ICED is the latest 3D game which has players begging for more, but it’s not just about having fun playing a video game! It stands for I Can End Deportation, and contains a lot of not so subtle criticisms of America’s immigration policies.
ICED seems to be the latest in a series of entertainment portals which have been making forays into issues that seem to make people uncomfortable in the ‘real’ world. America had become notorious for its deportation policies, and games such as ICED seem to highlight very real concerns that users as well as the game creators try to make statements about through an egalitarian forum which is very unlike the sometimes biased contexts of real life.
MMORPGs recently shot into popularity, although many of the oldest such games on the internet have been around for a decade or more. MMORPGs are games which involve multiplayer interfaces and roleplaying strategies which players can share with each other as they play from their home PCs. Many gamers have become so compulsive that they spend most of their waking hours on their computers, and some even spend considerable amounts of money to play at cyber cafes if they don’t have access to computers of their own. Games such as World of Warcraft need virtual gold for players to purchase weapons and items for health restoration, and these have become so popular that there are even cases of players auctioning their virtual gold for real money on websites all over the internet! Such gaming activity has set the stage for more serious ventures such as ICED, which have taken gaming to a whole new level. With games like ICED, game makers seem to have decided that the compulsive costs of playing games can be given a more positive and thoughtful bent—hence the incorporation of public criticisms of government policies through interactive channels of entertainment!
ICED, which is targeted mainly at a young audience, requires the player to be at the receiving end of harsh immigration policies: being chased by officials, caught and treated unfairly, and subjected to unjust punishments. Any of the five characters you can choose to play as is an immigrant teenager subjected to the thrills and dangers of being an illegal alien on the loose in America, with authority figures breathing down his or her neck. Very real traumas such as being thrown into solitary confinement and being separated from one’s family are described in the game, which is free to download and play. Even if you have a neutral stance against American immigration regulations, you may just find yourself with an opinion on the issue after playing this game!
With interactive online games through which people can not only participate in the newest technologies in the entertainment industry but also chat online in real time with other users who are playing the game at the same time, gaming forums have now become platforms for people all over the world to come together, connect, and do a little government bashing!