Games for Change (G4C) facilitates the creation and distribution of social impact games that serve as critical tools in humanitarian and educational efforts that aim to leverage entertainment and engagement for social good. (akaGames for social good and change.)
Last year I had a great time attending talks and keynotes, playing the games that were nominated for awards, and meeting people from the digital games industry, gaming enthusiasts, educators, policymakers, activists, foundations and others.
I was not able to attend this year due to my recent move to North Carolina, but I recently took some time to check out some videos of some of the keynotes which included sessions and keynotes that you can watch online. Currently the videos are not tagged or labeled that clearly, but if you scan through you can view most of the talks from the first day.
I took some time today to watch a couple of the keynotes including:
Opening Keynote by Michael T. Jones from Google
(talking about local search, google maps, and other tools by Google’s Tech Advocate. He talked about redefining what a game is, and how games can affect the behavior of people on a global scale.
http://new.livestream.com/g4c/events/2136076/videos/21772941
(starts at 11 minutes in to the video)
Half the Sky Movement: The Game – Design and Impact
(A panel of experts from Frima Studio talk about the development of Half The Sky, a project made by Facebook, Zynga.com, and Games for Change that raises awareness and funds to empower women and girls across the world. The talk (which is 2 hours!) talks aobut the process and challenges of making a game that can raise money for girls and women.) The talk talked about how the majority of design focuses on products and services for the richest 10% of the population.
http://new.livestream.com/g4c/events/2136076/videos/21840199
(starts around 46 minutes into the video)
Another major component of the festival is the Games For Change festival is awards for the games with the best gameplay, most innovative, and most significant impact. I haven’t had time to check out the winner, but I will do so next week and post what I find.
Image Source:
http://www.gamesforchange.org/festival2013/
Links:
http://new.livestream.com//g4c
http://www.gamesforchange.org/festival2013/
http://www.gamesforchange.org/festival2013/games/