Okay. How not to date myself too much on this one… The first video game I remember playing is Pac-Man. Arcade style. The arcade equaled freedom. A drop off at the mall and time to wander around and be self-directed in my choice of entertainment and friends.

I had just stepped down from my position running a non-profit independent film organization. I wanted a change. I wanted to be involved in supporting media that was trying to make a difference in the world. Sometimes “Games for Change” related popped up in my Twitter feed. Whatever they were tweeting about intrigued me so I did some investigating. A couple of weeks later I was in Soho having lunch with one of the founders and learning about something that I had no idea about – the intersection of games and social change. By the time she started telling me that the organization was developing a game based on a book I was obsessed with at the time – Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s Half the Sky - I was hooked. I met Asi Burak, a game developer, and a couple of months later we had an opportunity to team up and put ourselves forward as a new leadership team to run the organization as Co-Presidents. Kind of crazy how organic the whole transition has been.

The term “Games for Change” intrigues me.  How does your organization determine whether or not a Game is, in fact, a “Game For Change”?  Does a game have to display a particular moral compass, and if so, by which standard is it being judged?

We don’t have a moral compass, at least I hope that we don’t. We’re pretty broad in terms of what we view as a “game for change.” As the game expert of our duo, Asi has really lead the way on this front. The games tackle a myriad of genres and subjects – from public health to the environment to politics and a whole lot more. Some invite inquiry and deeper exploration of a subject or issue, some seek to have a direct impact or prompt behavior change. Some are much lighter in tone. Loosely speaking, the games we support and promote are those which aim to leverage entertainment and engagement for social good.

That’s a bit of kissing and telling I can’t participate in, unfortunately. We love all of our nominees equally!

Stick with it. Take advantage of every networking opportunity. Delve in and out of different communities of designers and developers to see what each has to share. Coming from film, I’m used to seeing lots of struggling emerging content creators as they find their footing. What seems different for young game developers is the lack of an on-going structured ecosystem which supports independent work and provides accessible ways to help reach players and an audience. That’s something Asi and I would like to see Games for Change help make a difference on for those young developers interested in social impact games. The self-organizing tools we provide, in particular, the Games for Change Meetup Everywhere platform, has made it a lot easier for discovery of others in your community interested in games and social change. And if you’re in NY during the Festival (June 18 – 20), we’re always looking for volunteers. It’s a great chance to expand your network. You never know who you’ll meet.

Convergence. The best and most unique feature is the sheer convergence of ideas, people, causes, passions. It’s a committed crowd coming from numerous disciplines – game designers, developers, publishers, cause owners, academics, non-profits and NGOs. It’s the convergence of worlds which don’t necessarily interact in a daily on-going basis. That’s part of what’s exciting. We’re still in the early days of “games for change” so there are a lot of people poking their heads in and exploring and creating compelling work.

I’m completely prone to falling down rabbit holes. The phrase “diving in” brings to mind Flower, a mesmerizing and unexpected treat.