Gaming for Good – Games for Change Visits the NPC

jeff ramos of Games for Change at the NPC

Jeff Ramos, Community and Content Manager at Games for Change (G4C), visited the Nonprofit Commons last week to discuss how G4C is on a mission to “catalyze social impact through digital games.” Every mother on an equally ambitious mission to curb the addiction of her 13 year-old’s videogaming habits can take a sigh of sweet relief knowing that all this gaming is for good cause thanks to organizations like G4C.  Founded in 2004, Games for Change has embraced the space between leveraging entertainment and engagement for social good.

games for change logoUnlike its counterparts in the commercial gaming industry, G4C aims to: “bring together funders, NGOs, corporations, government agencies and educators to offer a new suite of services to guide organizations, and individuals that are actively pursuing games to further their public, philanthropic or academic mission.”

And let’s face it, they hit the sweetspot jackpot – because who would say no to making the world a better place by playing games? And as Jeff pointed out at the Nonprofit Commons, “games allow us to discuss complex subject matters in a context that is safe and allegoric. We can use game mechanics, metaphors, and clever storytelling to talk about a subject in a way that’s harder to do in traditional media.”

Read on for the full transcript from the Nonprofit Commons meetup on February 10, 2012….

CHAT LOG NONPROFIT COMMONS

February 10 2012

 

Nonprofit Commons Meeting

February 10, 2012, 8:30am PST

Plush Nonprofit Commons Amphitheater

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/88/126/26

AGENDA

  • 8:30am Introductions
  • 8:40am TechSoup Announcements
  • 8:45am Mentors Central
  • 8:55am Jeff Ramos, Games for Change
  • 9:30am OpenMic/ Announcements

 

jeff ramos of Games for Change at the NPC

INTRODUCTIONS

[08:33]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): hi folks

[08:33]  CarynTopia Silvercloud: Caryn Heilman, Topia Arts Center, @topiaartscenter, www.TopiaArts.org in NYC today and in Berkshires later

[08:33]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): sorry had trouble logging in this morning

[08:34]  jefframos: Should I move?

[08:34]  Gentle Heron: Gosh isn’t it great when you can finally SEE the folks who are chatting to you? Hello everyone I managed NOT to sit on this morning.

[08:34]  Anastasios Aurotharius: hello Rik

[08:34]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): hold up things are still rezzing

[08:34]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): jeff feel free to sit in the audience until I call ou up later

[08:35]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): it looks like people might have started to introduce themselves?

[08:35]  jefframos: Oh, that’ s a good idea

[08:35]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): If it wasn’t stated before, welcome to the Nonprofit Commons weekly meetup.

[08:35]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): I’m Rik Panganiban, community manager of the NPC.

[08:36]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): I’m joined by Gliteractica Cookie, founder of the NPC.

[08:36]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): great to see everyone today!

[08:36]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): Hi Rik

[08:36]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: Hi Rik

[08:36]  Ozma Malibu: Hey Rik! And Glitter!

[08:36]  Glitteractica Cookie: welcome one and all

[08:36]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): AS always we start with introductions. So please type your real life name, location, organiation, URL and twitter handle into the text chat, if you like.

[08:37]  HB Eternal: Harold W Becker, The Love Foundation, Florida, http://www.thelovefoundation.com @lovefoundation

[08:37]  Chayenn: Monique Richert, Protect Yourself 1, Inc., Baltimore MD, protectyourself1.org, @PY1US

[08:37]  Panny Bakerly: Jeanne Booth Freeport Historical Society, Freeport NY freeporthistorymuseum.org

[08:37]  Ozma Malibu: Sandy Andrews, Floaters Org, Arizona, Mexico and On The Road, @ozma

[08:37]  Zinnia Zauber: Renne Emiko Brock-Richmond, Sequim Humanities and Arts Alliance, Sequim, Washington. http://www.sequimartsalliance.org http://www.facebook.com/sequimartsalliance @renneemiko

[08:37]  Glitteractica Cookie: Susan Tenby, Online Community Director, TechSOup Global, San Francisco, CA USA @suzboop @techsoup

[08:37]  Gentle Heron: Virtual Ability, Inc. www.virtualability.org and now experimenting with Facebook, Twitter, and a blog, all available from our website.

