Leveling Up: Unlocking Gaming’s Potential for Good

I’ve spent the past year diving deeply into the world of gaming and social impact. Starting with a literature review, what I found offered me tantalizing evidence that games can and do affect aspects of change[1]. Research study after research study demonstrated that it can and does affect change – but these were research studies. As an evaluator, I wanted to see how games supported change in the world. And so, I started to immerse myself in the sector, attending GenCon 2023, meeting some incredible game designers and users of games, and more recently, presenting a workshop at the Games for Change Festival 2024.

Here are some key observations so far:

Many in the gaming industry are interested in helping effect positive change.

The mere fact that there is a lot of research on the impact of games on educational growth[2] shows some of that interest.  The Games for Change Festival, in its 20^th year, is another example. Supported by Games for Change, it brings together nonprofit organizations, funders, and game developers to learn from each other in their efforts to support various impacts. Even through my canvassing of gaming companies on the floor of GenCon, I found genuine interest in how games can “do good”.

While there is research that provides evidence that gaming can affect change, there is little systemic evaluative effort and thus evidence that it does work outside the lab.

It was in that initial visit to GenCon that I started hearing stories of impact- how their game was used to teach or how a game helped someone address a personal issue. Many, when asked about evaluation of effects, shared that they only had anecdotal evidence in the form of these stories.  This was echoed in much of the reading I have done since and even at the Games for Change Festival.  The gaming sector appears to rely on research and related anecdotal evidence to tell its stories of impact. Yet, I’ve also learned that what works in the lab can work differently in other contexts and that individual stories often do not tell the full story.  The people attending the Festival are aware of this, for it was standing room only in my workshop on evaluation and, I received several questions around how to approach the work.

There is a misconception that laboratory level research is both appropriate and required to evaluate the impact of games.

First, I might argue that it is nearly impossible to conduct the type of research often found in laboratory studies in the messy world outside. Further, standards like random control trials are also nearly impossible to implement and even comparative groups can be difficult to find. Worse, these are often expensive to implement.  But that is no reason to abandon the use of other research methods to get a clearer sense of the contribution that a game can have. There are less expensive, yet nearly equally insightful methods that can be and are often used by evaluators. Attendees at my workshop started to see what is possible, but the industry needs help to understand this.

Guidance is needed to position gaming within larger efforts to affect change.

The experience of playing a game is personal. Even when played in groups, gaming directly affects the person playing it, similar to anyone participating in a social change program, such as education or health and healthcare support. At TCC Group we have learned that not only do these programs combine with other experiences to affect the person, but to create true and lasting social change, there often needs to be a combination of services and support. For example, a game may teach the importance of and motivate a person to get regular preventative dental care, but it is for naught if the gamer is unable to access that care. When thinking about broader social change, games can provide important contributions, but they need to be thought of not in isolation, but rather in the context. To be most effective, the gaming sector needs to work with social impact organizations and have games integrated into a broader portfolio of interventions.

Your thoughts?

We look forward to partnering with game developers, funders, and gamers to more effectively effect positive change – whether through collaborative strategy construction and integration of games into larger social efforts or evaluating the contributions games make.

[1] Shliakhovchuk, E. (Year). Video Games as Awareness Raisers, Attitude Changers, and Agents of Social Change. International Journal of Computer Games Technology.  https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/3274715

[2] Dallaqua, M. F., Nunes, B., & Carvalho, M. M. (2023). Serious Games Research Streams for Social Change: Critical review and Framing. British Journal of Educational Technology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13404