Gaming for Nonprofits

Over the years, videogames have been used not only as valuable and lucrative marketing tools but also have been developed into and used as valuable learning tools. Because we, as a people, understand that making learning fun benefits our children and even ourselves, we constantly seek ways to learn in a fun environment and what is more fun than playing a game?

Now, with mobile devices like iPods and iPhones with what seems like an unending amount of apps combined with social media like Facebook with several popular and interactive games, businesses and philanthropies are just discovering the potential to develop awareness and specific understanding of important causes using these tools. Interactive videogames, especially online games, reach out to a vast audience of people. Simply put, people enjoy playing games, take Farmville on Facebook for instance, with 76 million active users playing daily.

Jessica Goldfin, an associate at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation (a supporter of social network gaming) says, "We're interested, because whether you self-identify as a game player or not, games are just another form of media people are consuming. More and more of what makes games compelling is converging with the rest of media landscape as we move more online."

Many philanthropies have already caught on, just check out Facebook. Others are working toward developing an interactive gaming tool, such as the Children's Media Project (CMP) in New York, which has developed a mobile game to encourage participants to learn about local history along the Hudson River. CMP's game is currently incorporated with iPhones and GPS.

Before you start developing a game for your philanthropy, however, there are a few things you need to think about first according to Asi Burak, co president of Games4Change on NYC nonprofit. Although budget will definitely need to be discussed, with the average game costing anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000. With online games being less expensive than mobile app games. The other (most important) factors are what audience you are trying to reach and what goal you want to achieve with your game.

Barak cautions to those of you ready to jump out there and start making a game, "If you do it, you should really be committed to it, not just because it makes you look very forward thinking or people say it's sexy. The same way you'd go with a documentary or textbook on your organization: Take it seriously, not as a byproduct, but something that stands for itself."

More from this author:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/3010404/social_networking_rewards_and_risks.html?cat=3

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5921422/nonprofits_use_social_media_for_raising.html?cat=3

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6045556/strengthen_your_organization_online.html?cat=3