Topic: Diversity, particularly poverty and economic privilege.
Theme: The theme of this educational RPG is that economic privilege determines a great deal of the way people live and the opportunities that one has. A variety of economic backgrounds will be portrayed. There will be wealthy and poor areas to each of the geographical locations in the game. The wealthy people will have many benefits and an almost guaranteed successful life. The poor individuals will have few privileges and a very difficult time finding success in the game.
Student Characters: (three possibilities) :
� The upper-class players will be outfitted with strong defensive armor, powerful weapons, a furnished home and many spells and abilities as they enter the game (15% of class). They will have wealthy parents and been provided with the best education and training available. These students will belong to a race called the Authoritizers that is historically in power and generally not oppressed. Confident and an air of superiority characterize these players.
� The second group of students will have a background similar to the middle class (35% of class). They will have some opportunities for advancement such as education, but their success will also be dependent upon hard work. Their race is called the Effortizers. It will be possible for these characters to attain wealth, power and success, but only with a good deal of effort. They are committed, diligent and willing to put in a lot of effort. To begin with, these characters will have minimal weapons, slight spell/ability knowledge, a minimal home and no other advancements.
� The final group will belong to the lower class, the Wanters (50% of class). These characters enter the game with nothing. They will not be provided with weapons, abilities, spells or a quality education. In order to attain the materials and knowledge needed to complete the game, they will need to put in a lot of hard work and time. Even with all of their efforts, it will still be difficult to reach the level of the Effortizers and nearly impossible to come close to the Authoritizers. The Wanters have historically been in the lower class, they have been stepped on by the higher-ups in society for generations. They are characterized by hard labor without gain and despair.
� The Teacher�s Character, Guru. This character is a mentor for the student. They will provide guidance on how to advance in the game. The Authoritizers will need little help and guidance. If there is anything that these students need, they will have probably already been provided with it. It will be very easy for these students to reach their goals and Guru�s help will be somewhat unnecessary. Guru will give advice and hints to the Effortizers that will help scaffold their development and hopefully lead them to some sort of success in the game. With effort and hard work, the Effortizers will be able to attain success following Guru�s advice. For the Wanters, Guru will provide assistance, but it will still be difficult for the students to advance. Even with Guru�s guidance, it will still prove to be very difficult for these students to achieve in the game.
Alternatives
� The setting, characters, story and quest of this RPG are based on the current economic system in the United States. The majority of lower-class individuals have the worst educations, low-quality jobs, housing and advancement opportunities. The opposite is true for the wealthiest in the nation and the middle class fall somewhere in-between. Students can understand the amount of effort it takes for someone who is given the best set of weapons and spells to reach a certain level in EQ2 versus one who has very little. They will feel that it is unfair and not well balanced, such is true for those who live in poverty in our country.
� One of the negative aspects of this game is that students may develop stereotypes about certain classes of people if they are not careful. It will be necessary for the teacher to explain that the game is a very simplified version of the real world and that a large number of other factors contribute to a person�s ability to succeed and move up in the community. However, I think that the benefit of this simulation and the lessons that the students learn are worth this risk.
Socio-cultural benefits or limitations
� As I expect to teach in the Chicago suburbs, the majority of students will belong to the upper-middle class. I think it is important that these students realize that not all people are allowed to take the same road as they are towards education and work. Some students may be offended and think that they are being put down for their privilege, but the goal will be that students understand that they can use the upper hand that they have been given to help others who have not been given as much. Students of all genders, ethnicities, classes, races or sexual orientations can interact with this game. Some alterations may need to be made based on a student�s IEP if they have limitations to the mental or physical abilities.
Additional Information Links
o http://www.poverty.org.uk/index.htm
o http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/bg1713.cfm
o http://www.economichumanrights.org/index.shtml