NPR

Screen Saviors: Can Activism-Focused Games Change Our Behavior?

In recent years, there has been an influx of games centered on social and political issues from sexism to racism to the refugee crisis. In one of the latest, you rescue animals in a slaughterhouse.
In Paintball Hero, one of the latest video games centered on social and political issues, players rescue pigs, chickens and cows in a slaughterhouse.

If you don't have time to call your senator, stage a protest or partake in a rescue mission at a slaughterhouse, you can at least save some chickens on your phone. Thanks to the new animal rights app Paintball Hero, created by 17-year-old game developer Skylar Thomas, animal liberation is now as easy as click, swipe, win.

An animal rights activist since early childhood, Thomas sought to start a conversation about animal abuse and mistreatment through gaming. He partnered with , the youth chapter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, to turn animal rights activism into a 3-D mobile app experience. In the multilevel game, activists

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR4 min read
From Pandemic To Protests, The Class Of 2024 Has Been Through A Lot
Pomp and circumstance again fall victim to circumstance for some students in the graduating class of 2024, as protests over the war in Gaza threaten to disrupt commencement ceremonies.
NPR3 min read
What's Making Us Happy: A Guide To Your Weekend Viewing And Reading
Each week, Pop Culture Happy Hour guests and hosts share what's bringing them joy. This week: Vanderpump Rules recaps, the book The Worst Ronin, and a duet by Pavarotti and Celine Dion.
NPR2 min read
Brian Wilson Of The Beach Boys Is Being Placed Under A Legal Conservatorship
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge approved the conservatorship Thursday, noting that Brian Wilson suffers from "a major cognitive disorder." Wilson has agreed to the conservatorship.

Related Books & Audiobooks