Gamasutra Serious Games News

GDC 2012's Advocacy Track debuts White House, 'women in games' lectures

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Today, Game Developers Conference 2012 organizers are highlighting the show's new Advocacy Track, which will cover key issues facing the game industry, spanning White House-led initiatives to gender equality and beyond. This special mini-track is new to the conference this year, and aims to improve the game industry by shedding light on pertinent social or cultural issues in the game biz that sometimes don't get sufficient attention. The sessions within this track will are open ...

GDC 2012 details Moriarty, Della Rocca, 'Rant' sessions in Education Summit

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

For the latest update on the Game Developers Conference 2012, show organizers have detailed several sessions within the Education Summit, featuring adventure game veteran Brian Moriarty (pictured) on "sinister" game courses, a look at university based game incubation, and a series of rant sessions from the industry's leading educators. These sessions join a host of other talks within the show's Education Summit, which will explore experimental educational techniques and influential game research that educators can ...

World of WarCraft can boost brain function in elderly players, suggests study

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

With games like Brain Age or Big Brain Academy already on the market, there's no shortage of games that aim to help players refine their mental abilities. It turns out, however, that games like World of Warcraft can serve a similar purpose. A new study from North Carolina State University has found that the Blizzard-developed MMO can help elderly players increase their spatial awareness, improve their memory, and better focus their attention. The study examined ...

GDC 2012 details Game IT Summit talks featuring McGonigal, Bogost, more

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Game Developers Conference 2012 organizers have debuted a series of notable sessions within the first-ever Game IT Summit, featuring talks from prominent game developers and researchers such as Jane McGonigal (pictured), Ian Bogost, and much more. This new Summit, scheduled for Monday, March 5, will examine how video games can help accomplish organizational roles through enterprise-focused game development. Across its numerous sessions, the Game IT Summit will cover new ways to boost productivity, increase user ...

University of Colorado receives $1.5M grant for game research

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Newsbrief: The National Science Foundation has given a $1.5 million grant to the University of Colorado at Boulder to help fund research on using video games to aid computer science education. The money will go toward supporting a team of researchers within the university who have previously used video game design curricula to teach students about computer science and encourage them to pursue careers in information technology. This new project will examine how video game ...

Reminder: Game Developer magazine's annual salary survey ends Friday

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

The editors of Gamasutra sister publication Game Developer magazine would like to remind developers to take part in the annual Game Developer Salary Survey, which compares salaries and benefits from throughout the video game industry. The survey closes Friday the 17th, and participants who complete the survey can enter to win a free GDC pass. With the provided information, the publication will provide a snapshot of what developers are earning across a broad swath of ...

GDC 2012 details first-ever Games for Change @ GDC Summit

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Today, Game Developers Conference 2012 show organizers have chosen to detail the brand-new Games for Change @ GDC Summit, which features talks with Eidos life president Ian Livingstone, Sojo Studios on its charity-focused WeTopia, a panel of designers on how games can explore love as a thematic focus, and more. This new Summit, scheduled for Tuesday, March 6th, and organized in partnership with the non-profit group Games for Change, will examine how video games can ...

Serious Games Association opens membership

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Newsbrief: Serious Games Association, a new international trade group serving the non-entertainment games industry, has opened its membership to students, developers, publishers, tool providers, analysts, and other professionals. The association will cater to those working in the field of "serious games," or game-like software for educational, corporate, defense, political, advertising, charity, or other non-entertainment purposes. Those who sign up for a membership ($35 annual cost for individuals) will be able to receive an SGA newsletter, ...

What's NASA doing making video games?

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

You might not be able to tell at first blush, but NASA is really into video games -- so much so, in fact, that the organization has produced several of its own titles to teach the public about the latest in aeronautics technology and research. In just the last few weeks, the group has released two internally-developed titles: a Facebook trivia game called Space Race Blastoff and an air traffic control simulator dubbed Sector 33, ...

Ovelin raises $1.4M for music education games

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Newsbrief: Finnish startup developer Ovelin has raised $1.4 million in funding, with which it plans to expand on its WildChords guitar-teaching game for iPad. Released last year, WildChords uses audio technology to listen to the sound of a guitar, and allows the player to progress through the game and earn more points if they are playing the correct chords and notes. The round of funding was led by VC firm True Ventures, reports TechCrunch. Ovelin ...