[08:37]  Chad Mikado: Chad Gobert

[08:37]  bulaklak: Michael DeLong, Online Community Manager, TechSoup, www.techsoup.org @TechSoup @MichaelDeLongSF, San Francisco

[08:37]  Brena Benoir: Brenda Bryan, Preferred Family Healthcare, Kirksville, Missouri; www.pfh.org, @brenabenoir

[08:37]  DJ Earnshaw: Don Singleton, Tulsa, OK (DJ Earnshaw, Professor Viper) HelpingTulsa and APCUG, http://snipurl.com/tk41d @donsingleton

[08:37]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): Bruce Hestley, Transgender American Veterans Association, Akron, OH, http://www.tavausa.org

[08:37]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: Bruce Hestley, Transgender American Veterans Association, Akron, OH, http://www.tavausa.org

[08:37]  Ethelred Weatherwax: Dave Dexter, Neenah Historical Society, Wisconsin USA

[08:37]  Aldon Huffhines: Hi. This is Aldon… Community Health Center Inc. in CT. Long time since I’ve been around…

[08:38]  Kali Idziak: Jessica Dally, Community Voice Mail, Seattle, WA http://www.cvm.org

[08:38]  Dancers Yao: Kara Bennett, Elder Voices, Los Angeles, Health Care and Human Rights www.eldervoices.net

[08:38]  Anastasios Aurotharius: Ben Linson, engineer, entrepreneur, facilitator www.entrepreneurclubboston.org

[08:38]  Hour Destiny: Morris Cox, Mesquite NV, @morriscox (DAZ 3D just released a bunch of 3D software for free. Daz Studio Pro, Bryce 7 Pro, and Hexagon. https://www.daz3d.com/i/3d/free-3d-software-overview?home_5_btn=start Over $2300 worth for free.)

[08:38]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Rik Panganiban, Nonprofit Commons / TechSoup, Oakland CA, nonprofitcommons.org @betterverse @npsl

[08:38]  jefframos: Jeff Ramos, Brooklyn, NY. Community and Content Manager at Games for Change. http://www.gamesforchange.org/@G4C@OhJeffRamos

[08:38]  Zotarah Shepherd: BEACH College, Sonoma CA

[08:38]  alebez: Ale Bezdikian, Online Community Coordinator, TechSoup, San Francisco, Ca. @alebez

[08:39]  Adalace Jewell: Corine Van Hellemont, RoSa Library Brussels, Belgium http://www.rosadoc.be @adalace

[08:39]  Hour Destiny: Will Wright is StupidFunWill in SL. Too bad he’s not logged in.

[08:39]  Hi everyone

[08:40]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): welcoem, jac

[08:40]  jacmacaire Humby: Jacques Macaire HUMANBE http://www.humanbe.com Council and Action Tank on Sustainable Development France and International @Humanbe

[08:42]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): anyone else?

 

 

TECHSOUP UPDATES

[08:42]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): If not, let me call up Bulaklak to give our weekly rundown of TechSoup news and opportunities for you all

[08:42]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Bulaklak?

[08:43]  bulaklak: Hello!

[08:43]  Glitteractica Cookie: hello

[08:43]  bulaklak: I am going to keep it short and sweet today.

[08:43]  bulaklak: As you know we are in the midst of our Digital Storytelling Campaign

[08:43]  bulaklak: And we hope you will be submitting stories this month to win great prizes from our donor partners.

[08:44]  bulaklak: Please visit www.tsdigs.org to learn more about the challenge.

[08:44]  Glitteractica Cookie: it’s very easy, no professional equipment needed

[08:44]  bulaklak: And stay in touch with all of our learning opportunities by joining our Google Group

[08:44]  Aldon Huffhines: You can see what I’m up to at http://chc1.com http://community.chc1.com at @ahynes1 and @CHCConnecticut

[08:44]  bulaklak: http://bit.ly/lXf6fD

[08:44]  bulaklak: As Glitter said, it’s very easy

[08:44]  Glitteractica Cookie: we still have some educational webinars and twetchats about how to make a digital story too

[08:45]  bulaklak: And it’s a great way for your organization to take some time to frame your key messages and capture your hard work and passion

[08:45]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): It’s a good opportunity for example to make your first machinima if you haven

[08:45]  bulaklak: We have a tweet chat on Tuesday about social amplification

[08:45]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): haven’t before

[08:45]  bulaklak: And a webinar on Thursday about post-production

[08:45]  CarynTopia Silvercloud: great

[08:45]  bulaklak: All the details are at www.tsdigs.org

[08:46]  bulaklak: Thank you!

[08:46]  bulaklak: Have a great day!

[08:46]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): thank you, bulaklak

[08:46]  Chad Mikado: Thanks for the info

[08:46]  bulaklak: Oh and one last thing

[08:46]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): I hope folks are getting their digital stories ready!

[08:46]  bulaklak: It’s open to all social benefit orgs

[08:46]  bulaklak: You don’t have to be a 501c3

[08:46]  bulaklak: As long as you are fighting the good fight

[08:46]  bulaklak: =)

[08:46]  Glitteractica Cookie: And you can email any of us with questions at tsdigs@techsoup.org

[08:47]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): awesome

 

MENTORS CENTRAL

 

[08:47]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Okay now for the re-branded Mentors Central

[08:47]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): who’s speaking for the Mentors today?

[08:47]  Zinnia Zauber: Today we have Jen!

[08:47]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): I believe I am Rik

[08:47]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): The Mentors are our crack team of volunteer helpers , for folks new to SL or who just need some extra help with something

[08:48]  Zinnia Zauber: Rah Jen!

[08:48]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Go for it Jen!

