This War of Mine – Becoming a Tool in the Polish Educational System.
This War of Mine — the remarkable experience released by 11-bit studios in 2014 — achieves a milestone step in recognizing video games as a work of culture. The tale of civilians living through the torment of war, tackling moral dilemmas, and shouldering the heavy burden that people must carry when their lives are at stake was told with stark reality and praised by The New York Times, Washington Post, Die Welt, The Guardian, and other prestigious media. 11 bit studios now proudly breaks new ground for game developers all over the world as This War of Mine becomes recommended reading for high school students in the Polish education system.
Perceived as a cultural phenomenon able to portray serious issues in a mature, respectful way, This War of Mine was met with wide critical acclaim. Based on this, and on receiving an award for bringing substantial value to Polish national cultural heritage, a program was kicked off by 11 bit studios and the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, back in early 2019. Now, after months of work, it becomes a reality.
Games are a work of culture. Modern ones, natural and attractive for the young generation. Games speak a language instinctively understandable by them – the language of interaction. Using this language, games can talk about everything – emotions, truth, the fight between good and evil, humanity, suffering. They are similar to literature in that regard, however, they use the aforementioned language of interaction. Of course, games are already being used in education for teaching maths, chemistry, and developing cognitive abilities, but I don’t think we’ve ever encountered a game being officially included in the educational system on a national level as a school reading. I’m proud to say 11 bit studios’ work can add to the development of education and culture in our country. This can be a breakthrough moment for all artists creating games all around the world.
Grzegorz Miechowski, 11 bit studios CEO
This War of Mine is planned to be included in the list of school reading for Polish students starting in the 2020/2021 school year for 18 y/o and above — the game has an 18+ age rating in most countries due to the subject nature it tackles. This wouldn’t be possible without the official recognition from the Prime Minister of Poland and the Ministry of Education. The game is going to be recommended for human sciences: sociology, ethics, philosophy, and history and will be available for all Polish high schools without any costs.
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