NEW YORK, June 27, 2024: Today at the 2024 Games for Change Festival, Games for Change, in partnership with HP and Google Play, announced the winners of the second annual Diverse Voices, New Stories Challenge, an initiative to improve representation and increase visibility for underrepresented game developers in the mobile gaming industry. Four mobile games from independent studios in the U.S., Europe and Africa received awards for innovative stories, highly engaging gameplay, and real-world impact.
Games for Change also announced today that the third annual Diverse Voices, New Stories Challenge is now open for submissions through September 6. While in the past, the Challenge was focused on supporting creators with games that have not yet been released, the next edition of the program will support creators in bringing existing games from other platforms to Android, where they can reach over 3 billion active devices worldwide. The Challenge will award up to three winners with a $15,000 cash prize, guidance on porting their existing games to Android, and marketing opportunities through Games for Change and their global network.
“There are so many voices and stories that remain underrepresented in the gaming industry and the content it creates,” said Susanna Pollack, President of Games for Change. “We’re excited to bring the Diverse Voices, New Stories Challenge back for a third time, as part of Games for Change’s commitment to increasing access to funding and resources for marginalized creators.”
“The Diverse Voices, New Stories Challenge is a testament to the power of creativity and representation in the gaming industry. By supporting underrepresented creators and amplifying their voices, we are fostering a more inclusive, and innovative community that benefits us all,” said Michele Malejki, Global Head, Social Impact HP Inc. & Director, HP Foundation. “HP is proud to support initiatives like this as part of our aim to accelerate digital equity for 150M people by 2030.”
In 2024, Games for Change received submissions from 24 different countries on five different continents, highlighting the program’s global reach. The winning game, “Button City” by Subliminal Gaming, was chosen by a jury of industry experts who assessed each submission’s impact, innovation, gameplay, and overall ‘wow’ factor.
“Button City” was featured at the G4C Arcade during the 2024 Games for Change Festival, where it was exhibited alongside other impact games and immersive experiences for industry experts, enthusiasts, and a global audience interested in using games to drive real-world change.
The games and teams recognized with awards and honorable mentions this year include:
Challenge Winner - Button City
Developed by: Subliminal Gaming (United States)
Game Description: Button City is a cozy narrative adventure game about a fox and his friends banding together to save their local arcade. Explore a diorama world, play exciting arcade games, complete quirky quests, and meet cute animal friends.
Team Background: Subliminal Gaming was co-founded by an Indigenous woman artist and strives to highlight team members’ distinct worldviews as women and indigenous people. Additionally, the team actively works to highlight diverse voices and foster learning in their communities by teaching game development to Indigenous youth and translating their games into the Navajo language.
Links: Button City Trailer | Download Button City
Best in Innovation - Don't Forget
Developed by: Digital Arts And Entertainment (Belgium)
Game Description: Recollect your memories by looking for clues and playing brain-stimulating minigames while battling the effects of dementia. Explore three different key events of your life to figure out what has happened.
Team Background: The team consists of students from different nationalities, backgrounds, and genders. Through innovative mechanics, they provide a unique perspective on dementia.
Links: Don't Forget Trailer | Android Release Date: Summer 2024
Developed by: Causa Creations (Austria)
Game Description: An animated graphic novel exploring the unique stories of five migrants seeking new beginnings in Europe.
Team Background: Causa Creations consists of a diverse team of cultural backgrounds, skills, and genders, focusing on creating social impact games and highlighting underrepresented stories and voices.
Links: Songs of Travel Trailer | Download Songs of Travel
Best in Gameplay - Puzzle Scout
Developed by: Leti Arts (Ghana)
Game Description: A word search game based on great African history, revisiting the historic chain of African countries, civilizations, and tribes with young puzzle scouts.
Team Background: Leti Arts develops interactive content influenced by African history, folklore, and culture, leveraging African talent to immerse players in African heritage.
Links: Puzzle Scout Trailer | Download Puzzle Scout
The winning team at Subliminal Gaming received a $10,000 USD cash prize, hardware from HP, HyperX gaming peripherals, mentorship and marketing support to launch their game on the Google Play store, and promotional support from Games for Change.
As part of the Challenge, Games for Change also provided learning and professional development opportunities for underrepresented creators, including a Game Design Sprint at the Games for Change Africa Festival in December. During this event, teams developed game concepts related to the theme of “uplifting voices” and presented them to a panel of regional experts.
For more information on the Diverse Voices, New Stories Challenge and to view all the winning entries, visit the Challenge webpage.
###
About Games For Change
Since 2004, Games For Change (G4C) has empowered game creators and innovators to
drive real-world change — using games and immersive media to help people learn, improve
their communities, and make the world a better place. G4C partners with technology and gaming companies, nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies to run world-class events, public arcades, design challenges, and youth programs. G4C supports a global community of game developers working on using games to tackle real-world challenges, from humanitarian conflicts to climate change and education. For more information, please visit: www.gamesforchange.org
About Google Play
Google Play is an online store on Android that makes it easy for more than 2.5 billion monthly users across 190+ countries worldwide to discover millions of high-quality apps and delightful content. We help keep consumers safe by building rigorous protections into Google Play and requiring developers to follow high safety standards, while investing heavily in enabling developers to thrive. For more information, please visit: https://play.google/howplayworks
About HP
HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) is a global technology leader and creator of solutions that enable people to bring their ideas to life and connect to the things that matter most. Operating in more than 170 countries, HP delivers a wide range of innovative and sustainable applications, devices, services and subscriptions for personal computing, printing, 3D printing, hybrid work, gaming, and more. For more information, please visit: http://www.hp.com.
Media Contacts:
Eileen Tanner, Zebra Partners
Nicole Loher, McPherson Strategies