This year, the festival was highlighted
by the “Ga-Cha” Awards, where the finalist games were up for
recognition in three different categories: Best Awareness-Raising
Game, Best Transformation Game, and Best Social Commentary/Art Game.
Additionally, attendees submitted ballots to select an “Audience
Choice Award” winner, and several honorable mentions were also
given.
The 2007 finalists were:
A
Force More Powerful - Honorable Mention for Gravitas
Developed by: International Center on
Nonviolent Conflict, York Zimmerman Inc. and Breakaway Games
Project Lead: Steve York
Purpose: To teach people about the
effectiveness and applicability of nonviolent strategies in struggles
for rights and freedom.
Airport
Security - Winner: Best Social Commentary/Art
Game
Developed by: Persuasive Games
Project Lead: Ian Bogost
Purpose: The game argues that American
airport security policy has little to do with security.
Ayiti:
The Cost of Life - Winner: Best Awareness-Raising Game
Developed by: GlobalKids and GameLab,
co-developed through an after-school program called Playing 4 Keeps
Purpose: To focus on the issue of
poverty, using the country of Haiti as a case study, and to study the
impact of the development experience on the teens who made it.
Darfur
is Dying - Winner: Audience Choice Award
Developed by: Students at the
University of Southern California
Purpose: To raise awareness and
motivate action on the genocide in Darfur.
Karma
Tycoon
Developed by: Do Something, the
JPMorgan Chase Foundation, and 9mmedia.
Project Lead: Aria Finger
Purpose: To teach young people about
social entrepreneurship and financial responsibility.
Peacemaker - Winner: Best Transformation Game
Developed by: ImpactGames
Project Leads: Eric Brown, Asi Burak
Purpose: The game challenges players to
succeed in bringing peace to the Middle East.
Real
Lives
Developed by: Educational Simulations
Project Lead: Bob Runyan
Purpose: To develop understanding of
and empathy for people in different parts of the world and in
different life circumstances.
The Redistricting Game - Honorable Mention for Procedural
Correctness
Developed by: USC Game Innovation Lab
Project Lead: Chris Swain
Purpose: To educate voters about
congressional redistricting and its abuse, and to motivate reform.