[08:48]  Brena Benoir: Yay Jen

[08:48]  Gentle Heron: YAY Jen!

[08:48]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): I’m using one of the tools from the Techsoup toolbox

[08:48]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): Hope I’m getting it right

[08:49]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): One of the things I have thought about is what do we do with our office that can make our SL lifes better

[08:49]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): So my presentation has to do with Office Operations

 [08:50]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: A. Purpose of this presentation

[08:50]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:     1)  To give NPC offices some ways to improve how they use their offices.

[08:50]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: B. What is the purpose of your office?

[08:51]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): This is the teachers friend

[08:51]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: This is the teachers friend

[08:51]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): You put your presentation in it then control it line by line

[08:51]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: You put your presentation in it then control it line by line

[08:51]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): saves having to type every time

[08:51]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: saves having to type every time

[08:51]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:     a.  Why do you have an office at NPC?

[08:51]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:         1)  Educate public about your programs

[08:51]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:         2)  Attract possible volunteers

[08:51]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:         3)  Interest potential donors

[08:52]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): If you have any questions please ask

[08:52]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: If you have any questions please ask

[08:52]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): The Hud is repeating everything I say, so bear with me

[08:52]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: The Hud is repeating everything I say, so bear with me

[08:53]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): Think about why our office is here

[08:53]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: Think about why our office is here

[08:53]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): Might be useful for the digital story as well

[08:53]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: Might be useful for the digital story as well

[08:53]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: C. Donations

[08:53]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:     a.  Provide a way for visitors to donate, assuming you take donations.

[08:53]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:     b.  Create an ALT to accept the donations to keep them separate from your personal L$ account

[08:54]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): I found an ALT to take donations important for me

[08:54]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: I found an ALT to take donations important for me

[08:54]  Glitteractica Cookie: yes, we had machinima entries last year. WOuld love to get a few more this year

[08:54]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): It keeps the donations separate from my L$

[08:54]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: It keeps the donations separate from my L$

[08:54]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): Makes the bookkeeping easier

[08:54]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: Makes the bookkeeping easier

[08:54]  Zinnia Zauber: Great idea!

[08:54]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:     c. Religiously thank everyone who donates.

[08:54]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): I use the donation box in the NPC Toolbox

[08:54]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: I use the donation box in the NPC Toolbox

[08:55]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): It records who has donated and how much

[08:55]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: It records who has donated and how much

[08:55]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): It’s good to send an IM to each donor to thank them for their contributions and support

[08:55]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: It’s good to send an IM to each donor to thank them for their contributions and support

[08:55]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): You can put your logo on it

[08:55]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: You can put your logo on it

[08:55]  jacmacaire Humby: Bye everyone.. Have anice week-end

[08:56]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): Glad to see you again Jac

[08:56]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: Glad to see you again Jac

[08:56]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: D. Tracking Visitors

[08:56]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): How do you know who stopped by

[08:56]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: How do you know who stopped by

[08:56]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): We know none of these offices are staffed 24 hours

[08:56]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: We know none of these offices are staffed 24 hours

[08:56]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:     a.  Who came?

[08:56]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:         1) How do I know?

[08:56]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:             I use the Visitor Tracker from the NPC Tools in a box

[08:57]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): This tool will keep a list of who came by with the time

[08:57]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: This tool will keep a list of who came by with the time

[08:57]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): You can set it to send you and email if you like as well

[08:57]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: You can set it to send you and email if you like as well

[08:57]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:             I also have a security system that is set to monitor the comings and goings and inform me immediately.

[08:58]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): I also have a security system that I use on my rentals

[08:58]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: I also have a security system that I use on my rentals

[08:58]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): It’s set to only monitor

[08:58]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: It’s set to only monitor

[08:58]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): The one I have will IM me when someone arrives and departs

[08:58]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: The one I have will IM me when someone arrives and departs

[08:59]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:         2) Database

[08:59]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:             I keep a spreadsheet that I put the names of people who stop by.

[08:59]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): I keep a spreadsheet of who stopped by our offices

[08:59]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: I keep a spreadsheet of who stopped by our offices

[08:59]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): Why would you want to do that?

[08:59]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: Why would you want to do that?

[08:59]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): (can you wrap up in a minute or two, please)

[08:59]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): certainly

[08:59]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: certainly

[08:59]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:             I also keep track of the traffic values.

[08:59]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:             Information is used to keep the board up to date.

[09:00]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:             NOTE: for Jan 2012 we averaged almost 5.2 people per day between NPC and our other location.

[09:00]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:     b.  What do you tell them?

[09:00]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:         1)  What if I’m not there and they want to contact me?

[09:00]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:             I have an answering machine in my office they can use to IM me

[09:00]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:         2)  What information do I present to them?

[09:00]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:             I have information on display as well as information for them to take

[09:00]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:             I go through the list and either I or a volunteer will look them up in search, send them a thank you for stopping by and send them our business card.

