Gamer Youth do More Good for the World

A national survey about teen gaming trends has had some surprising results. The study, conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, and supported by the MacArthur Foundation looked at the varied experiences of young gamers and the social impressions that gaming can leave.

For just a taste, here are some tidbits:
76% of teens play games with others at least some of the time
44% of teens play games where they learn about societal issues
52% of teens play games where they need to think about moral and ethical issues

And..."the survey indicates that youth who have these kinds of civic gaming experiences are more likely to be civically engaged in the offline world. They are more likely than others are to go online to get information about current events, to try to persuade others how to vote in an election, to say they are committed to civic participation, and to raise money for charity."

Want to read more?
The press release
The full survey report (PDF)
MacArthur grantmaking in digital media and education

Mobile games about HIV/AIDS expanded to Africa

ZMQ, a company that has had a lot of success creating mobile games in India, has expanded four of their HIV/AIDS education games to African networks, including Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Namibia.

ZMQ has a very forward thinking model, "The company is also focused on developing innovative ICT products for new markets of the world at the Bottom-of-the-Pyramid by successfully reaching out to grass-root, under-privileged, and marginalized communities; based on viable and self-sustaining business models in support of the social cause."

With a partnership with a major mobile operator in India, ZMQ was able to offer the gaming tools to the public for free of charge.

One of the games is based on Cricket, super popular in India. It works in items like condoms or faithful characters to move game play along.

For an expanded case study see ShareIdeas, a fast growing wiki that showcases mobile projects with social agendas.

Conquering dating violence - Flash game contest

The challenge: Create a flash game to raise awareness about teen dating violence, and here's the caveat ... without using violence. Wrap your game creating brains around that one.

Entries will largely be judged on the game's ability to educate in creative, non-violent ways as well as playability and uniqueness. This top prize is $1000 and entries are due by April 15th, 2008. Read more about the contest rules and find dating violence resources at JenniferAnn.org.

JenniferAnn.org is dedicated to the life of Jennifer Ann Crecente and to educating others about teen dating violence and its warning signs. Jennifer Ann was murdered in February 2006 by a classmate she was dating.

It's sad to me that I can't imagine many games without violent consequences. Characters fall off cliffs, get hit by fire balls, speared by swords or die in car accidents. The pervasive gaming model is to have 'lives' and losing a certain number of 'lives' then equals the end of the game. In Mario it was three, in Nibbles just one.

I'll be looking forward to seeing the tactic of the game makers that enter. Perhaps characters could be playing to avoid depression or loneliness rather than death. Perhaps as they work towards creating friendships in the game they learn the warning signs of someone likely to be violent.

Ultimately, games can be sticky. Good games are hard to walk away from and players develop strategies in their head even while they're not sitting and playing. An anti dating violence game that can do this would be stupendous.

Thanks to Ian Bogost who led us to this contest. I'm staying tuned.

Safe Sex Fridays - Your own baby unicorn

So, first I will thank Boingboing and the Second Life Herald for handing me the perfect Safe Sex Fridays tidbit of silliness. In Safe Sex Fridays I like to give a little example of something sex related, that you may not have seen/wanted to see before, and that's safe. One time I shared some videos of people dry humping couches and another time I told you about the Masturbate-a-thon.

Now you can have your very own baby unicorn in Second Life, BUT you have to have sex with an adult unicorn (which is really not safe in real life, and actually might not even be fun virtually).

But aren't they cute? For the birds and the bees diagrams go here. The comment thread on the Herald article reeks of disapproval, which is interesting to see given that Second Life is one of the only places available to have sex with a unicorn (if you so choose).

Press the space bar! Yes! No Stop!

Game makers, La Molleindustria, are making some interesting games. Well, one very interesting, and the others...well, I haven't decided. If Operation Pedopriest is a baby jesus buttplug, then Queer Power and Orgasm Stimulator are a couple of bachelorette party gifts.


Operation Pedopriest
Despite being hard on the eyes, this game makes it's point - secrecy is not going to solve anything. Based on the Vatican's "secret procedures" to catch "pedopriests," the maddening game playing experience serves only to frustrate and disgust the player. But make no mistake, this is a serious game, albeit with little wide-eyed children. Ian Bogost digs a little deeper...thanks Ian....I agree, although fascinating, this is pretty much a lose-lose.

Queer Power
Umm...this one might have kept my attention for a full twenty seconds if I had played the two player version. Basically, the intro text, "...enjoy a trip into the odd world," was a bit off putting, but switching whenever you want between bodies...now that's a nice touch. The idea is to sex up your partner (changing genders whenever you want) until one partner comes. The sound effects make it worth a try.

Orgasm Stimulator
Fake an orgasm and don't let your partner know they suck in bed. Pfft!!

The sound effects make this one not worth a try.

Update: Molleindustria has posted notice that they have removed Pedopriest after an order from the Italian Parliament cited a law stating that it is illegal to depict sex with children. New and interesting reviews are surfacing all the time.

