Xbox Issues Global Warming Game Challenge
Xbox Issues Global Warming Game Challenge
June 13, 2007
An inconvenient game? Perhaps...Microsoft and Games for Change (G4C) have come together for a socially-aware gaming design competition. The Xbox 360 Games for Change Challenge, open to college students worldwide, will launch this summer. Participants can submit game designs based on the theme of global warming. Submissions must be based on Microsoft's XNA Game Studio Express software.
The best entries will receive cash prizes, which can be used for education. Winners will also be invited to present their game to Microsoft game execs who will evaluate the designs as possible future download offerings on Xbox LIVE. The first-place winner gets a chance to apprentice with MS.
Said Suzanne Seggerman, co-founder and president of Games for Change:
The current generation of gamers is among the most socially conscious in history. We know from experience that young people are looking for ways to help make the world a better place...
Microsoft exec Jeff Bell added:
Microsoft is very happy to work with Games for Change... We are passionate about the potential games have in expanding horizons, creating networks, and helping design real-world solutions.
Former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey (left) was on hand for the announcement. Now if we can just persuade President Bush to check out the winning global warming game...
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Posted 11/08/09 at 09:02am
DarkSaber: http://tinyurl.com/yez7jyo
DarkSaber: http://tinyurl.com/yez7jyo
Posted 11/08/09 at 09:01am
DarkSaber: Oh for gods sake, the Gearbox pres is gobbing off about Valve again
DarkSaber: Oh for gods sake, the Gearbox pres is gobbing off about Valve again
Posted 11/08/09 at 08:53am
JDKJ: But cheer up, Austin. If the unemployment rate continues to double-digit as predicted for the next few years, your half-dozen stands a better than likely chance of returning to power.
JDKJ: But cheer up, Austin. If the unemployment rate continues to double-digit as predicted for the next few years, your half-dozen stands a better than likely chance of returning to power.
Posted 11/08/09 at 08:46am
JDKJ: @DS: If he had added the line about "or hiring illegals aliens under the table to work as nannies," it would have been a completely perfect descripition. And, yes, it's about the same difference between a six and a half-dozen.
JDKJ: @DS: If he had added the line about "or hiring illegals aliens under the table to work as nannies," it would have been a completely perfect descripition. And, yes, it's about the same difference between a six and a half-dozen.
Posted 11/08/09 at 08:31am
DarkSaber: My god, that description makes them sound almost Republican. Still what did you expect, Obama is only marginally more left than republicans.
DarkSaber: My god, that description makes them sound almost Republican. Still what did you expect, Obama is only marginally more left than republicans.
Posted 11/08/09 at 01:07am
Austin_Lewis: Health insurance, brought to you by the same kind of bureacrats who couldn't, in timely fashion, investigate the comments of any of the men Obama appointed Czars. Or their past. Or their history of not paying taxes.
Austin_Lewis: Health insurance, brought to you by the same kind of bureacrats who couldn't, in timely fashion, investigate the comments of any of the men Obama appointed Czars. Or their past. Or their history of not paying taxes.
Posted 11/08/09 at 01:06am
Austin_Lewis: Yes, and what a piece of crap it was. Arresting and fining people just because they don't make a personal choice to buy healh insurance, creating over a hundred new bureacracies, and worse.
Austin_Lewis: Yes, and what a piece of crap it was. Arresting and fining people just because they don't make a personal choice to buy healh insurance, creating over a hundred new bureacracies, and worse.
Posted 11/08/09 at 12:24am
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:the only trouble is a bunch of witless hacks wrote it....its going to be a train wreck....
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:the only trouble is a bunch of witless hacks wrote it....its going to be a train wreck....
Posted 11/07/09 at 11:33pm
JDKJ: BREAKING: In a photo-finish at the wire, House passes health care reform bill. Relatedly, in a fit of pique, Austin Lewis kicks innocent dog.
JDKJ: BREAKING: In a photo-finish at the wire, House passes health care reform bill. Relatedly, in a fit of pique, Austin Lewis kicks innocent dog.
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:26pm
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:23pm
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:18pm
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
Posted 11/07/09 at 03:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:58am
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:56am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:51am
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:48am
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
Copyright © 2007 ECA. All rights reserved.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
Yeah, sounds interesting, wish I had learned .net and C# already ect ect ect.
I am now entirely convinced that Microsoft are stealing my thoughts.
/b
100% agreed my friend.
