US diplomacy goes virtual with youth video game

Dec 12, 2012
The United States expanded its e-diplomacy efforts Wednesday with the launch of a video game aimed at helping young people get a better understanding of American language and culture.

The United States expanded its e-diplomacy efforts Wednesday with the launch of a video game aimed at helping young people get a better understanding of American language and culture.

The game "Trace Effects," allows players to follow a university student named Trace, from the year 2045, who has accidentally traveled back in time to the present.

"In order to get home, he must complete a challenging mission to change the future for the better by helping six different young people accomplish great things and have a positive impact on the future," a statement from the State Department said.

"This innovative language learning will complement students' classroom English language instruction through interactive 3-D multimedia learning adventures. Trace Effects is geared for players aged 12-16."

The game allows players to "take a dynamic journey through the United States, traveling to cultural locations like Kansas, New Orleans, the Grand Canyon, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, DC," the statement said.

It explores "themes related to entrepreneurship, community activism, empowering women, science and innovation, , and ," the statement added.

Explore further: Publisher harnesses gaming and technology to help English-language learners

add to favorites email to friend print save as pdf

Related Stories

Take-Two announces next 'Grand Theft Auto'

Nov 03, 2011

(AP) -- Take-Two is confirming that its RockStar North studio is deep in development of the next installment of the wildly popular "Grand Theft Auto" shooter series.

Leaked video game footage shows terrorist attack

Oct 29, 2009

(AP) -- Footage leaked from "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" reveals that players of the upcoming video game can shoot innocent civilians in an airport in a realistic rendering of a terrorist attack.

NASA releases new interactive space communications game

Oct 12, 2011

NASA has released an interactive, educational video game called NetworKing that depicts how the Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) network operates. The release of the video game coincides with the close of World Space ...

Recommended for you

Research finds new channels to trigger mobile malware

May 16, 2013

(Phys.org) —Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have uncovered new hard-to-detect methods that criminals may use to trigger mobile device malware that could eventually lead to targeted ...

Fewer Facebook users take a liking to its new Home software

May 16, 2013

It may be too soon to call Facebook Home a flop. But it's clearly not the breakout hit that some expected. One month after its splashy debut, fewer and fewer people are downloading Facebook's new mobile software. It took ...

Google adds player matching to Android

May 15, 2013

Google is adding leaderboards and the ability to match players in online games to its Android operating system for smartphones and tablet computers.

User comments : 0

More news stories

Philippines approves three new wind farms

The Philippines has approved three wind farm projects that will generate 208 megawatts, enough to power more than 40,000 middle-class homes, an energy official said on Monday.

Protein study suggests drug side effects are inevitable

A new study of both computer-created and natural proteins suggests that the number of unique pockets – sites where small molecule pharmaceutical compounds can bind to proteins – is surprisingly small, meaning drug side ...

Do salamanders hold the solution to regeneration?

Salamanders' immune systems are key to their remarkable ability to regrow limbs, and could also underpin their ability to regenerate spinal cords, brain tissue and even parts of their hearts, scientists have ...