Television touches (briefly) sex in Second Life

I'm handing over some giant bravery points to Bonnie Ruberg of Bonnie's Heroine Sheik and Jean-Ann Mills from The Electric Sheep Company for standing their ground on the Morning Show with Mike and Juliette (a Fox News affiliate), who are really good at acting like virtual sex is the weirdest thing since jam on pizza.

The show touches on the issue of rape in virtual worlds as well as some details about virtual privates and doin' it.

Watch the Video

Games for Change & Interactive Nights Out

I've been reading Ian Bogost's live blog from the Games for Change Festival, taking place in New York yesterday and today.

Day 1
Day 2

Being in the sexual health/STD & HIV prevention world, I'm naturally searching for games and ideas with that sort of slant. This live blog is super helpful for getting an idea of the gaming-for-social-good groups and what their collective thoughts/disagreements look like.

Update: my other reliable videogame resource is also writing about this. Please see Sexy Videogameland and Gamasutra for more thoughtful coverage of Games for Change.

On a semi related note: earlier today I was forwarded this link (thanks Rachel) to a program/game called Interactive Nights Out 1 and 2. The synopsis begins as follows:

"Interactive Nights Out 1™ (INO1™) helps 17-25 year-olds make informed choices about HIV/AIDS, STDs, pregnancy, relationships, alcohol and other drugs. Players become the lead character in both male and female-centered movies, make choices for the characters, and witness the consequences of their decisions."

Has anyone played this yet? The mega roadblock for me is that you have to buy a license. The conditions of use are a bit stiff at $3,200. The idea seems to be that an organization buys it and installs it on a common computer at a convenient location for youth?

Linden Labs and Second Life - Scapegoated

Second Life, SL for short, is under fire once again for providing a platform for people's fantasies (thanks to PixelPulse, GamePolitics, Bonnie and Regina for info). Familles de France have sued the Linden Labs, and in response a statement was issued listing their intended self policing ideals.

So from now on (yeah right) there will be a new age verification system, and "real-life images, avatar portrayals, and other depiction of sexual or lewd acts involving or appearing to involve children or minors; real-life images, avatar portrayals, and other depictions of sexual violence including rape, real-life images, avatar portrayals, and other depictions of extreme or graphic violence, and other broadly offensive content are never allowed or tolerated within Second Life."

Statement goes on to say:

"Please help us to keep Second Life a safe and welcoming space by continuing to notify Linden Lab about locations in-world that are violating our Community Standards regarding broadly offensive and potentially illegal content. Our team monitors such notification 24-hours a day, seven-days a week. Individuals and groups promoting or providing such content and activities will be swiftly met with a variety of sanctions, including termination of accounts, closure of groups, removal of content, and loss of land. It’s up to all of us to make sure Second Life remains a safe and welcoming haven of creativity and social vision."

Is sexual expression not part of creativity and social vision? pfft.

There is definitely conduct/content that can offend and hurt other players in real life. SL is not utopian, but how can anyone expect it to be? It is built and expanded by players from around the world. So what should members of Familles de France do when they stumble upon a leather vested avatar enjoying the virtual whipping of a life time? Duck into a virtual church perhaps?

And I admit I'm not involved in Second Life, so I'm curious...consenting situations aside, can avatars escape unwanted touching and abuse on this game's platform or can your character become under the control of others? I know some games work this way and rapes and other assaults have happened. Does SL operate like that? You tell me.

Update: I found a great blog about virtual laws. Here is some excellent commentary on this sticky SL issue.

Crash course: recommended video game tutors

I'm no videogame expert. Besides a computer I have never owned any video game system beyond the Atari 2600 that I picked up at a Santa Cruz flea market for $3 in 1989, the year that Nintendo changed home gaming.

Now that I'm no longer 9, my interest in video games has morphed a bit (I'm still a vintage game lover and mostly play Pacman and Tetris online)...enough about me. Video games are a growing part of the media now. Like the way that newspapers have moved online and become more interactive, video games have become more dynamic and educational possibilities abound.

ISIS-Inc is interested in the ways that gaming can be used to communicate sexual health messages or teach STD and HIV prevention. Like Deb said yesterday, "Sex is fun. Sex ed is boring." To stay on top of what's out there in the gaming/sex-and-games-world who do I depend on?

In no particular order, this is who helps me:

Sexy Videogameland blogger and The Aberrant Gamer columnist Leigh Alexander. Her analyses of the sly sex threads of Hentai games is a must read.

Bonnie's Heroine Sheik and Joystiq author of the column Playing Dirty Bonnie Ruberg. Bonnie has her fingers everywhere and it's always interesting.

Watercoolergames, Persuasive Games, Ian Bogost and crew. Fabulous, wonderful, necessary.

Sex & Games. A super news source for all things game/sex related.

ID the Creep / Bore yourself to sleep

I found ID the Creep at Watercoolergames, a great blog about games with more than an entertainment purpose. ID the Creep was produced by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

So the game starts: "You think you know who is E-mailing, chatting, or IM'ing with you? Really? Can you tell who means well and who doesn't? Play ID the Creep and see how you score when it comes to picking out the bad from the good....."

