Want to give a socially conscious Christmas gift this year for the gamers in your life?
You wouldn’t think that video gaming would take on a do-gooder mission, but this year we’ve seen the launch of a couple of games that may be a sign of altruistic times.
Early this summer we heard the announcement for the upcoming launch of Glupod, an online game where a creature called a glupod competes for a fictional currency called glucs, which are then converted into real currency, which is then used to support a cause of the player’s choice. Save a child, the environment or an endangered species, depending on how well you play. The co-founder of the launch company Something Inc., Ioannis Tsiokis says: “A Glupod gamer has a real purpose and a human mission.”
Something Inc. investor George Rokas said: “Being a casual game at its core, Glupod is a simple and emotional online experience that both children and adults can enjoy in their free time… It fosters human fulfillment by enabling players to make a substantial difference in the world in small chunks of time. Giving back has never been so much fun.”
For example, the company has partnered with Terra Pass, a carbon dioxide offsetting company. The partnership created a Facebook application that allows Facebook users to earn Glupod angels when they get friends to sign up for the application. Something Inc. will donate 1,000 glucs (equal to 202 lbs. of carbon dioxide offsetting).
“We want to send a green message to the world, and we do that by offering our game for free, and donating our funds to control global warming,” says Tsiokis.
In Montreal, Ubisoft did their part for endangered animals. Last month, the company launched a range of games called Planet Rescue, aimed at promoting environmental awareness for ages 6 to 12. The series is comprised of four games, including Planet Rescue Ocean Patrol, Planet Rescue Animal Emergency, Planet Rescue Endangered Island (for Nintendo DS) and Planet Rescue Wildlife Vet (for Nintendo Wii). Kids help an uncle build an eco sanctuary for endangered marine life and help develop conservation areas for wildlife with Planet Rescue Ocean Patrol. With Planet Rescue Animal Emergency, kid players help a new vet open their first clinic and diagnose and treat animals. When an offshore oilrig has an adverse effect on wildlife, the kiddie-members of Earth Rescue Team are called upon to restore biodiversity to the Endangered Island game. And the Wildlife Vet game gives kids the opportunity to manage their own vet clinic and rescue exotic, endangered species around the world, such as the sea turtle and the Chinese panda bear.
Yes, there are games that parents can feel truly good about.
