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  • 2007 Serious Games Summit GDC: Jane McGonigal On ilovebees, ARGs This latest Serious Games Source feature covers a keynote by alternate reality game creator Jane McGonigal presented during the recent 2007 Serious Games Summit, during which she stated “I design games from the future,” and offered insight into the creation of Halo 2 ARG ilovebees.
  • Serious Game Engine Shootout In the march up to the Serious Games Shootout panel to take place in March during the Serious Games Summit in San Francisco, writer Richard Carey presents a comparative analysis of several prominent engines currently used for developing serious games, as well as quotes from the companies behind the technologies.
  • Playing with Fire: Enemy Dolls In this latest Playing with Fire feature, Powerful Robot Games' Gonzalo Frasca offers his unique insight into the perception of conflict in games, as well as in other media, and notes how looking at events through the eyes of the opposition could lead to better understanding.
WILL Gets Grant For Anti-School Violence Serious Games[04.11.07]

Virtual experience behavior modification gaming provider, WILL Interactive, has announced that the company, in a partnership with the Public Charter School Student Support Center (SSC), has received a grant from CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield.

According to WILL Interactive officials, the grant will be used to address school violence in five Washington, D.C. charter schools by introducing an education program that will utilize two of the company's serious games, namely Hate Comes Home and Interactive Nights Out 2 (INO2). Included within the grant will be a license for each school to continue using these games after the initial education program is completed.

Both of these games are now available to schools and organizations across the country, both online and on CD. The serious games were built using WILL Interactive's patented VEILS (Virtual Experience Immersive Learning Simulations) technology, which the company notes has been proven effective in changing behavior and enhancing positive decision-making.

Hate Comes Home begins with a homecoming dance that is cut short when two students are killed in a hate crime committed by other students. In the game, the player must navigate through a series of decisions to reach a peaceful outcome.

INO2, on the other hand, is designed to help 11 - 17-year-olds make educated choices about alcohol and other drugs by placing them in a series of potentially compromising situations.

“We are excited to work with CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield to take a decisive step in addressing the important issue of school violence," said WILL Interactive CEO Sharon Sloane. “WILL Interactive's serious game learning tools, Hate Comes Home and Interactive Nights Out 2, instruct in a unique, highly engaging medium attractive to the video game generation. The software will be instrumental in the success of this program in teaching students how to think rather than what to think.”

By Jason Dobson
April 11, 2007 07:30:00 AM PT