[09:00]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): We think the personal touch is a plus

[09:00]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: We think the personal touch is a plus

[09:00]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:             Each office volunteer has a business card. It’s a NC with information about the organization both SL and RL

[09:01]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:         3)  What if I’m not in SL when they stop by?

[09:01]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:             IMs are emailed to me and they are monitored often.

[09:01]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: E. Organizing your office

[09:01]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:     a.  Set up your office to reflect your organization’s character

[09:01]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:     b.  Set it up to allow your goals to be met in your interaction with visitors.

[09:01]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:     c.  The property description should be relevant to your organization as it shows up in search. This should be your elevator speech. It should also be used for the tour

[09:01]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:     d. Make connections with others in your community

[09:01]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD:         I have a door to the Rainbow Gate, which is a connection to the LGBT community. I’m looking to see if we can have a similar scheme for the Veterans community. If it can be adapted, then it may be available to other communities as well.

[09:02]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): I’ll be working with the developer and we can adapt the gate to other communities

[09:02]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: I’ll be working with the developer and we can adapt the gate to other communities

[09:02]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): ( we are going to have to move on, I’m afraid)

[09:02]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: F. Office Hours

[09:02]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): (perhaps move to next week?)

[09:02]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): Ok

[09:02]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: Ok

[09:02]  Zinnia Zauber: Jen has so much to share with us!

[09:02]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): Anyone with questions, please contact me

[09:02]  Jenelle’s Presentation HUD: Anyone with questions, please contact me

[09:02]  Gentle Heron: Great ideas, Jen.

[09:02]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): sorry, but I don’t want to neglect our featured guest

[09:02]  Zinnia Zauber: Maybe we can share more next week.

[09:02]  Gentle Heron: Looking forward to hearing the rest!

[09:02]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): thanks so much Jen!

[09:02]  Zinnia Zauber: Thank you very much Jen!!!

[09:02]  Brena Benoir: Thank you Jen, great job!

[09:02]  DyVerse Steele (dyverse): JEN!!!!!

[09:02]  DyVerse Resident: Jen!!!

[09:03]  Zotarah Shepherd: Good basic information for any new organizations to have in SL.

[09:03]  Veri Oddfellow: Brad Lewis, Great STrides, http://www.GreatStrides.org Damascus, MD, US *waves and smiles*

[09:03]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): to be continued!

[09:03]  Anastasios Aurotharius: ty Jen, interesting product

[09:03]  Namaara MacMoragh: thank you!! great info

[09:03]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): The tools from Techsoup are wonderful

 

GAMES FOR CHANGE

 

[09:03]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Okay Jeff can you come on down please?

[09:03]  jefframos: Hello!

[09:03]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Its an honor to have Jeff with use today from Games for Change.

[09:03]  Oronoque Westland: Hi Jeff!

[09:03]  Gentle Heron: Hello Jeff.

[09:04]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): He is the community and content manager at Games for Change

[09:04]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): Welcome Jeff

[09:04]  Glitteractica Cookie: Welcome Jeff!

[09:04]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Who here knows about Games for Change already?

[09:04]  Glitteractica Cookie: I certainly do!

[09:04]  CarynTopia Silvercloud: I do

[09:04]  Oronoque Westland: Moi

[09:04]  bulaklak: Me!

[09:04]  Aldon Huffhines: I covered an early G4C conference as a blogger

[09:05]  Oronoque Westland: I used their toolkit with my students last semester…it worked great

[09:05]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): ok perhaps Jeff you could give the elevator pitch about who G4C is t ostart?

[09:05]  jefframos: Absolutely

[09:05]  jefframos: First off all, this is my first time ever using SL

[09:05]  jefframos: So, apologies for having a lame looking avatar!

[09:05]  jefframos: Then again, I dress similar in real life so you’re not missing out on much

[09:05]  Anastasios Aurotharius: welcome to Second Life, Jeff 🙂

[09:06]  jefframos: Anyway!

[09:06]  Adalace Jewell: welcome jeff

[09:06]  JerryBuchko: 😉

[09:06]  jefframos: Games for Change is a nonprofit organization started in 2004

[09:06]  jefframos: Our goal is to faciliate the conversation and the creation of video games made for social impact

[09:06]  jefframos: So we aim to leverage the unique properties of games not for entertainment, but for social change

[09:07]  jefframos: We do that in a handful of ways, primarily, an annual Festival that takes places in New York City

[09:07]  Hour Destiny: Like SimNonprofit? 🙂

[09:07]  jefframos: Not familiar with them, would love it if you could email me about them? jeff@gamesforchange.org

[09:08]  jefframos: What I do at G4C is everything on the community and content end.

[09:08]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): (in case you want to see Jeff’s real life avatar: http://www.gamesforchange.org/bio/jeff-ramos/ )

[09:08]  Hour Destiny: Doesn’t exist, just an idea.

