For Microsoft alum Jodi Ropert and her husband Jacques, who had long dreamed of starting a small business together, the descision to enter the mobile app fray with a game was an easy one. But they didn't want to just create a game- they wanted to help save our ailing planet. Realizing they could capitalize on their zeal for the enviroment, kids and consumer electronics in one shot, the Windsor, Calif., couple began investigating how to build eco-friendly games that offer both virtual and real-world ways to help save the Earth.
Asi Burak, co-founder of ImpactGames, known for its award-winning game PeaceMaker - which challenges older players to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - says the socially conscious game genre has gained clout during the past year.
“People are not asking anymore why make a game around social issues, they’re asking how,” says Burak, who is also the Co-president of Games for Change, a nonprofit that offers resources and education to developers and organizations designing games for social change.