Saying that "Politicians ... want to use them to push their politicized pseudo-science bullshit on younger audiences" is a bit much. G4C consists of many groups, not just politicians.
From their website:
Our members represent hundreds of organizations and include partners in the games industry, academia, nonprofits, local and state governments, foundations, the UN and artists.
Also, how is climate modeling pseudo science?
On Saturday evening, the non-profit Games for Change and Microsoft announced at the G4C Festival at Parsons Design School that they were launching together a new initiative to around the theme of climate change. Entitled The XBox360 Games for Change...
I assume you're calling "bullshit" on the growing belief than human activity is contributing to global warming, and that you do not dispute records which show the "globe" has indeed been "warming" (by less than one degree) over the last century.
As far as I can tell, the contest doesn't require that submitted games promote any particular political message, only that they have a "global warming theme." Why not make an XNA game that demonstrates your point of view?
@Brokenscope: Your first post was the best chuckle I had all morning and your second post gave me something to think about on the way home. Thanks.
I'm not necessarily calling 100% BS on this. The human activity does have a small impact, I can understand that. But the fact is, we've only really STARTED collecting data on this because we've only done so for about 100 years now, give or take a score. But because it is very limited data, I say its inconclusive evidence to approximately say. Aside from that, the Earth has been in a slow warming trend since the last Ice Age about 14,000 years ago, and Sol is showing increased activity as of the past several years.
I'm sure when the temperatures start to decrease again our politicians and "scientist" will be back with warning of the dangers of Global Cooling.
Scientist have various means of collecting data, even far beyond the beginning of temperature recordings.
For example, ice core drillings in the Antartica give very good data about green house gases in the past 650.00 years.
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2005/11/650000-years-of-gr...
The recent rapid warming trends are not caused by sun activity:
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2005/08/did-the-sun-hit-re...
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2006/10/how-not-to-attribu...
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2006/03/solar-variability-...
@PHOENIXZERO
Here's something about the Global Cooling Myth:
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2005/01/the-global-cooling...
My point was that there are informed and educated people whose opinions differ, and I think it could be beneficial for everyone interested if those differing opinions were expressed through games, as the contest (sort of) suggests. Possibly even more beneficial than expressing them here.
I hope it's not too optimistic to think that's the idea behind G4C, above and beyond the ambitions of any "politicized pseudo-science...."
Microsoft: Hey, let's make the news by promoting a design initiative that jumps on the bandwagon of current events fueled by political dogma....great idea.
Stinking Kevin - Sure, the globe is warming, but it might all be a natural process that we have no grasp of yet..read Phoenixzero's remarks.
You can download or buy it at:
www.venturearctic.com
We're a very small company and we don't have an advertising budget, which is why some might not have heard of the game. It's the follow up to the 2006 IGF finalist, Venture Africa, which we donated 4% of the revenue to the WILD Foundation, an org that protects wild spaces in Africa.
My point here is, we've done it. We made an important, fun, informative, and influential game that just needs its' audience to know about it.
Seriously though, this topic is highly political and it seems the selection of the winner will be unavoidably political as well. There are a lot of interesting statements that a developer can make about this topic, none of them relating directly to their techinical or game design skill. What are their criteria anyway?
Your welcome, it is a a question I have posed to during every environment debate that has arisen in my various classes since I started college. The reactions are varied and many.
Best response was "no, if nature kills us so be it"
"what if a comet was going to hit earth? Should be ignore that? even if we could stop it?"
"No of course not comets aren't part of nature...."
Yeah.. it took him a few minutes to realize what he said.
Of course in a philosophy class it goes into natural rights ect ect ect what allows us to change our environment vs natural drive to survive.
The fact that the earth is warming up really isn't the problem -- as others have pointed out, the earth has been slowly warming up ever since the last ice age. What scares scientists is the unprecedented RATE of warming that just happened to start around the time of the industrial revolution. Could that be a coincidence? Of course.... but no matter who or what's been causing climate change, it WILL affect us, and for that reason, it's worth looking into.
Besides, environmentally-based edutainment games are fun. When I was a kid, I loved games like "Lost Secret of the Rainforest" and "Lion."
I joined the ECA with the understanding that they would be political in only one regard—games. First they slandered firearms owners by equating firearms with narcotics in a recent ad campaign, and now they are taking sides on the 'global warming' issue.
That is two strikes, ECA.
Matt Lohr
Spring, TX
It would be funny if Al Gore started claiming that he's a hard-core gamer and tried to push "An Inconvenient Game" as a title.