ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on gaming as a site of visual and political practice, where specific meanings are circulated about how violence should be viewed, perceived and engaged with. The chapter analyses the notion that raising awareness in the developed world among those with access to this sort of technology is the key to unlocking the solution to political violence and explore the type of humanitarian relationship this inculcates. The line of questioning pursued is thus two-fold: what is the substance of games that speaks to current issues marked by international violence, and how this game fits within wider discourses of awareness promotion, intervention and global perceptions of the sort of conflict that specifically targets civilians. The chapter explores the ideas from two specific games to pose questions about the politics of video games, the ethical dimensions of playing war and genocide and the technological dimension of humanitarian awareness via video games.