[09:08]  jefframos: So all tweets from @G4C are from me as well as many of the blog posts. In fact, if you email our general contact email or call us, you’ll get me

[09:08]  jefframos: On the content side, I act as an aggregator for some of the most meaningful content in our space

[09:09]  jefframos: I spend a lot of time reading blogs, researching academic papers, and communicating with others to find best practices, unique stories, and the most interesting examples of games for change to play

[09:10]  jefframos: To give a better sense of what we do, I also have to highlight the work of our co-presidents

[09:10]  jefframos: Asi Burak is a veteran game designer who created the award winning game platforms “Peacemkaer” and “Play The News”

[09:11]  jefframos: He has an important role in helping instiutiotions, game deisgners, foundations, and more create more sustainable and entertaining games for change

[09:11]  jefframos: He implements best practices from his career as well as his research to make sure the games deisgned in our space or engaging but also reach impact objects

[09:12]  jefframos: Our other co-president Michelle Byrd leads on partnerships and runs our annual Festival

[09:12]  Veri Oddfellow: Great team and y’all run a super Festival, too! I’ve been to all but one and love it!

[09:12]  jefframos: She takes her experience as a NPO and media veteran to advance the field and her background in putting together massive events is crucial to transforming our Festival

[09:13]  jefframos: Thanks Veri, last year was quite an adventure for everyone

[09:14]  jefframos: So that’s the basics of what we do. Since G4C received our new leadership back in 2010, the organiazation has been making strides to advance the field and our impact. And the main touch point is the Festival.

[09:14]  jefframos: Which we are already gearing up for and it’s in June!

[09:14]  jefframos: So, I know there may some questoins about the field and I’m curious Rik if it’s okay to have some folks ask questoins?

[09:14]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Its an awesome festival!

[09:14]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Sure?

[09:15]  jefframos: I hate being the only person talking in a room!

[09:15]  Gentle Heron: QUESTION- Jeff, in your taxonomy, is Second Life a game?

[09:15]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): I’d also like to hear what is the most buzz-generating new games in the social change gaming space?

[09:15]  Glitteractica Cookie: When I presented at G4C, it was not considered to be a game

[09:15]  Glitteractica Cookie: but that was 5 years ago

[09:15]  jefframos: I think SL is an envirnoment for it. In the same way alternate reality games use real life as a platform, there’s no reason why SL can’t be a platform too.

[09:16]  jefframos: Great idea Rik, I’ll share some examples as well

[09:16]  jefframos: Well, the field has changed so much in 5 years.

[09:16]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): what’s the new hotness?

[09:16]  JerryBuchko: Looked at from a different perspective, are the flight similators that pilots use to train considered games?

[09:16]  jefframos: I’ll highlight some great “real world” games to puncuate how SL can be used in teh same way

[09:16]  jefframos: To quickly answer Jerry’s question before I talk about examples, yes.

[09:17]  Oronoque Westland: Question — I used “Let the Games Begin: a toolkit for making a Game for Change ” with my class last term. Are you planning more resources that educators can use who may not be game developers themselves or may be novices?

[09:17]  JerryBuchko: Agreed… 🙂

[09:17]  jefframos: The field of simulation games is growing by leaps and bounds and has become vital for defense training,e tc.

[09:17]  jefframos: Oro, I’m working hard to build out our resoruces page: http://www.gamesforchange.org/learn/

[09:17]  Gentle Heron: Find the toolkit here: http://www.gamesforchange.org/learn/let-the-games-begin-a-toolkit-for-making-a-game-for-change/

[09:18]  jefframos: please email me with what you would love to see there jeff@gamesforchange.org

[09:18]  jefframos: Okay, so let’s talk about some games

[09:18]  Oronoque Westland: great—thanks

[09:18]  jefframos: First and foremost, I spend a great deal of time curating this page: http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/

[09:18]  Kratos Gauntlet R: 3417 bytes free

[09:18]  jefframos: The point is that there is no one place to find “games for change”

[09:19]  jefframos: there is no New Grounds or Kongregate for these kind of games. That’s a large part of how I’m helping the field

[09:19]  jefframos: Making sure that our community knows what are some of the best examples of games for change and who makes them and why

[09:19]  Hour Destiny: http://www.gamedev.net is a great resource for making any games.

[09:20]  jefframos: Sorry, froze there for a sec

[09:21]  jefframos: So Evoke is an interesting “alternate reality game” that ran a few years back but is having a “season 2” in latin america

[09:21]  jefframos: http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/evoke/

[09:21]  Anastasios Aurotharius: no need to apologize…..freezing is par for the course in SL

[09:21]  DyVerse Steele (dyverse): microsoft is opening up their kinect development for both the xbox and for pc to game developers to create software

[09:21]  jefframos: The goal was to create a storyline and world that revolved around using our “super powers”, like entreprenurialism and team work to solve the world’s biggest problems

[09:22]  jefframos: and dozens of real world, social good start ups opened up because of this game

[09:22]  Hour Destiny: Unity3D, HeroEngine, and UDK are all free 3D game engines.

