Computer Graphics World

n n n n Education A MD, for one, sees video games as an ideal platform for not only educating kids, but also for addressing social issues. And, AMD is not alone in its thinking. A number of companies, organizations, schools, foundations, governments, and more are expanding the use of video games beyond their entertainment value. In fact, one such entity that is making a difference in this area is Games for Change (G4C), which provides support, visibility, and shared resources to individuals and groups using video games to spur social change, giving special assistance to nonprofits and foundations entering this field. Recently, AMD teamed up with G4C to expand this initiative with an online tool kit, a guide to assist nonprofit organizations that are creating games containing social-issue content focused on such topics as the envi- ronment, energy consumption, poverty, and health, for example. Offered through the AMD Foundation's AMD Changing the Game initiative, the "Let the Games Begin: A Toolkit 4 Making Social Issue Games" contains resource information for those interested in creating these types of games. e kit (available at GamesforChange.org/ toolkit) includes examples of successful titles with social content as well as in-depth pre- sentations by game-design experts. "AMD Changing the Game has created excellent opportunities for students to ex- press their views on the world while learning important life skills through the experience of creating digital games," says Allyson Peer- man, president of the AMD Foundation, whose goal is to connect and empower in- dividuals with knowledge, thereby opening doors to opportunity. Game Partners AMD Changing the Game is a signature program of the AMD Foundation and sup- ports initiatives designed to help youth har- ness the power of video games with social content while learning critical life and edu- cational skills in the areas of science, technol- ogy, engineering, and math (STEM). "We had been looking for the sweet spot in terms of an education signature program for AMD that we could deploy through our company sites around the world," Peerman says of the initiative, which launched last June. "e primary criteria was that it had to tie closely to our business, and we wanted it to also reflect our long-standing commitment to education, which has been AMD's philan- thropic focus for more than 25 years." According to Peerman, AMD has a vest- Global Kids instituted a game program built around social issues. The initiative has matured quickly, becoming a model for other nonprofits. March 2009 42

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