Postcard from 2006 Games For Change Annual Conference
- Big Media’s Interest in Social Change Games - Sande Chen

For the second session of the Games For Change Annual Conference on Tuesday, June 27, 2006, Tessie Topol, Manager of Strategic Partnerships and Public Affairs at thinkMTV, and Kate Connally, VP of AddictingGames, represented talked about how 'big media' - that is, large media firms - viewed the idea of games for social change. These big media companies might be viewed as the polar opposite of grassroots efforts of social change. However, both Topol and Connally indicated that with its visibility and distribution, big firms such as MTV can significantly increase the profile of activism.

As Topol explained, today’s youth are very interested in social issues such as global politics, sexual health, and racial stereotyping. According to the “Just Cause: Today’s Activism” research study conducted by thinkMTV, over 70% of the 1200 youths in the study believed helping the community and others was important, yet only 19% would describe themselves as very involved. Clearly, young people have enthusiasm but need direction in how to volunteer and participate in social issues.

The key themes that emerged from the study indicate that pro-social organizations should leverage technology and online social networks to be everywhere young people are. They should provide ways of participating and staying connected through mobile and new media devices. In particular, thinkMTV, which represents the pro-social interests of MTV, looks to video games to close that “activation gap” between intent and action. The organization’s primary goal is in tying these activist interests to real-world actions.

Thus, with its primary partner Games for Change, thinkMTV has launched several initiatives in regards to serious games. It launched “Gaming Gets Serious” programming for a week last year, the Urban Video Game Academy in response to racial stereotyping, and is considering an online social activist network for audiences. thinkMTV also partners with the Gates Foundation and other non-profit organizations for issues on education and sexual health.

Connally also found that young people are interested in social change games. Her site, a part of Atom Entertainment Inc., has over 1500 free online games, attracting over 8 million unique visitors a month, primarily young males, 13-30 years old. She likes social change games because they are topical, viral, and present a different approach. For instance, a Cheney shooter game based on current events brought in a lot of people who had never played games on the site before. Games like Zombie Escape, a sidescroller about resisting peer pressure, and the political parody McDonald’s Videogame have also had strong replay rates.

Connally pointed out that distribution of the organization’s message in a game would be vastly improved if placed on a site like AddictingGames. A small Flash-based casual game could have low production value but still be a good game. Since AddictingGames launches twelve free online games a week, it has a constant need for games. Scouts actively scour the web looking for games, and users can upload their own games as well. AddictingGames also provides a good way to gauge audience reaction since it watches the numbers carefully to see which games are doing well on the site.

For the non-profit organization interested in this route, Connally suggested creating a couple of low-end experimental games to see how they would do, and further expand on the one that does best. She stressed that gameplay was of utmost importance, and that a good message would not be seen in a game with bad gameplay. Humor and simplicity were also noted as advantages. Over time, the group would be able to develop its message through sequels and find ways to involve the audience, such as providing a URL for further information.

It’s not always about the money, Connally cautioned, but about getting a message out to the masses. For downloadable casual games with a demo, only 2-3% of downloads translate into a sale. Casual games are a growing market, but they will not sell if they are targeted to 17-year-old boys. Most casual gamers are women over the age of 45. She also mentioned that there are a number of interesting developments in advergaming.

Finally, when asked what was a common pitfall in dealing with big media, Topol advised doing research on what the organization finds important. “We got a call asking how to connect the Poet Laureate to the audience,“ she said. “This isn't what we're doing right now. Go to the website, look at what we're working on, and see if a partnership makes sense.” In regards to whether indie developers could ever partner with thinkMTV, Topol suggested getting involved with Games for Change.