[09:22]  jefframos: Would be cool to see someone create a scenario in SL in the same way

[09:23]  jefframos: Macon Money is another great example of making real life into a game that can change a community

[09:23]  jefframos: http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/macon-money/

[09:24]  jefframos: This game turned the process of finding the second half of a bill into a personal scavenger hunt that united opposing communities that would’ve never met

[09:24]  jefframos: and the money they gained by meeting was used for local businesses. So you got to meet new people and give money back to the community.

[09:24]  jefframos: Wouldn’t it be cool to have community building scavenger hunts in SL too?

[09:25]  jefframos: But let’s talk some newer games too

[09:25]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): those are really cool ideas!

[09:25]  jefframos: Yeah, I think SL is prime for creating some great stories in a way that’s comfortable for people to connect

[09:26]  Glitteractica Cookie: We’ve thought about savenger huntsin thepast bt never successfully got one off thr ground. I’d love to see us do it this time

[09:26]  jefframos: And games are a great place to talk about sensitive subjects too

[09:26]  Oronoque Westland: Global Kids has led the way with that in SL

[09:26]  jefframos: GK is great!

[09:26]  jefframos: The Korean G4C chapter created a wonderful point and click game about the demilitaized zone

[09:26]  jefframos: http://www.gamesforchange.org/2011/12/nanu-planet-interview-suzanna-samstag-oh/

[09:26]  Gentle Heron: This sounds like things that have been done in SL, to be honest. Story telling, scavenger hunts, that’s why I asked about SL as game.

[09:27]  jefframos: I don’t know much about SL so if you know of stories that are worth sharing, please email me.

[09:27]  jefframos: So, the DMZ is a subject that’s very hard to speak about in Korean culture.

[09:27]  jefframos: But, games allow us to build a wrapper around a complex subject.

[09:28]  jefframos: We can use game mechanics, allegory, metahphors, and clever story telling to talk about a subject in a way that’s harder to do in traditional media

[09:28]  jefframos: The game reminds me a lot of the old school point and click games, but with the charm, design, and cultural sensitivity of today’s games for change.

[09:29]  jefframos: Another cool touch point that games for change are innovating on are social networking games

[09:29]  Oronoque Westland: “games” like ICED would work in SL

[09:29]  JerryBuchko: (reminds me of the role science fiction has in allowing people to process sensitive subjects…)

[09:29]  jefframos: Exactly Jerry

[09:30]  jefframos: Games allow us to discuss complex subject matters in a context that is safer and allegoric. It allows those without intimate knowledge to explore the key ideas in “their own langauge”

[09:31]  jefframos: And the idea of doing things in one’s own language is core to why games for change are exploring social networks as a platform

[09:31]  JerryBuchko: (but here we’re talking about allowing people to be an active participant in the story…”

[09:31]  jefframos: Right, the ARG style of gameplay is very important for that, but also very hard to orchesrate

[09:32]  JerryBuchko: (ARG style?)

[09:32]  jefframos: But I think mobilizing people in SL is easier than getting 10 people to do something in real life

[09:32]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): What is ARG?

[09:32]  jefframos: I’m sorry, “alternate reality game”

[09:32]  JerryBuchko: (thanks)

[09:32]  jefframos: The example I share, Evoke, is a great exmaple

[09:33]  jefframos: America2049.com is another example. ANd it’s a Facebook game. Which makes for a great segue

[09:33]  jefframos: So, in regards to getting people where they are comfortable…

[09:33]  jefframos: Since millions are on Facebook every day playing casual games and interacting with others AND spending real world dollars

[09:34]  jefframos: why not leverage those key functions for fun and social good

[09:34]  Oronoque Westland: Iced and Homeland Guantanamo us SL-like environments with avatars that have to make decisions

[09:34]  jefframos: I wrote about two great games that do just that

[09:34]  jefframos: http://www.gamesforchange.org/2011/12/can-food-force-and-wetopia-change-the-social-gaming-industry/

[09:34]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): (there;s already a guantanamo simulation in SL)

[09:35]  Oronoque Westland: the games for change website is a great resources for locating games

[09:35]  jefframos: Actually, back to Oro’s point on avatars….

[09:35]  jefframos: A great game to check out is A Closed World

[09:35]  jefframos: http://www.gamesforchange.org/2012/01/closed-world-todd-harper-interview/

[09:35]  Oronoque Westland: Homeland Guantanamo is about a deportation camp experience

[09:36]  jefframos: It discussed gender in a way that uses the avatar as a basis for your unique intrepreation of the game’s mateiral

[09:36]  Glitteractica Cookie: The SL Guantanamo sim is called Gone Gitmo

[09:36]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): that’s neat, Jeff

[09:36]  jefframos: So by choosing the gender representation of your avatar, actually changes how you view the story.

[09:37]  Oronoque Westland: Question — there are many serious games that are developed then dropped (lack of resources, a school project and the term is over, whatever)…what can be done to keep those games alive?