Then you get to be one of three young girl characters and 'play' some sample chats and IMs, and look at some email subject lines like this one from Robert Jones: "Can you help me download some music?" or this one from George Marxant: "Can you meet me at the food court? What R U wearing?"

Fast forward, if you made it through all three exercises congratulate yourself. If you're under 18 and you thought it was fun go buy yourself an ice cream.

The games purpose is fairly clear, but its method is flawed. There is no information for kids, or parents for that matter, about what the warning signs are. You're just supposed to guess at these cryptic little IM and chat messages. There is no reward for winning and no safety tips about what to avoid in real life.

Reminds me of another great idea without a point. I don't know the solution, but ID the Creep is a poor attempt.

Oh, and doesn't this picture of the "creep" look like a 10 year old with a grey streak and bags under his eyes?

Hookingup and gaming meet in Naughty America

Nick Yee, in The Daedalus Project , wrote about his research into online relationship development in games (mostly in World of Warcraft) in a post called The Impossible Romance. What's really interesting here are the comments. I highly recommend spending some time reading folks' comparisons of meeting online versus meeting in real life.

Along the same lines, Naughty America has done what we've (or gamers looking for dates) have all been waiting for. Now here's a game (launching sometime this summer) where you design a character, rearrange and decorate your bedroom to get ready for some action, cruise around in different neighborhoods, etc. So it's kind of similar to other games like Second Life in that there's chat between avatars, but in Naughty America, each character has a real dating profile. So when you meet someone online, you can have virtual sex with them and move on from there. There are even sexual position choices.

Bonnie of Bonnie's Heroine Sheik blogged it too, specifically the reluctance of the game makers to admit it is in fact a sex game! I was surprised to see that like True.com, Naughty America will submit game players to background checks.

Sociolotron - Virtual Sex with Consequences

So, I risk sounding way out of the loop, but MMOs are not really my thing. However, STDs are my kind of thing and now I'm going to write about both at the same time! The adult MMO, Sociolotron is all about social interaction for adults (21 and over please). The game, I'm finding out, has a gigantic STD/infectious disease component whereby players can sexually contract infections which then require cures. I found a really great string about this on Bonnie's Heroine Shiek, where player discuss the consequences of getting a virtual STD.

Below, I've pasted some text from the Sociolotron site's section about "illness" for your pleasure. My comments are in orange.

"There are various diseases in the game and they basically break down in two categories: Airborne and sexually transmitted. The first type of disease is caught just by being close to an infected character and is therefore very insidiously. The second sort of disease can only be transmitted during a sexual intercourse. Diseases also have various degrees of contagiousness. Some may have only a slight chance of being transmitted, others may spread like a wildfire.

All diseases are programmed individually and can show different symptoms and effects. All diseases go through different stages and each stage can have a different effect. [SOUNDS LIKE SYPHILIS!] Some diseases just heal when the end stage is reached, some remain at that stage and some eliminate your character. Some diseases can be determined by just looking at the character since it may show some signs like spots or ulcers, others can only determined by a medical biocorder (a diagnosis device) or other means."

"Healing a disease can be tricky. The only possible cure for a disease is a specific drug that is tailored to this disease. The system provides 10 chemicals as raw materials and these chemicals must be mixed in a specific formula to target a disease. What makes things worse is, that some cures may only heal a disease in a certain stage. It may reduce the stage to the preceding one or it may cure the disease completely."

"Finding these formulas can be a VERY challenging task. Recipes must be collected in recipe books by pharmacists which are precious goods because they can not be shared. Having a recipe for a certain cure can be a gold mine, depending on how common this recipe is." [FAMILIAR PHARMACEUTICAL POLITICS?] ...

"Searching for cure will be one major part of the game, since diseases are everywhere! Consider working together with other characters on this task! Perhaps you found and run a hospital?"

HIV/AIDS Video Game

Kaiser Family Foundation and mtvU are offering $75,000 in development and marketing support and a $5,000 prize to a college student who can pitch the best HIV/AIDS awareness viral video game (application here).

"Successfull ideas must:

1. Raise awareness about the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among 15-24 year olds in the United States and educate about key methods of prevention and risk reduction.
2. Identify ways to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, with a focus on personal action.
3. Address the silence, stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS.
4. Be interactive and able to live and be spread online.

Keep the following in consideration:

1. Be hopeful and empowering.
2. Entertain and engage the audience.
3. Not stigmatize or stereotype high risk groups.
4. Be unique and not afraid to push the envelope.
5. Be original to entrants and not have been released commercially in order to be eligible for consideration in this contest."

To my knowledge, no video game has been shown to be an effective public health intervention. By taking advantage of the target audience, and harnessing their promotion powers (read: ability to click send) there may be a shot at creating some buzz. If the problem with most interventions aimed at youth has been that no one sees it, the viral approach a la "Where the Hell is Matt" or "Darfur is Dying" or any Snakes on a Plane hubbub is a good start, as well as partnering with MTV. Anything that says, in not as many words, "from your health department" will never be cool enough to share.

A game that could visualize kids' social/sexual networks with a creative HIV transmission dynamics overlay would keep my attention. But a 15 year old...? Who knows.