The annual Games For Change event is going on here in New York City, an event fairly dear to my heart (and not just because coverage of the event in 2007 was the very first feature I ever did for Gamasutra). The field of applying gaming and game design concepts to learning and activism is still shaping up, as more and more organizations notice the enormous economic and social breadth of the medium. This is exciting to me, because it means people will be exploring the power of interactive entertainment and the goodness of play for all kinds of things besides just the fun of it.
This year, the keynote speaker was Vice President Al Gore, who as you know is passionate in his career about global causes, particularly climate change. For such a prominent figure so active in philanthropy to come to New York City to tell nonprofits and game developers hoping to partner in the change games arena that he believes in this power for games was really significant, I think. Check out my keynote coverage at Gamasutra, and there’ll be more from the event in the coming days.
On a related note, I was honored to be once again invited to judge the games entered in this year’s Life.Love game challenge, hosted annually by Jennifer Ann’s Group, which works to educate young people on the dangers of teen dating violence and how to protect themselves and their friends. This year’s games were of an impressive quality — check out the winners! That Jennifer Ann’s Group uses game design to reach out to its target demographic is another example of how positive our medium can be. Please consider supporting Jennifer Ann’s Group by sharing its resources with people you know or in any way you can.
Yes, games are very positive. Meanwhile, Infamous 2 lets me throw a truck at a helicopter and electrocute those annoying street performers that drum on pails and I love it. More on that soon. Meanwhile, check out the latest GamerDork podcast, where I once again join Leon, Neil and their fabulous accents to shoot the breeze on E3 and the games we’ve been loving.