[09:37]  jefframos: Right, so sustainability

[09:37]  jefframos: That’s a huge topic in our space

[09:37]  JerryBuchko: (agreed, very neat)

[09:37]  jefframos: Did anyone see the Double Fine Kickstarter campaign last night?

[09:37]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): yeah

[09:38]  jefframos: Double Fine has made some of the most beloved advenutre games around

[09:38]  jefframos: and the Kinect Sesame Street game

[09:38]  Veri Oddfellow: Brad Lewis, Great STrides, http://www.GreatStrides.org Damascus, MD, US *waves and smiles*

[09:38]  jefframos: they raised over $1mil in less than a day

[09:38]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): wow

[09:38]  jefframos: Granted, not eveyrone can do that at will but I’m currently exploring funding platforms and models

[09:38]  Veri Oddfellow: *nods* Sustainability is a huge issue.

[09:39]  Veri Oddfellow: Even when your game is well capitalized from existing large funders/companies.

[09:39]  Oronoque Westland: we have certainly lost some good ‘games” in SL because of this issue

[09:39]  jefframos: So, business models was the basis of a great panel at last year’s fest too

[09:40]  jefframos: And when we do our consulting with major clients, it’s a key aspect

[09:40]  Gentle Heron: QUESTION- What’s a good model of a sustained game?

[09:40]  jefframos: while I pull up some links, what are some of the sustainability challenges you’ve encoutnered?

[09:41]  Hour Destiny: Keeping people involved.

[09:41]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): so we should wrap up soon. What are some main opportunities and events people should keep an eye out for?

[09:41]  jefframos: Oh okay!

[09:41]  Ozma Malibu: Sustainability: Paying for the sim!

[09:41]  Oronoque Westland: Question — (sorry if I am hogging things a bit, but your work is so great) other than the conference do you offer workshops during the rest of the year…are you available to lead them if invited?

[09:42]  jefframos: Fist and foremost, our call for talks for this year’s Festival is still going on and ends NEXT week

[09:42]  Gentle Heron: Oro has a vested interest in this topic!

[09:42]  Oronoque Westland: heehee

[09:42]  jefframos: http://www.gamesforchange.org/2012/01/g4c-12-call-for-talks-presentations/

[09:42]  jefframos: Oro, feel free to email me your ?s

[09:42]  jefframos: So, we’re still looking for content for this year’s Festival.

[09:43]  jefframos: I’m curoius what sort of presentations, case studies and ideas the SL community could share

[09:43]  jefframos: Also, we’ll be announcing registration for the Festival very soon

[09:43]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): great

[09:44]  jefframos: The 9th Annual Festival takes place on June 18-20 in New York City

[09:44]  jefframos: Bookmark this page for all of the important dates and links: http://www.gamesforchange.org/festival/

[09:44]  jefframos: Also, is anyone going to GDC next month?

[09:44]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): (game developers conference)

[09:44]  jefframos: We’ll be hosting a daylong summit about games for change

[09:45]  Oronoque Westland: NY Oro can afford (since it is home)

[09:45]  Hour Destiny: Only if someone pays for me ot. 🙂

[09:45]  jefframos: http://www.gdconf.com/conference/gamesforchange.html

[09:45]  jefframos: Our content is locked for GDC and we have some exciting talks lined up

[09:46]  JerryBuchko: Any capability to attend via telepresence?

[09:46]  jefframos: like how to use AAA game mechanics for games for change from how to design games with love as the core mechanic

[09:46]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): We should probably wrap, as interesting as this is.

[09:46]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): So how do people reach you if they have further questions or ideas?

[09:46]  Gentle Heron: I was going to ask the same as Jerry, but about PRESENTING remotely……

[09:46]  jefframos: To be honest, I’m not certain at the moment as we’re not the organizers. For our Festival, yes. We had 800 in attendance and 8000 live streaming in 2011

[09:46]  JerryBuchko: Thanks.

[09:47]  jefframos: So, we can be found on twitter @G4C or www.facebook.com/gamesforchange

[09:47]  jefframos: My direct email is jeff@gamesforchange.org

[09:47]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): awesome thanks

[09:47]  jefframos: I’d be happy to give youanswers, resources and more

[09:47]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Let’s thank Jeff for coming into the NPC to speak with us today.

[09:48]  Gentle Heron: Thank you Jeff. I hope you will have some time later to explore what’s going on in Second Life.

[09:48]  Namaara MacMoragh: thanks Jeff… great presentation

[09:48]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): We’d love to have you back if you ahve other news and opportunities to announce.

[09:48]  JerryBuchko: Great talk! Thanks, Jeff!

[09:48]  Zotarah Shepherd: Thank you Jeff. Great to know about this.

[09:48]  jefframos: Sure. Most likely closer to the Festival would make sense to come back and chat about what’s on deck

[09:48]  Oronoque Westland: thanks so much…I will send you an email or maybe phone you since you are in my “hood”

[09:48]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): cool let’s look at May then perhaps

[09:48]  Veri Oddfellow: Great info … thanks, Jeff!

