Games for Change (G4C) -- home

Overview
Games for Change (G4C) provides support, visibility and shared resources to individuals and organizations using digital games for social change. We provide special assistance to foundations and non-profits entering the field. Today, G4C acts as a national hub to help organizations network and develop videogame projects beyond their traditional expertise. Our members represent hundreds of organizations and include partners in the games industry, academia, nonprofits, local and state governments, foundations, the UN and artists.

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 non-profit 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 2008 Festival will take place at The New School in New York City June 2 - 4.

Learning & Media Network
Designed as a social learning network and a community of practice, Learning & Media's’s central goal is to support connections and shared resources in the field of digital media and learning -- between multiple communities and academic disciplines, among each other, and between these communities and the public at large. Learning & Media is a project of the MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning initiative.

Xbox 360 Games for Change Challenge
Games for Change is working with Microsoft to explore new ways to bring together the world of digital gaming with the world of social change. Our first collaboration is an all-new socially minded global gaming competition, the Xbox 360 Games for Change Challenge. This worldwide competition will challenge college students to come up with the best game based on the theme of environmental sustainability. Students will develop games based on global warming using Microsoft® XNA™ Game Studio Express software.

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 game prototypes for the Xbox XNA platform and accompanying curriculum that address social and civic issues. In addition to targeting university students, we are exploring ways to modify and extend this project to after-school programs such as Boys and Girls Clubs. Through another PETLab project we will work with teens to develop a social issue web-based games. We are also working on a dissemination strategy, through sites such as MTV’s Think portal, for the games created through this work. Looking to extend our work to other informal educational settings, we are working with the New York Public Library to find ways to integrate game design with existing youth services that introduce participants to the trove of digital resources within the library and that connect to the neighborhood and world beyond.

Gamers for Net Neutrality
Games for Change is partnering with the Entertainment Consumers Association and Save the Internet Coalition on a Gamers for Net Neutrality Initiative. Net neutrality is one of the most important public policy issues facing our community, and the loss of it could have serious consequences for gamers, educators, activists, and citizens. An open internet, where speed is not controlled by who pays the most, is crucial for the success of our livelihoods, our play-spaces, and our basic rights.

Social Issues Games Discussion List
G4C manages an online discussion group focused on the Games for Change movements with around 1,000 participants.

Games for Change operates under the fiscal auspices of Digital Innovations Group, Inc., a New York-based 501(c)3 think tank that encourages and supports innovation on the Web, with a special emphasis on developing the potential of the medium to bring people together to explore both personal and public issues in powerful and transforming ways.

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