Daily Archives: April 3, 2012

Gaming With A Cause: Catalysts for Change

Posted by Chad Knick on

Well folks, once again I find myself stumbling upon a game that can actually assist the lives of many. Now I know that I’ve discussed the idea that gaming can actually help form a better world, and you know my deep appreciation for folks like Jane McGonigal. Well, the Institute for the Future has done it again. Today April 3rd they launched a game campaign called:

Catalysts for Change: A Game To Discover Paths out of Poverty.

Now I have my mixed feelings about social interaction games where it becomes a series of blog posts and social interactions between people. The sociological and psychological aspects of this though are so engrossing to me that I had to take a look. Essentially what you do is register to play the game, and then you can start playing cards which are viewable here.

With so many people in poverty today - we should share our voices to solve it.

Here’s how it works:

You are given either Positive Imagination cards, or Critical Imagination cards. Positive cards describe positive ideas and paths out of poverty. Critical Imagination cards are cards that could lead to greater vulnerability. You can play as many or as few cards as you like but the point is to use these card points to begin engaging people. Once the ideas are spread perhaps they will want to join in on spreading similar ideas and thus the motion of the game progresses into this social brainstorming activity that will last for 48 hours.

Once you play a card there are other cards that others can play off of these idea cards. Momentum, Antagonism, Adaptation, and Investigation.

You earn points based on the amount of engagement you gain during discussions.

Momentum cards are whenever you pose a question that asks:

“How can we build off this idea? What would happen next?”

Antagonism cards are whenever you disagree with an idea and wish to address what’s wrong with it:

” This idea lacks… I think we should…”

Adaptation cards are when you agree with an idea, but choose to accommodate it to your particular region or grouping:

“I love your idea, but I feel that in my country we will probably have to…”

Investigation cards are any time you have questions about an idea and wish to find out more information to gain clarity towards the discussion.

“I appreciate your idea, but could you please explain…”

Now, what exactly are my feelings on all of this social gaming towards the benefit of solving poverty? I love the idea – because gaming is a social media aspect anyways. It promotes socialization and teamwork. We work better at problem solving when we’re grouped together, and honestly, solving poverty sounds like a better solution for our nation than solving a zombie horde in CoD: Black Ops.

My point is, that while I may not agree with the email/blog social interaction gameplay mechanic, I’m just not used to the mechanics of this type of game and I’m getting used to the concept. We need to find ways to allow people to make changes in this world, and not just in virtual ones. You know it astonishes me that people spend so much money on World of Warcraft gear [ REAL MONEY! Check Ebay! ] and yet we are dealing with a poverty-stricken world outside of the virtual one they inhabit.

Perhaps that’s why MMO’s were built? – to hide us away from the sad realization of our world existence. We want virtual worlds, where poverty isn’t even a word and where raiding for gold is as easy as a mouse click. Imagine though if we could devise a way to help poverty that was as easy as a mouse click? Would you join in on a game designed to aid poverty? World-wide poverty? If your ideas had the power to spread action into the lives of others would you do it? How? Would you build a game, or start a blog, or start a youth group of active innovators? The idea of Catalysts for Change is to get people playing a real-life MMO. No, not LARPing, but real people interacting with real people.

Games, if posed in this manner, can change the world. We can make a difference if we expose ideas and generate content that can benefit the world around us. You can check out and join the Catalysts for Change game and it starts as 4 pm GMT time and will run until 4 pm GMT on April 5th. Join the change and let’s see if we can’t make a difference for a better tomorrow!

Development: MolyJam 2012 Wrap Up

Posted by Chad Knick on

Well folks, the wonderful MolyJam 2012 has come and gone, and now only the games remain. This quirky, out-of-the-box, off-the-wall range of ideas from the odd mind of a green pixel named Peter Molydeux, has brought some amazing concepts and, shall we say, very unique array of indie games from all over the world. There are so many that it certainly hard to cover ALL of them in detail within this one post, but I’m going to try and cover some of my favorites throughout this post. I hope you enjoy these odd titles as much as I did.

I haven’t had a chance to play all of these an most of these are Windows run games [ I learned from experience folks ] but if you’ve got the time and energy to take a look at some of these indie gems I totally suggest it. I’m only going to present a few of them, primarily ones that have content you can view here, but there’s so many that honestly you’re just going to have to gauge for yourself. Here goes, welcome to the world of Peter Molydeux and what his oddities have created.

MolyJam Seattle:

Unbearable 

Molydeux Tweet: “You are a bear but for some reason your oxygen comes from hugging people. Problem is that hugging people breaks their bones.”

 

MolyJam Australia:

The Spandex Parable

Molydeux Tweet: “You know, what if the aim of the game was to resist actually completing it? That kept me up all night yesterday.”

 

The Miner

Molydeux Tweet: “Imagine a world where people don’t talk, physical words are hidden underground. You must travel the world hunting ‘I’, ‘love’ and ‘you’.”

 

MolyJam Netherlands:

My Last Friend

Molydeux Tweet: “You’re a scarecrow in a world with just 1 bird”

 

MolyJam Montreal:

Friends ‘Til The End

Molydeux Tweet: “You play as a small boy with a remote control helicoptor that is alive and your friend, then you discover a nuclear missle inside it”

 

MolyJam Monterrey 

Plug and Slay

Molydeux Tweet: “What if you lived in a world where all guns are required to be plugged into wall sockets? Now THAT would be a tactical shooter wouldn’t it?”

 

All of these games are very simple, and most have surprisingly accessible mechanics involved. The most interesting aspect that I find comes from game jams like this, and why I feel we need to do this more often, is because it breaks us from the mundane. It tears us away from our FPS universe of game design which we, unfortunately, live in today. The games that I’ve posed here [ and the hundreds that were submitted worldwide ] are games that evoke something in us. An emotion comes over us and we’re invested in the game. Watch. You’ll see.

You may think that playing a game with a bear who needs constant affection, or playing a scarecrow who can’t move but desires love from another living creature is a boring concept for a game. Everyone has rights to their own opinions, but what intrigues me about these games [ all of the ones submitted to MolyJam ] is that they took simple concepts and made them into meaningful and intriguing games. So, whether you’re a ‘hardcore’ gamer and wouldn’t dream of touching an indie nugget for the life of you – or you’re a light-hearted video game savant who loves games for the art of it all – I severely suggest checking out the entire listing of MolyJam games.

Many of these games can be played from your computer, but some have added accessibility by allowing for use of a controller of your choice [ PS3, XBox – anything with a USB cord ] Now these are just a small sampling of the games that were submitted over the 48 hour period of MolyJam and so if you’re curious you can go and check out ALL of the submissions and download the games for FREE here:

MolyJam Game Archive

Note: Now folks, let us remember, these games were made in 48 hours. If you’re expecting high-end quality production value I’d try and lower your expectations. Some of the games are incomplete, lack certain physics standards, etc. Don’t let that take away from the enjoyment or the experience. These games are more about the fun and the emotion they evoke than anything else.

In closing folks, this past few days of playing these 48 hour nuggets of awesome has inspired me to truly start working on my own concepts as well and taking them from paper to actual production level. I’ll be using GameSalad, and or GameMaker, and so I’ll keep you folks posted as to when I begin that lush journey into the sea of indie building. I hope you all enjoy these games and get something out of their messages:

Games can be simple, evoke emotion, and have more meaning to a player than mere achievements and trophies. The days of old are gone. It’s time to open up a new slate and share ideas, meaningful ones, with the world.