[09:49]  CarynTopia Silvercloud: thanks

[09:49]  jefframos: You’re welcome everyone. Thanks for making my first SL experience an easy one

[09:49]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): you did great!

[09:49]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): we’ll post a transript of this session later, with a recap

[09:49]  Glitteractica Cookie: Yes, our own Ale Bezdikian , TechSoup Community Coordinator will write up a great recaps

[09:49]  Glitteractica Cookie: recaps

[09:49]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Okay so let’s move on to our final agenda item….

 

OPEN MIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

[09:50]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Open Mic / Announcements

[09:50]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Who has something to announce, put up your appendage?

[09:50]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): raises hand

[09:50]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): go ahead jen

[09:51]  DyVerse Steele (dyverse): raises hand

[09:51]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): Don’t forget, we have a Mentor’s meeting after this one

[09:51]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): and then Dyverse

[09:51]  Gentle Heron: /me raises hand.

[09:51]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Dyverse and then Gentle

[09:51]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Jen, that’s right .Please come if you ahve questions about SL or the NPC you want answered.

[09:52]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Please stay here , that is.

[09:52]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Is that it, Jen?

[09:53]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): ….

[09:53]  Jen (jenelle.levenque): That’s it for me

[09:53]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Ok go ahead Dyverse

[09:53]  DyVerse Steele (dyverse): Common Ground Feb 16th with the color Red and DJ Steele mark it on your calender and get your song requests in thank you that is all

[09:53]  DyVerse Steele (dyverse): via Zinnia

[09:53]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Common Ground is a monthly networking party with a different theme each month.

[09:54]  Brena Benoir: /me raises hand

[09:54]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): which reminds me, here’s all the relevant NPC links….

[09:54]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Here are the many ways to can get involved with the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life:

 

  Nonprofit Commons blog: http://nonprofitcommons.org

  Twitter: http://twitter.com/npsl

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nonprofitcommons

 

  Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/TechSoup-Second-Life

  Google Calendar: http://bit.ly/2tMEYh

  Wiki: http://npsl.wikispaces.com

 

  About TechSoup:

  http://www.techsoup.org/tools/howtousetechsoup/

  http://flavors.me/techsoup

  http://flavors.me/nonprofitcommons

 

  Weekly Networking Event: Wharf Ratz, Aloft, Tuesdays, 7-9pm SLT

  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Aloft%20Nonprofit%20Commons/168/223/23

 

  Monthly Networking Event (3rd Thursday):

  Common Ground, Plush, 5PM-7PM SLT

  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/128/229/26

[09:54]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Go ahead Gentle, then Brena

[09:54]  Gentle Heron: For an easy opportunity to volunteer your knowledge and expertise, consider taking a survey. Several general public surveys related to topics such as the future of social work in SL are found here on the Healthinfo Island Research Pavilion: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/130/196/30

[09:54]  Gentle Heron: Some surveys even pay you for taking them!

[09:55]  Gentle Heron: Several are for specific populations, but some are general. Please participate.

[09:55]  Gentle Heron: That’s all.

[09:55]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): thanks gentle

[09:55]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): and last up, Brena!

[09:56]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): brena?

[09:57]  Brena Benoir: sorry I crashed

[09:57]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): ah

[09:57]  Brena Benoir: Wharf Ratz is the weekly networking on Tuesdays from 7-9pm

[09:58]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): its the weekly networking DJed dance. It’s super fun and great way to connect with people here.

[09:58]  Brena Benoir: Please come join us and learn what is going on with your neighbors here in the community and meet new friends

[09:58]  Brena Benoir: thanks

[09:58]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): thank you

[09:58]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): ok I think that’s it for this week folks.

[09:59]  Glitteractica Cookie: Thanks RIk

[09:59]  Glitteractica Cookie: Thanks all

[09:59]  MartinRJ: bye, everyone

[09:59]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): Next week we have Arch Virtual talking about their work creating “virtual dubuque”

[09:59]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): It will be really interesting!

[09:59]  Brena Benoir: Mentor’s meeting in 5 minutes, please stay and join us if you need help or want to hear what we are working on

[09:59]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): thanks for coming today

[09:59]  jefframos: Thanks everyone

[09:59]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): and thanks especially to our guest Jeff Ramos from Games for Change!

[10:00]  Oronoque Westland: great meeting as usual

[10:00]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): I wish you a great Friday and a restful weekend.

[10:00]  Veri Oddfellow: Great info … well done! Nice wings, dude! 😉

[10:00]  JerryBuchko: You too!

[10:00]  jefframos: sure. And be sure to email me at jeff@gamesforchange.org with ?s

[10:00]  Oronoque Westland: even if Rik kept changing before my eyes…heehee

[10:00]  Red (talkwithmarie): lol

[10:00]  Rik Panganiban (rik.riel): just making sure you are paying attention

[10:00]  Dancers Yao: thanks everyone

[10:00]  jefframos: Okay, bye everyone

Written by: alebez

CategoriesUncategorizedTags