Interactivity, expressiveness and engagement in newsgame “Back to 1964: your life under the dictatorship”

Abstract

In 2014, a series of events marked the 50th anniversary of the military coup in Brazil. The popular Superinteressante magazine launched a review of the facts through the newsgame “Back to 1964: your life under the dictatorship”. The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the newsgame, considering its expressiveness, engagement and experience proportionate to the player. The analysis draws heavily on concepts developed by Frasca (2001), Bogost (2008), Bogost, Ferrari & Schweizer (2010), Iurgel & Zagalo (2009), Ferrari (2009), Gonçalves & Zagalo (2010), Zagalo (2012), Sicart (2008), among others. The experiences with the game were used to categorize the levels of interactivity and reactivity, according to the possible paths followed by the reader/player. The extent to which the proposed simulation delineated narratives linked to the editorial profile of the magazine, and to what extent this can be used to encourage public debate.