Peace or Piece

About

Peace or Piece is a narrative role-playing game in which players divide into groups, choose a character to embody, and make decisions that will impact the story in real time — a story designed to be both realistic and relatable to the local youth mentored by the Center for Teen Empowerment, whose team intends to make use of the game in their work moving forward.

Since the initial playthrough in December 2022, the Engagement Lab has continued to work with members of Teen Empowerment to further refine the game, including an adjusted version designed for eighth graders which was playtested in May 2023. The materials required to play the game will be uploaded to the ELab website in the near future.

A Look Inside the Co-Creation Process

Three seated people in a blackbox theatre, one holding a large yellow die

“Through this course, I have learned about the real complexities of the issue of gun violence and how it can affect all parts of society… Together, we are all working to design a game that is meaningful and holds value.”

— Malena Horne, student

Social Impact Studios, facilitated by the Engagement Lab, give Emerson students and faculty the opportunity to work directly with local grassroots changemakers to co-create media projects that will make an impact in Boston and beyond.

Peace or Piece was co-created in Fall 2022’s Social Impact Studio, Games for Social Change, in partnership with the Center for Teen Empowerment.

Learn more about the Studio