We want

Nahid Taheri
Contributor

tand on a crowded commuter train
S in Prince George, New York, Paris,
London, Tokyo, or Berlin and you will see
a multitude of people, goldfish-mouthed,
eyes glazed, deeply breathing, fixated on
one thing only: getting rows of red jelly
beans and orange lozenges to disappear.
Candy Crush Saga is a match-three puzzle
game which was released for Facebook
at first and then for smartphones by the
King game company in 2012. Candy Crush
Saga has overtaken Angry Birds to be the
world's most popular game, hitting the top

spot on Facebook, iOS, and

the Android Play store.
According to developer
King, there are more
than 66 million
players

Hamilton

Tyson Kelsall
Culture Editor | ote-culture@unbc.ca

ollowing Toronto's lead, Hamilton

has now become Canada's second
“sanctuary city,’ a title that means
undocumented newcomers can access
city services without fear of deportation,
including shelters, food banks, and the
like. Hamilton's city council voted in the
motion unanimously. Since immigration
is a federal law, the municipality has the
power to decide whether or

not to enforce the law with
their resources, which

2
ke
=

Candy!

worldwide, with more

than 15 million of those
playing Candy Crush Saga
on Facebook on a daily basis.
Since the game launched,
Candy Crush Saga players
have spent the equivalent
of 103,000 years playing the
game. Over 1 trillion candies have been
crushed, which is more than the stars
in the Milky Way. The game has been
installed more than 500 million times
across Facebook, iOS, and Android.

It's so popular that, according to the
studio, one out of every 23 Facebook
users is a fan of the game. King has
taken advantage of a change in the way
people play video games. There was a

time when a particular demographic was
overrepresented among gamers - young
men at home, using consoles. The advent
of smartphones and tablets has changed
gaming - so much so that the typical Candy
Crush Saga player is a woman aged 25-45.
Some people's devotion to the game leads
to them changing their smartphone's
internal clock so that they get more lives,
an all-important (and scarce) commodity
doled out at regular intervals. One gamer, a

becomes

they will no longer do. Brad Clarke made a
statement saying, “the council has a duty
to care.”

Federal Conservative Immigration Minister
Chris Alexander, as was reported by the
Sun News Network, came out firmly
against Hamilton's decision. Alexander
said that people in Canada illegally should
“go home”; and added that there should
be no enticement for migrants to “abuse”
Canada's immigration program. Sun

News also reported him saying, “We are
reforming our immigration programs, to

UNBC student, claims that he sometimes
stays awake until 4am to finish more levels.

There have been plenty of games that
follow the same basic format as King's
creation; however the function of the
game, and the way it rations lives, has
been carefully crafted by King to provide
maximum enjoyment, and to keep people
coming back for more. Players regularly

Culture 7

check the countdown until their next

life is released and they can play on. It is
precision-engineered addiction, and it has
resonated with the public. Because it is

so user friendly to access, and due to it’s
colourful graphics, the game makes users
calm and happy. This is an addictive game;
we want more candies, and we want to
crush them.

a Sanctuary city

make sure that people who come here end
up coming in record numbers.”

However, undocumented residents in
Canada are some of the most marginalized
in the country. Hamilton's city council
defended their position by stating they
wanted to create a place of safety for their
fellow humans. Over 100 people who wrote
to the city council requested they accept
the motion.

In Toronto, when the city council voted

and accepted it a year previous, a full
gallery gave them a standing ovation; it was
received by a 37-3 vote. Critics then said
undocumented residents do not deserve
any government treatment. Since this is
a municipal ruling, there are still many
limits to what they can receive, such as
everything under provincial or federal
jurisdiction, like social assistance. In
theory, it is only about the safety of each
individual. Hamilton and Toronto join
other cities across America who have
had similar rulings, including
Chicago and San Francisco.

Pou

Hamilton, Obs
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