The non-profit organisation Games For Change is holding its second annual 'Videogames for Social Change' Conference in New York this weekend. Open to the public for the first time, the event draws together, "organisations attempting to reach young people for social change, media experts and socially conscious games developers", and features game demos, talks and design sessions. The press release continues:
"'We're finally starting to see examples of videogames that positively inspire and empower our youth,' said Benjamin Stokes, Games for Change co-founder and a program manager at NetAid, a New York-based independent non-profit organization that fights global poverty.
Although hidden from the popular radar, the movement is rapidly growing: State Senators are using games to balance the Massachusetts budget, asthma patients are learning better health practices, and the United Nations is teaching a little of what's involved in delivering food aid to a famine-stricken country."
It's an interesting and admirable attempt to explore the educational possibilities of games and - by letting the public in - convincing American parents that games aren't quite the predominantly malign influence they're made out to be by some. Of course, the problem here is that rightwing campaigners SHOUT LOUDER than anyone else. Plus, it is difficult to combat the emotive language of righteous condemnation, and the freedom from responsibility that it offers, with intellectual discussion amid like-minded professionals.
The screenshot is of Food Force, one of the UN's educational games.
I like the basic assumption of the event, however, that games can and indeed must comment on real issues. As Suzanne Seggerman, Games for Change co-founder and Project Director at WebLab, puts it, "Just as documentary filmmakers use their medium to address important social issues, so too can games deeply engage audiences around the pressing issues of our day."
Check out the work of developers such as Persuasive Games (responsible for the Food Force and Airport Insecurity games on the UN website) and Powerful Robot and you'll see how interactivity can provide the perfect medium to communicate complex issues.
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