game

A Game That Protects Nature

- Adam Clare

A new Facebook game has been launched that allows you to help the planet while you play. It’s called MyConservationPark and it’s made by Good World Games.

MyConservationPark is a socially conscious Facebook game that places you in charge of building and managing a protected wildlife reserve. Create and sustain a livable habitat for your endangered heroes while defending your park from human and environmental threats. Purchase species and hire helpers to improve your animal’s habitat; the healthier your animal’s habitat, the more Conservation Cash and Good World Gold you earn. Your gameplay supports real life conservation efforts: MyConservationPark donates a percentage of all in-game purchase revenue directly to one of our non-profit partners’ conservation programs.

Play MyConservationPark
Good World Games

Games for Women

- Adam Clare

Some entrepreneurs in Vancouver have discovered that there are not enough games designed specifically for women and they are looking to change that.

As a game designer myself, I think that this is a great thing to see!

Few mainstream video games are made — or marketed — with women in mind, even though nearly 40 per cent of video game players in the United States and Canada are female. The likely reason? Few women are actually designing the games.

Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch and Kirsten Forbes hope to ride to the rescue. Last July, the two Vancouverites launched Silicon Sisters, the first game development studio in the country owned and run by women. It is unique in its mission to design games for young girls from a female perspective.

Their first game, School 26, launches in early spring on computer and portable Mac devices. It’s a role-playing game in which players act as a high school student who helps peers with personal and school-related problems.

Read the rest of the article.

Thanks Stewy!

Board Game Jam Toronto

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

As one of the organizers of this event I hope you all make it out to Board Game Jam! We’re putting together a weekend filled with building board games and playing them. We figure that through play we can build a bunch of games to bring more fun to the world as well as liven up the gaming community.

It’s happening January 29th-30th and we’d love to see you come out and make a game – particularly if the game is about good things!

Board Game Jam is an opportunity to play creatively with a freedom not normally seen these days. It’s a celebration of simplicity, and a return to some pretty awesome fundamentals. Do you love board games? Then you’re perfectly qualified to do this.
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The point is that board games are both wonderfully accessible and quite deep. Everyone can intuitively understand the basics of what goes into making a board game. On a mechanical level, it’s simple arts and crafts. For people looking to be creative, that can be a great change from making a film or any kind of digital media, which require significant technical knowledge and a team of specialists. But making a board game can be lead you down a rabbit-hole into a world of rich creative exploration and sophisticated design. Like the best games of any sort, making a board game is both easy to learn, and tough to master.

Check out Board Game Jam!

Here’s the Facebook event page.

Board Game Jam: Play to Change

- Adam Clare

Board Game Jam is happening in Toronto this month and it’s a chance for people to explore the world of game making. If you’ve ever wanted to make a game then this is a place to start!

Being a fan of educational and serious games I encourage all of you in Toronto to check out Board Game Jam and participate to make a game that can make the world a better place!

Board Game Jam
Board Game Jam

At the same time, even while videogames seem to occupy the headlines, the world of board gaming is seeing a resurgence in some smaller part of our collective consciousness. All the hipsters know how to play Settlers of Catan, and Snakes & Lattes seems to be packed every single day. If you ask me, it’s part of some broader reconnection to real social interaction in so-called “meatspace,” but I’ll spare you the philosophizin’.

The point is that board games are both wonderfully accessible and quite deep. Everyone can intuitively understand the basics of what goes into making a board game. On a mechanical level, it’s simple arts and crafts. For people looking to be creative, that can be a great change from making a film or any kind of digital media, which require significant technical knowledge and a team of specialists. But making a board game can be lead you down a rabbit-hole into a world of rich creative exploration and sophisticated design. Like the best games of any sort, making a board game is both easy to learn, and tough to master.

Board Game Jam is a low-barrier way to enter the world of gamemaking, and have fun doing it.

Check out Board Game Jam!

Beer and Games in Toronto

- Adam Clare

The game scene in Toronto is booming and this is a good thing. Games can bring people together in many aways, sometimes through online interaction, butI think the best connections come from playing games in person with other people. Indeed, a new cafe called Snakes and Lattes has opened in Toronto that caters to playing games with friends and strangers.

Now, a friend of Things Are Good is combining a scavenger hunt with beer. It’s to promote small breweries and encourage people to explore the streets of Toronto. Readers of this site will probably remember that we think beer is good. Just don’t drink too much in one sitting.

“This is an opportunity for people to show off their knowledge of both beer and Toronto in a fun and competitive way,” said Mirella Amato, Owner of Beerology. “While the focus of the event is on beer, it is also about discovering Toronto in a new light, making it a fun addition to Toronto Beer Week.”

“Urban adventures test skill as much as determination, and this is an event that will appeal to adults with a broad range of ages, knowledge, and interests, so there is something for everyone,” adds Rachel Young, Co-founder of Camaraderie. “Team work and collaboration are definitely encouraged.”

Here’s their facebook page.

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