Australian Game Simulates Prison Escapes

An anonymous reader writes "The Australian newspaper The Age is running a story about a computer game that simulates real detention centers, inviting players to find a way to escape. The game uses actual Australian detention center layouts, and simulates things like the exact time that meals occur and "episodic violence". The kicker is that the project is sponsored by an arts group that has just received $25,000 in Australian government funding to develop the game."

Comments

Those are immigrant detention centers, not prisons

[McMuffin Man]

If I understand correctly (I'm not Austrailian), the sites in question are not prisons which contain Austrailian citizens who have committed crimes, but rather detention centers for unclassified immigrants who may or may not be refugees. The Austrailian government policy towards immigrants is a fairly contentious issue in Austrailian politics, which goes a long way to explain why an arts group might choose to create a game like this.

Woomera not just a "prison"

[sakyamuni]

There's more irony here than meets the non-Australian eye. The facility at Woomera isn't a normal prison. It's a notorious "detention center" for refugees. The complaints about it and similar prisons in Australia is that people are locked away in horrible conditions and pretty much forgotten. Query Google for some back-story.