It’s been less than two weeks since the project launched to encourage the creation of games that do good and improve common perceptions of video games as a medium.
Extra Credits writer James Portnow, who organized the fund, has been actively fulfilling its promise since day one. He has met with politicians, researchers, and game developers to kick off initiatives that will help create more and better games for good. James has also added a weekly list of games for good that he recommends to the bottom of their fundraiser page.
As he explained in the Extra Credits video “Moving Forward,” the inspiration for this fundraiser came from James’s experience campaigning against the proposed SOPA and PIPA “anti-piracy” legislation in 2012. After multiple meetings with legislators who had rarely spoken to people from the games industry about anything other than public controversies, he decided to create a more pro-active and positive relationship between games and the rest of the world. He has turned to the community for help so he can organize a Global Game Jam, help grant organizations find good games to sponsor, and reach out to legislators in Washington, D.C.
The Games for Good fundraiser seeks to raise at least $50,000 by September 2, with stretch goals that kick in at $75,000 and from what has already been raised it looks like it will definitely hit its target!
I hope you will pledge to this project, but do you think it is worth it? Can the Games for Good message really go far? Let us know what you think in the comments below!