CAGE is a game engine which allows the creation of customized games with the following characteristics. The games may consist of a set of game states, where each game state offers the player an array of information and a set of possible moves he can make. For example, suppose we want to develop an application about what cultural norms are expected when entering an Afghan village. In this application, the game state consists of a multimedia (audio, video, image) presentation. The objects to be shown in a given game state (e.g. audio clip, video clip, text bar, etc.) can be obtained by querying a database and selecting a presentation method for the answer returned to the query. For example, if the answer returned is a video clip, the presentation method might be 30 frames a second, while if the answer returned is a body of text, the presentation method might be to have scrolling text at the rate of 10 lines per minute. Each game state might also pose a question to the player with a set of answers to the question. Independently of which answer is correct, the game proceeds to a new state (similarly defined) that shows the player another body of information--perhaps real, perhaps hypothetical--and invites him to do something else. This continues until the end of the game when the player can be told what he did right and what he did wrong.

So far, we have developed two game scenarios. The first game models the drug trade in Afghanistan, specifically the involvement of the Afridis. We are also developing a game about Afghan villages and the different agents--i.e. political leaders, religious leaders, farmers--that one might encounter upon entering the village.