This is a neat game! It probably makes students more forthcoming about their real beliefs concerning resource distributions. I like the setup with 4 different distribution characters, even if there is a larger pool of characters from which students can choose or can be assigned by rolling. Looking forward to hearing what further distributions students come up with as the game is played more.
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Sweet Justice's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Runner-up | #1 | n/a | n/a |
| Popular winner | #1 | 5.000 | 5.000 |
Ranked from 1 rating. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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- On first glance, I considered Sweet Justice an entertaining classroom activity to pair with readings from Rawls, but doubted whether it could provide any significant insights into the primary source material, especially considering the caricature-like personalities of “Needy Ned,” “Entitled Eric,” and the rest. I supposed that such caricatures might entertain students temporarily without challenging them to think deeply about the most charitable interpretations of Rawls’ or others’ theories of justice. On a closer reading of the game (especially the “Background, Thoughts, and Motivations” document), Sweet Justice is revealed to function not strictly as an expository tool, but as a critical work of procedural rhetoric aiming to challenge all theories of justice as “flawed” (“Background, Thoughts, and Motivations” p. 2). The game’s characters may not capture all the nuance of their various implicitly held theories of justice (how could they?), but the critical project is still fair to its opposition in the acknowledgement of a “game breaking bug” (p. 4) allowing players to resolve the candied conflict from which the game derives its tension. Sweet Justice functions simultaneously as a re-creation and a critique of Rawls’ theory and its rivals. Like the students who expected Prof. Andersson to reveal “the correct distribution” (p. 3) at a playtest's conclusion, I also leave this game with an unsatisfied curiosity about the author’s attitudes with respect to justice: if all theories are flawed, then how are we to go about choosing one social order over another? But this is just how Sweet Justice invites players to dive deeper into political philosophy for themselves. I ultimately voted for Sweet Justice on account of the way its philosophical and artistic/interactive elements mutually illuminate one another, per the game jam’s FAQ on what is meant by “critical-creative.” As a game, its “character roll” bears the distinct mark of its philosophical source, and as a philosophical work it is shaped by the co-creative dynamism characteristic of the relationship between game, game designer, and game player.
What work(s) of philosophy does your piece take as its primary source(s)?
Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice.
Please tell us about your piece.
Most of us believe that we have a good understanding of what makes a
particular matter just or fair. We may find that an equal distribution of a
certain good is just, or that a distribution should should first and foremost
prioritize those who are worst-off, or that distributions should respect prop-
erty rights even if it undermines those who are in need. We may believe
that some people deserve more than others because they are productive,
creative, and ambitious. We may also believe that some people who are
living in misery do not deserve the bad luck they have been handed.
The problem with justice is that we may believe all of the above
without realizing that most of the claims stand in stark contrast to each
other. This game invites you to unveil your intuitions about justice in an
interactive fashion. It forces you to make choices under pressure and witness
the effects of your decisions. It is intended to be an engaging and (hopefully)
fun learning experience about one of the most difficult questions in political
philosophy: what makes a distribution just?
What other sources have you used in your piece?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gZeJxIpRs6xuB4LscHen5eLyc9KZN2S_Qk_LJFVjwhk/edit?usp=sharing
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