"Several contests for the creation of computer games focus on social causes and other notions beyond simple entertainment.
The Reinventing Public Diplomacy Through Games Competition, sponsored by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and the U.S. State Department, will award $5,000 to the developers of the game that best uses the concept of "public diplomacy" to boost the reputation of the United States in countries around the world.
John Seely Brown, former chief scientist at Xerox and one of the judges of the contest, noted, "All types of explicit and collateral learning can take place through games." Meanwhile, the Darfur Digital Activist competition solicited games that highlight the genocide in Sudan.
Stephen Friedman, general manager of mtvU, said the competition, which is sponsored by the mtvU network, can teach players about an issue that is not generally covered by news media in the United States.
In that competition, the field has been narrowed to three finalist submissions--from Carnegie Mellon University, USC, and Digipen Institute of Technology--which are being tested by players to determine the eventual winner."
~via Wired News, 27 March 2006
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