Games for change
In short Games made to address social issues and move players toward understanding or action.
Definition
Games for change are games made to address social issues, such as poverty, conflict, health, the climate, and civic life, and to move players toward understanding or action. The phrase names both a body of work and a movement: the nonprofit Games for Change, founded in 2004, runs a festival and awards that gave the field a meeting place and a name. These games range from small browser pieces made in weeks to full commercial releases. What unites them is intent and audience, not form: they are often made for people who would not call themselves players, and they are judged by what players think, feel, or do once the game is over.
Not to be confused with
- Persuasive game
A persuasive game is defined by its method, arguing through its rules, and may argue for anything, including a product; games for change are defined by their social aim, whatever method they use.
- Serious game
Serious game is the wider category, covering training, health, and teaching; games for change are the part of it concerned with social issues.
- Educational game
An educational game teaches a subject toward a curriculum, while a game for change aims at awareness, empathy, or action on an issue.
Where the game lives
- rules: used
- goals: used
- feedback: used
- uncertainty: used
- choice: used
- play: used
Games for change are defined by intent rather than structure, so any structure can carry the message; many make their point by denying the player a win, using an unreachable goal as the argument.
used dropped · What the six structures are
Examples
Darfur is DyingSusana Ruiz and a University of Southern California student team, with mtvU, 2006
A short browser game about life in a Darfur refugee camp that asks players to take action afterward.
SpentMcKinney for Urban Ministries of Durham, 2011
A month of choices on a minimum-wage budget, built to show how close ordinary people live to homelessness.
Never AloneUpper One Games and E-Line Media, 2014
A commercial platformer made with Iñupiat elders and storytellers to share their traditional stories.
In the essays
No essay takes this term on directly yet. Its neighbors in the guide are linked above; the newsletter announces new essays.
Sources
- WebsiteGames for Change. The nonprofit organization, founded in 2004, that runs the Games for Change Festival and Awards.
- BookValues at Play in Digital Games. MIT Press, 2014. Reading list
- BookCritical Play: Radical Game Design. MIT Press, 2009. Reading list