Games have the potential to create social change by exposing players to difficult real-world issues and encouraging empathy. Games like Food Force that deal with humanitarian crises can educate children. Experiencing problems in games, like losing resources, teaches players about challenges others face. When games make players uncomfortable by forcing them to take certain actions or confront issues, it makes them reflect on their choices in a way that can lead to positive real-world impact. The Games for Change movement harnesses video games to engage players on issues like poverty and human rights in order to foster a more just society. However, some skepticism remains about converging social issues with gaming, and major companies have largely ignored social change games due to perceived risks of not
Social media expert Roger Harris outlines a view of gaming from the perspective of the changing world of social media. This presentation was given at the Triangle Gaming Conference, May 30, 2009.
The first computer games go back to the 50s when a nought and crosses game was created using an EDSAC computer. An effort at MIT ten years later led to a the multiplayer Spacewar game developed in a PDP-1. Even though these games were primitive, a game industry was born with the first games available in special locations – arcades. Today’s games are produced with modest Hollywood budgets and some are selling more than box-office hits.
Games are powerful. People can spend a lot of time playing games. Games are also great motivators. People do things that don´t even like, if they feel like they are playing game. Gamififcation is the use of game mechanics to motivate people to do stuff they generally would not do.
The first computer games go back to the 50s when a nought and crosses game was created using an EDSAC computer. An effort at MIT ten years later led to a the multiplayer Spacewar game developed in a PDP-1. Even though these games were primitive, a game industry was born with the first games available in special locations – arcades. Today’s games are produced with modest Hollywood budgets and some are selling more than box-office hits.
In this lecture we look at computer games and the gaming market. Also we cover the impact of gaming and the trends.
Games are powerful. People can spend a lot of time playing games. Games are also great motivators. People do things that don´t even like, if they feel like they are playing game. Gamififcation is the use of game mechanics to motivate people to do stuff they generally would not do.
In this lecture we explore some of the elements of gamification. We will also look at casual games and multiplayer games, player types and player emotions.
Social media expert Roger Harris outlines a view of gaming from the perspective of the changing world of social media. This presentation was given at the Triangle Gaming Conference, May 30, 2009.
The first computer games go back to the 50s when a nought and crosses game was created using an EDSAC computer. An effort at MIT ten years later led to a the multiplayer Spacewar game developed in a PDP-1. Even though these games were primitive, a game industry was born with the first games available in special locations – arcades. Today’s games are produced with modest Hollywood budgets and some are selling more than box-office hits.
Games are powerful. People can spend a lot of time playing games. Games are also great motivators. People do things that don´t even like, if they feel like they are playing game. Gamififcation is the use of game mechanics to motivate people to do stuff they generally would not do.
The first computer games go back to the 50s when a nought and crosses game was created using an EDSAC computer. An effort at MIT ten years later led to a the multiplayer Spacewar game developed in a PDP-1. Even though these games were primitive, a game industry was born with the first games available in special locations – arcades. Today’s games are produced with modest Hollywood budgets and some are selling more than box-office hits.
In this lecture we look at computer games and the gaming market. Also we cover the impact of gaming and the trends.
Games are powerful. People can spend a lot of time playing games. Games are also great motivators. People do things that don´t even like, if they feel like they are playing game. Gamififcation is the use of game mechanics to motivate people to do stuff they generally would not do.
In this lecture we explore some of the elements of gamification. We will also look at casual games and multiplayer games, player types and player emotions.
The first computer games go back to the 50s when a nought and crosses game was created using an EDSAC computer. An effort at MIT ten years later led to a the multiplayer Spacewar game developed in a PDP-1. Even though these games were primitive, a game industry was born with the first games available in special locations – arcades. Today’s games are produced with modest Hollywood budgets and some are selling more than box-office hits.
he Internet is becoming a practical platform for the games. The growth is in both on-line games and connectivity of games. A new genre of games has appeared – casual games. These are simple and short games that people can play for short sessions.
In this lecture we look at computer games and the gaming market. Also we cover the impact of gaming and the trends.
Video games have enjoyed sustained economic and cultural success for nearly four decades, with their success often attributed to their interactive nature: passive audiences become active users with a vested stake in the on-screen experience. However, as games continue their evolution from singular challenge/skill puzzles to narrative-rich virtual worlds, the manner in which we play and are affected by this play has been called into question. Specifically, given that users do not have an unlimited ability to process stimuli, one might challenge the implicit assumption that gamers interact with and are influenced by all on-screen content in a similar fashion. The following presentation outlines emerging theory and research into the ways in which gamers attend to different on-screen content, and how this implicit and explicit attention can impact the overall entertainment experience.
(An audio recording of the talk will be made available at: http://iutelecomgrad.wordpress.com/)
Games: The Next Step (@ Expert Meeting Future Exploration Serious Games)Ex Machina
Jeroen Elfferich's presentation at the Expert Meeting Future Exploration Serious Games, held at the KNAW (Royal Academy of Sciences) the 20th of October, 2010
Now you can take action by playing our Endanger! game series to end Endangered Species from extinction. Endanger! is the first 3D VR/mobile/PC game to virtually and socially find & save endangered species and their habitats. Save Edu the Elephant before the poachers kill him and cut his ivory tusks off his dead body. Get him to the rescue center. Post your leaderboard score and save elephants from extinction with our social platform.
