Games For Change Awards Winners Announced Product: Games For Change Awards Games for Change (G4C) is the leading global advocate for supporting and making games for social impact. Founded in 2004, G4C facilitates the creation and distribution of social impact games that serve as critical tools in humanitarian and educational efforts, such as the annual Games for Change Festival. The 9th Annual Games for Change Festival took place at NYU Skirball Center from June 18-20. Each year, the festival brings the digital games industry and gaming enthusiasts together with a broader community of educators, policymakers, activists, foundations and others. Open to the public, the festival includes a Game Arcade where award-nominated games can be played, along with speakers, panels, workshops and other activities. Major support of the 9th Annual Games for Change Festival was provided by the AMD Foundation, the Entertainment Software Association Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Microsoft, and ESI Design. Game of the Year went to Way, an online cultural bridge-builder in which two players must communicate how each uniquely sees the world in order to overcome obstacles. The full list of 2012 Games for Change Award winners are: Most Significant Impact: Spent Most Innovative Game: Way Best Gameplay: Unmanned Knight News Game: Unmanned Game of the Year: Way This year saw the submission of 67 diverse games, from which eight top titles were culled and three nominees named in each of four categories. Nominees were chosen by a panel of 35 experts across the gaming industry, media, education and philanthropy, among other areas. "We were pleased to see more diversity and higher quality among this year's nominees and winners, with significant participation of mainstream game designers and developers." - Michelle Byrd and Asi Burak, co-presidents of Games for Change (G4C) Spent: Spent is built upon a simple challenge and its tough choices: Start with $1,000 and try to last one month without running out of money. Think you could pull yourself out of poverty? The game uses gaming principles to demonstrate that poverty is about circumstances, not character. Developer: McKinney, funded by Urban Ministries of Durham and McKinney. Unmanned: Unmanned cast players as the newest kind of soldier: one who remotely drops bombs on foreign soil during the day, and goes home to his family at night. Here, the conflict is internal, the only bloodshed from shaving cuts. The game subtly confronts players about 21st-century warfare, personal and technological disconnection, multitasking, introspection, and game culture. Developer: Molleindustria + No Media Kings. Way: Way is an online game utilizing puppetry, in which two anonymous strangers around the world collaborate and communicate. As in real life, everyone sees the world differently. Together, players must communicate how they each uniquely see the world in order to overcome the obstacles that separate them. Developer: CoCo & Co. You can check out all of the winners, using the links provided below. -Geck0, GameVortex Communications AKA Robert Perkins Related Links: Winners in Detail on The Official Games For Change Festival 2012 Website The Official Games For Change Festival Website The Official Games For Change Organization Website The Official Spent Website The Official Unmanned Website The Official Way Website