The introduction for Games Without Frontiers showcased the capacity of video games to create positive social change. There were four development groups, not including UVic’s David Leach (Director of the Professional Writing and the Technology & Society Minors), presenting to the audience of about forty. The first presenters created the game Tatulut te Tumuhw: Learning the Land Treaty, which recreates at process of land treaty negotiations in the traditional Hul’qumi’num land (Cowichan–Chemainus). The purpose of Tatulut te Tumuhw is to educate the audience on the cultural sensitivity, as well as the complexities, of land treaty negotiations, as well as teaching the Hul’qumi’num culture and history to settler and indigenous peoples alike.

The next presenters used their game Digital Fishers to demonstrate how games can make meaningful contributions to science. Digital Fishers has users analyze 15 seconds of deep sea scientific video and create tags, saving countless hours for researchers. Digital Fishers uses “gamification¹” techniques, which is the process of using traditional game elements such as experience points to make a fun and addictive experience, to encourage users to keep playing and contributing. Digital Fishers also has an educational aspect, in teaching players (especially school-aged children) about aquatic life.

Matthew Jenkins, a veteran game developer, showed how NGOs and advocacy groups can use video games to raise both money and awareness. Through the Peace Foundation and an as-of-yet unnamed disaster relief NGO, Jenkins has created Disaster Defender, which shows the trials and tribulations of disaster and response efforts. Disaster Defender will eventually be sold to raise money for the NGO to continue operations at times when emergency response donations have not yet reached the site of disaster. Disaster Defender shows how advocacy games must balance the demands of NGOs that attach their name to a product, and the marketability of the games.

Finally, Jim Tanaka and Jose Barrios of UVic’s Psychology Department showcased a variety of games they have developed to aid autistic children. The Let’s Face It program has produced games that teach facial and facial cue recognition to autistic children. By creating games that autistic children find fun and actively want to play, the Let’s Face It program has already seen beneficial results, and pushes forward to personalize the experience for the users.

¹  The term “gamification” was only used three times for every audience member throughout these opening presentations.