September 12

History

September 11th is considered the worst event to happen to New York City. As someone who was born and raised in New York with family members that lived and experienced the accident, it holds dear to my heart. September 12th is the first day after this attack, this day can be seen as the first day in a new world. A world in shock, experiencing aftereffects and planning retaliations. This symbolism inspired Gonzalo Frasca to title his game “September 12th” placing the game chronologically after the attack and in the middle of the plans to retaliate against the terrorist organization responsible in the Middle East.

The game was released in 2003 and was created by Gonzalo Frasca. Gonzalo Frasca is a researcher focusing on serious and political video games. September 12th is considered a Newsgame, a game that has journalistic purposes, and is one of the first of its kind. As such it is created with a central message and commentary. The commentary of the game is focused on discusssion of the war on terror and the morality of the Wests choices.  

Gameplay 

September 12th deceives you with its simple game mechanics, allowing it to be accessible while still holding a powerful message. At first glance, one would be mistaken to think it’s a simple point and click video game. This lack of difficulty lowers the players expectations, as it plays like any other point and click video game. It then uses the player’s naivete to deliver its message through gameplay.

When you first open the game you focus on four different things, the city landscape, the citizens, the terrorists and the aim function. The landscape is supposed to represent where these individuals from the video games live and prosper. Citizens are not supposed to be hurt and their  lives are meant to be protected. Terrorists are in the game and are to be eliminated, although they can’t be eradicated as more will spawn. The aim function is a part of the game that can be used that is dependent on the player. If you choose to not use the aim function then you don’t hurt anyone. If you decide to bomb houses and attack terriost there will always be civilian casualties. When there are civilians casualties then the civilians themselves will be converted into terrorist. There would always be terrorist where they are made or already there.

Commentary 

September 12th’s gameplay differentiates itself from normal games through its ludonarrative commentary. This is what separates it as a Newsgame. With its focus being on American retaliation post 9/11, it naturally responds to certain talking points pertaining to said retaliation. 

The question September 12th tackles is whether we as the United States should attack the Middle East at all. This question is answered clearly by the gameplay. If we use the resources we have and attack people we destroy the lives of the innocent and make more violence and terror. Thus causing a cycle of retaliation and violence that doesn’t lead to any solutions. 

The message is amplified through the ludonarrative effects of your actions. The aim function is the only of the four main game functions that the player believes they have control over. This in a gameplay sense is true, but narratively it is not. If the player never uses this function, The landscape remains complete, civilians are not killed, and no new terrorists spawn from the destruction and death. The game intentionally invites you to not attack, as such the game shows that our best countermeasure against this problem is the same.

Expressions

At the start of the game a message appears “This is not a game. You can’t win and you can’t lose. This is a simulation. It has no ending. It has already begun…. Explore some aspects of the war of terror.” This quote explains the game well and what it means to be in war. The gameplay, lack of a scoreboard, having no ending or start emphasize the meaning of the quote. 

Gonzalo Frasca when trying to express the ideas of the message uses different forms of a video game: narrative, simulation and paidia. Narrative is the context given to the gameplay features. Simulation, the actions the player takes through button clicks to affect the gameplay. Lastly is paidia, is an abstract point of view of playing a video game where the player creates their own goals and definition of winning

Narrative is given by the real world situation that the game is based on. The war on terror, and your playing on the US side. Therefore the features of the game are from the US perspective and what you’re trying to do in the Middle East. 

Simulation is given by the option to click the button to destroy the terrorist and the innocent. Giving control to the player from a first person perspective makes the player understand his choices on a deeper and emotional level. It is the player’s actions that are causing the damages and it is greatly emphasized by the crying noises in the background when the town gets attacked. 

Paidia is shown by the lack of instructions and clear goal of the game. The player can go with two different options. The first option is to do nothing and all the terrorist go back to being citizens. The second option is to attack and keep the cycle going and keep the violence going. As well the lack of a scoreboard shows that if you keep going with the actions there is no clear payoff. 

The goal of the game is given to the player and the decision the player is willing to make with the narrative, simulation and paidia. 

Legacy 

September 12th in 2022 is considered one of the first Newsgames to be created and has been viewed as a significant game. In 2009, the game received a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Knight Foundation. In this day and age, September 12th is presented in museums and galleries as a commentary on war but also as a teaching tool on how to address serious topics. 

September 12th is a game that expresses its message across different generations. The past, present and future. No matter the generation the context can be applied in different wars and teach the world  about their implications. September 12th commentary still holds up, in spite of it being one of the first Newsgames.