Experience Elephant and Panda habitat loss and poachers traps from the animal’s point of view, immersing in Savannas, Forests and Jungles, around the planet. Our mission is to engage and immerse players in conservation and eco-branding while having fun with green planet issues.
The first computer games go back to the 50s when a nought and crosses game was created using an EDSAC computer. An effort at MIT ten years later led to a the multiplayer Spacewar game developed in a PDP-1. Even though these games were primitive, a game industry was born with the first games available in special locations – arcades. Today’s games are produced with modest Hollywood budgets and some are selling more than box-office hits.
he Internet is becoming a practical platform for the games. The growth is in both on-line games and connectivity of games. A new genre of games has appeared – casual games. These are simple and short games that people can play for short sessions.
In this lecture we look at computer games and the gaming market. Also we cover the impact of gaming and the trends.
Video games have enjoyed sustained economic and cultural success for nearly four decades, with their success often attributed to their interactive nature: passive audiences become active users with a vested stake in the on-screen experience. However, as games continue their evolution from singular challenge/skill puzzles to narrative-rich virtual worlds, the manner in which we play and are affected by this play has been called into question. Specifically, given that users do not have an unlimited ability to process stimuli, one might challenge the implicit assumption that gamers interact with and are influenced by all on-screen content in a similar fashion. The following presentation outlines emerging theory and research into the ways in which gamers attend to different on-screen content, and how this implicit and explicit attention can impact the overall entertainment experience.
(An audio recording of the talk will be made available at: http://iutelecomgrad.wordpress.com/)
Games: The Next Step (@ Expert Meeting Future Exploration Serious Games)Ex Machina
Jeroen Elfferich's presentation at the Expert Meeting Future Exploration Serious Games, held at the KNAW (Royal Academy of Sciences) the 20th of October, 2010
Now you can take action by playing our Endanger! game series to end Endangered Species from extinction. Endanger! is the first 3D VR/mobile/PC game to virtually and socially find & save endangered species and their habitats. Save Edu the Elephant before the poachers kill him and cut his ivory tusks off his dead body. Get him to the rescue center. Post your leaderboard score and save elephants from extinction with our social platform.
Experience Elephant and Panda habitat loss and poachers traps from the animal’s point of view, immersing in Savannas, Forests and Jungles, around the planet. Our mission is to engage and immerse players in conservation and eco-branding while having fun with green planet issues.
2. - can a video game really help create
the social change and consciousness
raising we need on so many fronts?
3. “Ethical’’ computer games have begun to start emerging with games such as the UN released Food Force,
a game about distributing aid to disaster zones. It prompted a flurry of interest in games with real-life
applications, especially for children.
Games need difficult, negative or
uncomfortable experiences to create the
kind of compassion and understanding
necessary for social change.
Bad experiences in games are important,
because they’re essential to creating
empathy. Getting “screwed out of loot” in
WoW can teach a player what it means to
be taken out of something you feel you’ve
rightly earned, and that design principle can
encourage players to better empathise with
others in the real world.
When a game forces players to take actions
or confront issues with which they’re
uncomfortable, it makes them reflect on
what they are doing and why they’re doing
it which can often lead to very positive
results.
4. Games allow you to make choices unlike many other mediums putting the user in a very empowering
position. Games could offer interesting results for those choices that could tie into real world issues. The
possibilities are endless.
As we play games we are changing what we are capable of as human beings, we’re evolving to be more
collaborative and hearty species.
The average country with a strong gamer culture will spend 10,00 hours playing online games by the age
of 21. This number is similar to the amount of hours you would spend in a classroom in high school. This
means that games are virtually an unprecedented human resource.
In those 10,000 hours of game time what are the gamers getting so good at?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE1DuBesGYM
5. Games for Change (also known as G4C) is a movement and community of practice dedicated to using
computer and video for social change. They believe that by making the virtual world more like the real
world, players will be able to use the skills from the video to tackle real world problems and come up
with new and innovative solutions.
They seek to harness the extraordinary power of video games to engage the public in the most
pressing issues of our day, including poverty, human rights, global conflict and climate change.
Founded in 2004, Games for Change is a voice for the transformative power of games, bringing
together organisations 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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjFigVpODmI
6. There are still many sceptics that games can change society however, with many questioning the
convergence of the playful world of games with the world of social crisis.
Major game companies have largely ignored social-change games. The corporate games industry is risk-
averse and consider that there’s an awful lot of academic work and social-change work where the user is
not entertained enough to launch it in the first place.
Another problem is the world’s real-life issues, the crisis of Darfur and the squalor of Haiti seem
insurmountable, they make people throw up their hands in a way they don’t with problems posed in a video
game.
Also developers aren’t going to change much if gamers don’t change themselves. If you brought up a game
about the genocide in Rawanda to a person, their first thought would be of a gamer shooting a group of
Tutsi with a machine gun. If people’s notions about gaming changed, then the first thought would not run
towards a murder simulator but of the great strengths
an interactive experience could apply to such a subject.
Games can teach us that we can actually tackle
these monstrous problems bit by bit, pick them apart,
disassemble them, turn each one into something simple
that we can tackle.
Games that encourage us to virtually tackle the
world’s worst problems might just give people the
urge to tackle them in real life as well.