GDC 2016: Turn and face the strange in making games for change

GDC 2016 is nearly upon us, and today we'd like to quickly highlight a great talk at the March conference from game designer and educator Colleen Macklin about the new "third wave" of the games for change movement. 

Macklin's Advocacy track talk "Games for Change: Turn to Face the Strange," is exciting because it's designed to offer game makers from across the industry an insightful look at the history of the games for change movement and community of those dedicated to driving social change through digital games.

She'll also illuminate important, even surprising connections between games like FoldIt and The Witness (pictured), and speak to how it's more important than ever for designers to be aware of how games can influence society and affect social change -- even if they aren't explicitly designed to do so.

Even if you don't consider yourself a games for change-ist, this talk will shed light on your own practice, and how what you do, whether you are aware of it or not, is implicitly tied to this shift in games for change and change for games more generally.

And that's not all. There are lots of other great talks taking place on the Advocacy track at GDC 2016, including a panel discussion on "The Current State of Muslim Representation in Video Games," the "Beyond Ageism: Designing Meaningful Games for an Older Audience" session and the excellent "Ripple Effect: How Women-in-Games Initiatives Make a Difference" panel.

For more details about these and other announced GDC 2016 sessions, check out the GDC Session Scheduler and start putting together your game plan so you can get the most out of your time at GDC.

GDC 2016 itself will take place March 14-18th at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. For more information on GDC 2016, visit the show's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.

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