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The Global Serious Game Jam



Via: Games For ChangeGlobal Game Jam Announces New Games For Change Locations

On January 25-27 hundreds of game makers around the world will create "Serious Games" for social impact in a single weekend.

PRESS RELEASE

Global Game Jam Inc. (GGJ) announced last week a new partnership with Games for Change (please find also Serious Games in Latin America: G4C Festival 2nd Edition), to celebrate G4C’s 10th anniversary and allow GGJ13 participants from all over the world to visit sites that focus specifically on positive social impact.

Jesse Schell, renowned game designer, author and Carnegie Mellon Professor will deliver a special video keynote to launch this unique effort on January 25th.

Through this partnership, GGJ site organizers will be offered the opportunity to register their site as a G4C site, and invite participants to create innovative digital games that go beyond entertainment. 

G4C has a purpose to raise awareness around real-world issues, promote learning, change behavior or recruit other players to support a cause.

With a record 275 sites already registered, the annual event has successfully enlisted new G4C-dedicated sites including the MIT Game Lab, the School of Visual Arts in New York, the Art Institute of Portland, George Mason University in Virginia, Bento Miso in Toronto, CanadaAkademia Leona Koźmińskiego in Warsaw, Poland and the University of São Paulo, Brazil.

GGJ has proven itself to be an incubator for innovative experiments and even new startups and products. We want to support a growing interest in game design to tackle and solve real-world problems through their creative work,” said Susan Gold, president of Global Game Jam, Inc. “GGJ is the place to test new ideas, collaborate, experiment and innovate.”

While GGJ will have thousands of new games created, we are excited that dozens of new positive social impact Serious Games will come to realization by the end of the weekend. Even more exciting is that these games will be highlighted on the G4C website and hopefully at the upcoming festival.

“This idea stands at the core of our mission,” said Games for Change Co-Presidents, Michelle Byrd and Asi Burak. “Imagine the impact of directing all of those creative energies over a period of 48 hours into making the world a better place using the power and engagement of games.”

About Global Game Jam

The GGJ is the annual event of the GlobalGame Jam, Inc. GGJ brings together talented individuals and teams from around the globe and rallies them around a central theme, for which they have 48 hours to create their game.

About Games for Change

Founded in 2004, Games for Change facilitates the creation and distribution of social impact games that serve as critical tools in humanitarian and educational efforts. Unlike the commercial gaming industry, they aim to leverage entertainment and engagement for social good.

To further grow the field, Games for Change convenes multiple stakeholders, highlights best practices, incubates games, and helps create and direct investment into new projects.