Earlier this month, our very own CCO Dan Norton was featured in the Virginia Serious Game Institute (VSGI) Speaker Series! The VSGI Speaker Series, which takes place through George Mason University, features serious game design professionals from across the industry. Dan’s session, called Making Different Styles of Game (Positive Impact vs. Entertainment), focused on the similarities and contrasts between design and development of games for positive impact versus games for entertainment. Additionally, Dan spoke to the advantages and disadvantages of the field and clarified some common misconceptions about the field of serious games.
Though I could spend more time writing out all the details of his talk, you know what would be even better? Experiencing the session for yourself! Check out Dan’s session on positive impact versus entertainment games below. You had to attend in real-time to participate in the Q&A at the end, but never fear – you can send us all of your questions and what you thought of the session on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!
[0:00] Introduction
[3:33] Entertainment games pivoting around engagement
[6:06] Positive impact games pivoting around content
[9:25] Positive impact games and serving core impact goals
[13:08] Positive impact games and the compromise between engagement and authenticity
[17:57] Funding model differences between entertainment and positive impact games
[25:36] Entertainment games and self-selecting audience versus positive impact games and intended impact
[30:54] Q&A
Inspired to create a game for impact? Let us know!
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