Games for Change (G4C) -- home

Overview
Games for Change provides support, visibility and shared resources to individuals and organizations using and designing digital games for social change. This is the primary community of practice and international nexus for those interested in making digital games about the most pressing issues of our day—from race to poverty to the environment. Members represent hundreds of organizations and include partners in the games industry, academia, nonprofit sector, local and state governments, foundations, the United Nations, and the arts. Founded in 2004, Games for Change acts as a knowledge base and resource hub to help organizations network and develop video game projects beyond their traditional expertise, and provides special assistance to foundations and nonprofits entering the field.

G4C Projects
Games for Change Annual Festival
Called “an early Sundance of video games” for “socially-responsible game-designers” the Games for Change Annual Festival brings together leading nonprofit organizations, experts, and game developers to explore the increasing real-world impact of digital games as an agent for social change. The Festival is also a showcase for some of the most innovative new games in development. The sixth annual festival took place in New York City in May 2009 and attracted over 400 participants.

101 Workshop
Games for Change offers a soup-to-nuts workshop on making social issue games. The first of these workshops, offered in conjunction with the 2008 and 2009 Games for Change Festival, is targeted towards nonprofit organizations who want to use games as a part of their educational and outreach efforts. Games for Change is developing similar workshops targeting other groups including youth leaders, artists, and philanthropists.

Let the Games Begin: A Toolkit 4 Making Social Issue Games
Games for Change has created a toolkit specifically targeted towards nonprofit organizations that want to use digital games to further their social-issue driven missions and outreach. The kit is a resource to help organizations develop a game strategy for outreach and to show them the steps and resources that are necessary to make a successful game. Distributed on DVD and via the web, the kit includes an overview on getting into gaming and a series of units focusing on design and outreach considerations. The Social Issue Game Maker's Toolkit is supported by the AMD Foundation.

News Games
With the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Games for Change has developed a series of panels, a game channel, and other activities to explore the use of digital games to better inform and engage the public in understanding the most important public issues of the day.

Half the Sky
HALF THE SKY is a multimedia initiative—based upon the book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn—that aims to highlight the moral challenge of oppression of women around the world and equally to highlight the opportunities women offer to promote economic development and combat fundamentalism – to “hold up half the sky,” in the words of a Chinese saying. Games for Change is working with several partners to develop the initiative’s interactive game component.

PETLab
PETLab is a joint project of Games for Change and the Communication Design and Technology Department at Parsons The New School and is supported through a generous grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. PETLab is a public interest game design and research lab for interactive media Prototyping, Evaluation, Teaching, and Learning. Our current projects include the design of a series of social issue game prototypes for various game platforms and social networks that address social and civic issues. We are also developing social issue game design curricula and tools for teens for use in after-school programs, such as the Boys and Girls Clubs, and through online social networking sites such as MTV’s Think.

Games and Assessment
One of the key factors influencing the future development and deployment of games for education and civic engagement is assessment. Games for Change is working on a series of activities that brings together educational game researchers, assessment experts, civic engagement leaders and others to explore how digital games can incorporate a goal of civic participation and how to assess impact.

Xbox 360 Games for Change Challenge
Games for Change has worked with Microsoft to explore new ways to bring the worlds of digital gaming and social change together. Our first collaboration was a socially minded global gaming competition, the Xbox 360 Games for Change Challenge. This worldwide competition challenged college students to come up with the best game based on the theme of environmental sustainability. Students developed games based on global warming using Microsoft® XNA™ Game Studio Express software.

Regional Chapters
Games for Change supports regional chapters around the world which host discussions and events about the latest issues arising from the field. From Seoul to Seattle, chapters are working to promote the development and distribution of social issue games. For example, Chapter leaders in Seoul are working with students at KAIST to explore ways in which social issue games developed in other parts of the world can inform the development of games addressing regional issues in Korea.

G4C Connect
G4C Connect is a social network that extends Games for Change's mission to provide support, knowledge, and visibility to the social issue gaming community. G4C Connect brings together organizations and individuals who want to make social issue games with developers and funding organizations. It provides a collaborative space for the initial development of social issue game development projects, and raises the visibility of social issue games in development through a searchable database. G4C Connect enables members to keep up with news in the social issue gaming community through aggregated blogs and exclusive, featured content such as interviews with leaders in the field.

Social Issues Games Discussion List
G4C manages an online discussion group focused on the Games for Change movements with over 2,000 participants.

Games for Change is a New York-based, 501(c)3, nonprofit corporation.

Get Involved: stay up to speed by joining our low-traffic discussion list or keep checking our website blog for updates.