Last week, I attended the Games for Change Festival at the New School here in New York. The mission of Games for Change is to promote the use of digital games for social change. Many nonprofits, game developers and funders were in attendance to connect with each other and learn more about this relatively new field.

Though we don’t make games over here at Arts Engine, it was interesting to see how effective they can be as learning tools. One panel exploring the topic consisted of students varying in age from middle school to recent high school alumni. All seven of the student panelists had participated in programs that allowed them to become an active part of the game development cycle. Many of them worked with the very powerful 3D imaging software called Maya to create realistic looking worlds for their video games. I have tried to use Maya in the past, and failed, so the fact that they were able to master the software really impressed me!

Several of the students were local to New York City. Brandon, a student from the Bronx River Art Center, used Maya to create a game to show his peers the pollution—as well as the wildlife—in the Bronx River. Two middle school aged students from Washington Heights, where I grew up, participated in a program run by Computers For Youth that allowed them to evaluate games and software. As reviewers of educational games, they learned valuable skills for the future such as public speaking and how to create their own presentations. It was great to see so many students actively using media—especially in the lower-income neighborhoods of New York where education in the arts is so often neglected.