Universitat Politècnica de València

Video Games as Awareness Raisers, Attitude Changers, and Agents of Social Change

International Journal of Computer Games Technology Hindawi Volume 2024, Article ID 3274715, 10 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/3274715 Video Games as Awareness Raisers, Attitude Changers, and Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), Valencia, Spain Correspondence should be addressed to Elena Shliakhovchuk…

• Video games can effectively shift social attitudes, as evidenced by a study of 98 undergraduate students where playing games like 'Against All Odds' and 'Papers, Please' significantly reduced 'denial' attitudes and increased empathy levels.
• While video games successfully influence emotional perspectives, they do not consistently improve factual knowledge; participants showed no significant difference in knowledge scores regarding the refugee crisis after gameplay.
• Player enjoyment and engagement are critical drivers for potential real-world action, as higher levels of 'Education and Enjoyment'—particularly noted in the game 'Against All Odds'—correlate with a greater likelihood of players seeking further information or taking action.