Previous entry: Games for Change Festival Event Explores How to Make Games to Enhance Learning May 27 | Home Page | Next entry: 7th Annual Games for Change Festival May 24-27, 2010
Games for Change Announces Formation of New Consulting and Producing Services Group
Posted by Mark Smith on 04-19-10New York, NY (April 19, 2010) – Games for Change announced that award-winning game developer Asi Burak has assumed the responsibilities of an Executive Producer, spearheading a new consulting and producing services group within the organization. The move takes effect immediately and extends the mission of the non-profit organization to reach beyond the impact of its annual festival (taking place in New York City May 24 – 27), workshops, website showcasing impact games and on-line resources.
Heading the newly created group, Burak will work with individuals and organizations that are interested in or actively pursuing computer and video games to further their public, philanthropic or academic interests. The suite of services will seek to lift up the field of digital impact games and can range from the modest to the comprehensive via the following packages:
- Orientation to the social impact games space;
- Concept workshop to review current materials and ensure a high-level plan and design for a game project;
- Taking a project from concept through vendor selection; and
- The full-range of executive producing services, serving as the agent of the client in supervising and managing the project from concept phase to launch and beyond.
For additional information, please contact Asi Burak - - asiburak@gamesforchange.org / twitter: @aburak
Full press release:
GAMES FOR CHANGE ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF NEW CONSULTING AND PRODUCING SERVICES GROUP LED BY AWARD-WINNING “PEACEMAKER” GAME DEVELOPER ASI BURAK
New York, NY (April 19, 2010) – Games for Change, the leading global advocate for making and supporting digital games for social impact, announced that award-winning game developer Asi Burak has assumed the responsibilities of an Executive Producer, spearheading a new consulting and producing services group within the organization. The move takes effect immediately and extends the mission of the non-profit organization to reach beyond the impact of its annual festival (taking place in New York City May 24 – 27), workshops, website showcasing impact games and on-line resources.
Heading the newly created group, Burak will work with individuals and organizations that are interested in or actively pursuing computer and video games to further their public, philanthropic or academic interests. The suite of services will seek to lift up the field of digital impact games and can range from the modest to the comprehensive via the following packages:
- Orientation to the social impact games space;
- Concept workshop to review current materials and ensure a high-level plan and design for a game project;
- Taking a project from concept through vendor selection; and
- The full-range of executive producing services, serving as the agent of the client in supervising and managing the project from concept phase to launch and beyond.
The first clients are already in final contract and will be announced during the 7th Annual Games for Change Festival, the organization’s flagship event taking place in New York City May 24 – 27 at Parsons The New School of Design. It is the only festival dedicated to the growing movement of Digital Games for Social Change which convenes leaders from government, philanthropy, academia, non-profits and the game industry to raise the sector of impact-focused games. www.gamesforchange.org/festival2010
“With Asi on board, Games for Change is now in a position to fulfill the many requests we receive from organizations for help guiding individual game projects toward realizing their full potential,” says Alex Quinn, Executive Director of Games for Change. “These expanded services further our mission to serve and lead the field of social impact games.”
Prior to joining Games for Change, Burak co-founded Impact Games, producer of the internationally-acclaimed “PeaceMaker” and “Play the News” platforms. He also served as a consultant to companies such as Newsweek and McCann Erickson, around the development of games to promote messaging, content or learning objectives. Burak is often interviewed by international media (BBC World, ABC, Al-Jazeera, NPR, New York Times, Time, Wired), and invited to speak at conferences and institutions including the Sundance Film Festival, The Skoll Forum, The Serious Games Summit, GDC, SXSW, and The US Army War College. Prior to Impact Games, Burak was VP of Marketing and Product at Axis Mobile (acquired in 2008 by Synchronica), where he introduced pioneering location-based mobile apps and games to a worldwide market (Asia, Europe, U.S.). He holds a Masters of Entertainment Technology from Carnegie Mellon and a BA in Design from the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem.
About Games for Change (G4C)
Founded in 2004, Games for Change is a non-profit which seeks to harness the extraordinary power of video games to address the most pressing issues of our day, including poverty, education, human rights, global conflict and climate change. G4C acts as a voice for the transformative power of games, bringing together organizations and individuals from the nonprofit sector, government, journalism, academia, industry and the arts, to grow the sector and provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and resources. Through this work, Games for Change promotes new kinds of games that engage contemporary social issues in meaningful ways to foster a more just, equitable and tolerant society. www.gamesforchange.org.