By: Stefan Kolle
Several initiatives to do some real world good by using the virtual world of gaming struck my eye today.
One Big Game is a non-profit that wants to raise funds for children's charities by involving the gaming industry. Their slogan is 'Play, so others can'. Although early stage, they show an impressive advisory board, and I'm optimistic this initiative will succeed.
The idea? Game developers donate games, One Big Game monetizes them, all the proceeds go to childrens charities around te world. By calling on developers to put together nice little projects, spin-offs, spoofs etc. that don't take massive development, they hope to seduce them to do a little something the best way they can.
On the cross-section between Serious Games and Alternate Reality Gaming, here's one to keep an eye on: World without Oil. To be launched on April 30th, it will surely be an immersive experience (as it's being developed by Jane McGonigal, who has developed some of the best ARGs so far) – at the same time getting a message across.
We see several interesting projects in this area at the same time (see also my article on Machinima in non-profit marketing),and I think that's a good thing. Non-profits can benefit from the community character of gaming, and have serious impact at low cost.
