“The Street Arcade” – Teens Create Games to Combat Social Issues

A quick one today for anyone interested in seeing some socially infused games in the Chicago area. Steve Ciampaglia, an assistant professor at Northern Illinois University spent the summer with his partner, Kerry Richardson, working with a group of 13 teens to create video games that feature social issues. They’re inviting the public to come and join them in showing off their hard work at “Street Arcade” on September 2nd in Chicago.

From Ciampaglia’s description, the games all tackle a social issue for which the teens wanted to discuss. These themes range from the representation of minorities in the media to the challenges of immigration. To see video games that tackle social issues is in itself really awesome, but that fact that it’s teens making these games make them all the more worthy of note and discussion. More and more we’re seeing that video games can be powerful tools of social change, so it’s heartening to see that such a event and project exist.

You can find out all about the games and the event  at NIU’s news piece  right here!