The document discusses the growing use of computer and video games by various organizations to achieve educational, health, and social impact goals. It outlines the top ten reasons why games are effective in these areas, such as promoting player agency, empathy-building through role-playing, and fostering collaboration. Additionally, it provides eight steps for creating games that deliver meaningful impact, emphasizing the importance of audience, platform, and assessment strategies.

1. Alan Gershenfeld President, E-Line Media Chairman, Games For Change Former SVP, Activision Studios Public-Interest Computer and Video Games March, 2010

2. Computer & video games are being embraced by leading foundations, non-profits, universities and government agencies to further their learning , health and social impact goals

3. Top 10 reasons why games are a powerful platform for highly engaged learning , health and social impact.

4. 1 . Participatory Games are interactive , ‘lean-forward’ ; players make decisions with consequences resulting in player agency 2 . Role-Playing Games enable players to step into different roles in different worlds building awareness and empathy

5. 3 . Challenges & Rewards Games engage players deeply through a delicate balance of challenges & rewards that leads to highly focused , sustained engagement 4 . Failure as Fun Games enable players to try & fail in a safe environment; experimenting at their own pace until they succeed

6. 5 . Social & Networked Games are increasing social, fostering peer-to-peer , collaborative , ‘just-in-time’ learning and teamwork 6 . Product & Service Games are increasingly becoming on-going services that can be continually optimized for engagement and impact

7. 8 . Bits, Atoms & Molecules Gameplay is increasing crossing over into the real world enabling entirely new modes of engagement and impact 7 . Creation & Consumption Games increasingly come with embedded creation tools required critical 21st century literacy skills such as problem solving, creativity and systems thinking

8. 9. Motivation Good games create a deep desire to learn. “ Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire” - William Butler Yeats

9. 10. Ubiquity 97% of all teens play computer and video games. The first generation of gamers are having kids creating Gamer Families Wii: 45 million X-Box 360: 27 million Playstation 3: 19 million Wii Ware XBLA PSN Nintendo DS: 96 million Sony PSP: 42 million Playstation 2: 50 million ? Play Power $10 TV Computer Billions of Mobile devices Billions of PCs Talkers and Doers

10. 8 steps to understanding how to make games that have meaningful learning, heath and social impact

11. 1. Audience region, age, demographic, psychographic, game ability 3. Impact awareness, fundraising, learning, accessibility, real-world action 4. Platform console, console download, handheld, PC, mobile 2. Context moderated vs. un-moderated settings school, after-school, home, library, CBO…

12. 7. Execution team-building, trouble-shooting, marketing, distribution & support 6. Design organic alignment of what makes game fun and what makes game impactful Sustainability resources,, revenue models, game as product vs. game as service 8. Assessment & Optimization real-time & embedded assessment models portfolio management Talkers and Doers

13. Balancing Financial and Social Returns A Framework Most Not-for-Profit Organizations Most Commercial Enterprises Really Bad Businesses Profitable Social Impact Impact First Fund Subsidized Sustainable Double Bottom Line/ Blended Value Financial Return

14. contact Alan Gershenfeld E-Line Ventures 363 Seventh Avenue, 20th Floor New York, NY 10001 [email_address]