources, recruits new members and builds alliances, the player also learns the value of strategic planning, and the careful formulation of goals and tactics. The adversary is controlled by the game’s artificial intelligence.
Complex models of social interaction make up the game engine, incorporating political and economic factors, ethnicity, religion, media and communications, and resource availability, among others. A special game featureallows users to create custom scenarios, using the specific details of their own situations.
The PC-based game is designed for those with no previous gaming experience and only basic computer skills, and is compatible with hardware commonly available in the developing world. While it was created for adults, it is appropriate for players age 14 and up. AFMP will initially be released in English, with other language versions to follow.
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Interactive Companion Web site– A web site at www.afmpgame.com allows users to download updates and exchange ideas, experiences and custom scenarios. Initial distribution of the game will be on CDROM. Later versions may be downloadable. The web site will also contain reference materials on the history of nonviolent conflict and manuals on nonviolent strategy.
Obtaining the Game
A Force More Powerful – the Game of Nonviolent Strategy is available for purchase at $19.95 plus shipping and handling.
Institutions and organizations interested in quantity purchases at discounted prices should contact afmp@yorkzim.com.
Individuals active internationally in campaigns to win rights and freedom who wish to obtain copies should direct requests to game@nonviolent-conflict.org.
Click here for more information about how to order.
The Game Developers
A three-year collaboration of experts resulted in the creation of AFMP. The ICNC encourages the use of civilian-based, non-military strategies to establish and defend democracy and human rights worldwide. York Zimmerman Inc. is an independent film and video production company located in Washington, D.C. that produces documentaries about people and ideas that change the world.
Veterans of recent nonviolent campaigns assisted in the development of the game, including Ivan Marovic of Otpor, the Serbian resistance movement that played a critical role in ousting Slobodan Milosevic. Political scientists, sociologists, and economists also provided advice.
For More Information
For media inquiries and general information, contact Miriam Zimmerman at mzimmerman@yorkzim.com
Technical Requirements
AFMP Platform: PC, with the following minimum specifications:
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Pentium III CPU, 600 MHz (1.2 GHz recommended)
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Windows 98/2000/ME/XP/Vista
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128 MB RAM (256 MB recommended)
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Video card with 32 MB of RAM and Hardware TnL (GeForce 2 or equivalent)
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800 MB of free disk space
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DirectX 9.0c or newer
We regret no Mac version of the game is available at this time.