THE GAMES FOR CHANGE LAB

Michelle Byrd & Asi Burak

Aug 31, 2012

G4C MAKERS AND FUNDERS

Individuals and organizations that are interested in or actively pursuing computer & video games to further their mission (philanthropic, public interest, academic, etc.)

• Non-profits

• Foundations

• Philanthropists

• Corporations (CSR)

• Social Entrepreneurs

• Government Agencies

• Educational Institutions

• Documentary Filmmakers

• Book Publishers

• Game Companies

- $60B Global business

- 97% of teenagers in America*

- 60% of casual gamers are women*

- 27 is the average age of social gamers

WHY GAMES?

Pew Report, Nielsen

Games are expanding to become the most dominant media of the 21st century:

GAMES AND LEARNING

Federation of American Scientists & National Science Foundation*:

* National Summit on Educational Games

“Games offer critical attributes for 21st century learning.”

21st CENTURY SKILL BUILDING

Playing and making games foster critical skills necessary for success in a rapidly changing 21st Century world.

+ Systems thinking+ Digital media literacy+ Iterative process+ Creativity+ Problem solving + Team building + Planning & execution+ Collaboration

UBQUITY AND COMPLEXITY

XBOX 36027M

Wii45M

Mobile devicesBillions

PCsBillions

Sony PSP42M

Nintendo DS96M

Play power $10TV computer

Wii Ware Sony PSNNetwork

XBLA Sony PS319M

Sony PS250M

Our methodology to create games that

have meaningful social impact

G4C THE 8 STEPS

Developed in partnership with

Audience(1)

Financials(5)

Context(2)

Platform(4)

Assessment (8)

Gameplay(6)

Execution(7)

Impact(3)

Audience(1)

Context(2)

Who is it designed for?R e g i o n , a g e , d e m o g r a p h i c , p s y c h o g r a p h i c , m e d i a a n d

g a m i n g a c c e s s i b i l i t y a n d a b i l i t y

When & how is it played?M o d e r a t e d v s . u n - m o d e r a t e d , h o m e , s c h o o l , a ft e r - s c h o o l ,

l i b r a r y , c o m m u n i t y c e n t e r

Impact(3)

Platform(4)

What is the goal?J o b s k i l l s , 2 1 s t c e n t u r y s k i l l s , m o ti v a ti o n , a w a r e n e s s ,

f u n d r a i s i n g , b e h a v i o r c h a n g e , r e a l - w o r l d a c ti o n

What is the right technology?C o n s o l e , c o n s o l e d o w n l o a d , h a n d h e l d , P C , F a c e b o o k , m o b i l e

(5)

Gameplay(6)

Understanding the fi nancialsC o s t t o l a u n c h , c o s t t o s u s t a i n , c o s t t o u s e r ,

i m p a c t - f r i e n d l y r e v e n u e m o d e l s

What is the design?O r g a n i c a l i g n m e n t o f w h a t m a k e s g a m e f u n a n d

w h a t m a k e s g a m e i m p a c tf u l

Sustainability

(7)

Assessment(8)

From concept to launch & beyondTe a m - b u i l d i n g , r a p i d p r o t o t y p i n g , t r o u b l e s h o o ti n g ,

m a r k e ti n g , d i s t r i b u ti o n & s u p p o r t

How to measure success?R e a l - ti m e & e m b e d d e d a s s e s s m e n t m o d e l s ,

p o r tf o l i o m a n a g e m e n t

Execution

Four packages: from concept

stage to launch and beyond

G4C OUR OFFERING

ORIENTATION TO SOCIAL IMPACT GAMES (2-4 HOURS)

• Focus on games around issues and audiences of most concern to your organization.

• A customized presentation with relevant game examples, their impact, and a discussion of where the most promising potential lies for new games.

• Possible formats: Session for your staff, a panel embedded in a larger conference, or an extended panel that includes a mini “games expo” and reception.

G4C PACKAGE A.

CONCEPT WORKSHOP (2-3 WEEKS)

• Review of current materials, including: written documents and grants, web-site content, films and videos.

• Market snapshot.

• A half-day customized workshop to walk your organization through the 8 Steps Methodology and form a solid concept and high-level plan for a game project.

• Summary document: conclusions & recommendations to be communicated to funders and internal decision makers.

G4C PACKAGE B.

FROM CONCEPT TO VENDOR SELECTION (1-2 MONTHS)

• Concept workshop (package B)• Form project core team• Stakeholder interviews• Customer development• Deep dive into the 8 Steps Methodology• Prepare pitch for funders and internal decision-makers• RFP’s, vendor interviews and selection

G4C PACKAGE C.

PREMIUM PACKAGE (FULL SUPPORT)The full-range of executive producing services, serving as the agent of the client in supervising and supporting the project from concept phase to launch and beyond:

• Discovery phase: market snapshot, core team formation, customer development, 8 steps methodology, concept document, RFP, vendor selection.

• Development phase: design specs approval, streamlining input from content experts, supervising development process, scalability and sustainability plans, partnerships formation.

• Deployment phase: technical testing, alpha and beta testing with end-users and content experts, preparing assessment tools, preparing launch.

• Sustainability: hosting, product iterations based on feedback, releasing episodic or new content, tweaking financial models as appropriate.

G4C PACKAGE D.

Asi BurakCo-President

Co-founder Impact Games, creators of the internationally acclaimed gaming platforms PeaceMaker & Play the News.

Veteran game-maker, tech executive, and a social entrepreneur.

G4C ADVISORY TEAM

Michelle ByrdCo-President

Former Executive Director of IFP (Independent Filmmaker Project)

Executive producer of high-quality celebrity attended events, strategic partnerships with corporations, NGOs and government.

USAIDA Facebook game and mobile games with Pulitzer Prize-winning NYT journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn based on their bestselling book.

Portfolio of new games, re-published games and development kits aimed to empower youth in the Middle East.

WORLD BANK INSTITUTE

Game projects aimed at policy makers in developing countries (Asia, Africa and East Europe).

AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Refining the Museum’s strategy around the integration of high-end interactive tools into its educational and youth programmatic initiatives.

HALF THE SKY / NICK KRISTOF

G4C CURRENT PROJECTS

South Korea

Europe (France)

Latin America (Brazil)

United States (NY)

Australia

www.gamesforchange.org

asi@gamesforchange.org // @aburakmichelle@gamesforchange.org // @mbyrd