When schools ban books, the strategy often backfires on would-be censors and leads to a greater interest around books that are illegal. Similarly, when governments censor media, organizations like Reporters Without Borders spearhead efforts to make the content that is censored more prominent. Their Uncensored Library project brings together architecture and journalism in a surprisingly virtual reality world: the interactive gaming world of Minecraft.
On the surface, Minecraft is a game of collaborative construction and its low-res design may not seem appropriate for elements such as reading articles or even complete books in game. There are "items" in Minecraft that can be used to create books with an endless number of pages. Creators can convert text into these "books," rendering them usable and downloadable. The books are then put into "chests" and arranged in the virtual space for accessibility.
The idea, in part, is to work around normally blocked channels. All about video games Reporters Without Borders has had some success using this method including the audio-centric Uncensored Playlist. It bypassed censors and operated through streaming services for music. In the Uncensored Library the spatial layout allows for easier access to information and allows for other kinds of interaction and creation in addition, such as memorials to journalists killed that is housed within the library's walls.
James Delaney, Blockworks' project manager, says that the style is Classical and formal. It's the same type of architecture that you would see in the British Museum or New York Public Library. My games "That was intentional, since governments employ this style to reinforce their positions of authority." Blockworks James Delaney, the project lead, says that the design team "wanted it to be turned on its head." Yes, we're using this formalistic, authoritarian style, but it's filled with information that is free."
"The criteria for inclusion is managed by Reporters Without Borders, which ensures that the library's content is true, accurate, and sensitive," reports Cian Mahar. It appears to be working: The library has regular visitors from countries such as Russia, Egypt, Mexico and Saudi Arabia where information is not available for free.
Maps and flags adorn the interior of the library's design by highlighting areas in which censorship is more prevalent and helping with virtual navigation within the stacks. The design choices are also made to welcome younger audiences who are familiar with Minecraft and also to educate them about information suppression. This isn't something that all countries can accept. Some are trying to block the main server. However, as with everything on the internet, once the cat (gif) is removed from the bag, it's over. Anyone can download the entire library and upload it to a different server at any moment.
From the Uncensored Library website: "In many countries, websites, social media and blogs are controlled by oppressive leaders. Particularly, young people are compelled to become part of systems in which their opinions are frequently manipulated by disinformation campaigns of the government. However, even in a world where nearly all media is controlled or blocked the most popular computer game is still available.
