Australians spend more on video games than they do on films, TV, music and books and a growing number of them want their gaming dollars to have a positive social impact.
The Experimental Games Lab at Griffith Film School (GFS) has partnered with the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) (Queensland Section) on a ‘games for good’ initiative.
Associate Professor Justin Carter, games designer and Deputy Director at GFS, said GameLab: Project Uplift was about using game design, interactive storytelling and livestream culture to build understanding, participation and support for an essential service for regional and remote communities.
“Games can help people step into a story and see what it takes to deliver care across distance,” Associate Professor Carter said.
“For the RFDS (Queensland Section), that might mean prototyping experiences where players coordinate an emergency retrieval, manage limited resources, or follow a patient journey from the first call for help through to care.”
General Manager, Fundraising, in the Queensland Section of RFDS, Erin McCabe, said the partnership with Griffith was an opportunity to combine social impact with real health impact, using interactive experiences to raise vital funds and connect more Australians with the lifesaving work the service delivers in rural and remote communities.
“Gaming creates a powerful sense of collective impact, bringing people together to take part in something bigger than themselves and younger Australians are already showing us they want to back causes that make a real difference,” Ms McCabe said.
A 48-hour Game Jam will give Griffith Film School students the opportunity to respond to an RFDS Queensland brief, develop ideas in teams, and build early game prototypes that explore awareness, storytelling, fundraising and community engagement.
“The Game Jam is the starting point,” Associate Professor Carter said.
“It gives students a chance to work quickly and creatively on a brief with genuine social purpose, while exploring how games can help people connect with the work of RFDS Queensland.”
Streamer and host at the Game Jam, Josh Taylor, also known as The Giant Kyote, said the gaming community offered charitable organisations a great opportunity to raise awareness.
“I’m all about spreading positivity with my followers and the chance to do good while gaming is really exciting,” he said.
Associate Professor Carter said the project could also create future opportunities for students to contribute through Griffith’s Work-Integrated Learning programs, prototype development, livestream support and audience testing.
“Our ambition is to build this into a longer-term games-for-good collaboration, where students, researchers, streamers and RFDS Queensland continue developing new ways to engage communities and support the Flying Doctor’s mission,” he said.
Featured
