FEATURE ARTICLE
Altruistic Gaming
by Dana Klisanin
Would you like to generate 6,000 years worth of futures research via gaming ? Altruistiic gaming may be just what you ’ re looking for . Early in my career , I became interested in the use of digital technologies to support human and planetary well-being , an interest that eventually led to research in the area of digital altruism . One of the most rewarding things about exploring digital altruism is watching its evolution . In the early days , websites that supported “ altruism mediated by digital technology ” were simple “ click to donate ” or “ search to donate ” sites , in which users were able to contribute to the needs of others via their digital action ( rather than through personal monetary donations – an area more closely aligned with digital , or e-philanthropy ). Today , some of the most sophisticated examples of digital altruism are found in games .
A large number of these games can be found at Games for Change , a nonprofit organization founded in 2004 to “ facilitate the creation and distribution of social impact games that serve as critical tools in humanitarian and educational efforts .” Two examples of altruistic games currently featured on the Games For Change website include : Sea Hero Quest and Smorball . Rather than involving an exchange of money , these games use gameplay toward altruistic aims . In Sea Hero Quest , players help scientists fight dementia just by playing :
Players navigate the high seas , swamps and rivers of lava while navigating buoys , setting flares and spotting aquatic monsters . The route that players take as they navigate the environment will be analyzed by scientists aiming to set a benchmark for “ normal ” navigation skills , against which they can examine those of patients showing signs of early dementia . By crowd-sourcing the research , scientists are accelerating the process of gathering navigation data and it is estimated that just two minutes of play time translates into an equivalent five hours of lab-based research . After being collected and compiled , the resulting database will be accessible and open to anyone studying dementia . ( Sea Hero Quest , 2016 )
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