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As the first ever exclusive feature for new Gamasutra sister website <a href="http://www.seriousgamessource.com">Serious Games Source</a>, which deals with games created ...

Simon Carless, Blogger

April 11, 2006

2 Min Read

As the first ever exclusive feature for new Gamasutra sister website Serious Games Source, which deals with games created for training, health, government, military, educational and other uses, the Woodrow Wilson International Center's David Rejeski, co-founder of the Serious Games Initiative, argues forcefully for a public gaming corporation that would "provide grants to develop a diversity of games for the public good." Rejeski traces the history of public funding for other major creative industries such as television, suggesting: "However, serious games, like serious TV, are likely to remain a sidebar in the history of mass media. Non-commercial television floundered, despite millions of dollars of investment by the Ford Foundation, until the government stepped in and created a viable and long-lasting alternative. With similar vision and foresight, and a relatively small amount of funding, this could happen with video and computer games. A Corporation for Public Gaming (CPG) could be established that would operate on a model similar to its broadcasting equivalent, providing grants to develop a diversity of games for the public good. Like CPB, the goal of the CPG would be to provide high-quality games, which “inform, enlighten and enrich the public.” A $15 million annual investment would be made for a three-year period with a review conducted at the end of year three followed by recommendations for continuance, modification, or termination of the program." You can now read the full Serious Games Source feature on the subject, including specifics on Rejeski's intriguing concept (no registration required, please feel free to link to this column from external websites). [The Serious Games Source website will be rolling out more features, including new job and project connect and store functionality, over the next few weeks, and will be publishing features on Tuesdays and Fridays and news daily as it grows.]

About the Author(s)

Simon Carless

Blogger

Simon Carless is the founder of the GameDiscoverCo agency and creator of the popular GameDiscoverCo game discoverability newsletter. He consults with a number of PC/console publishers and developers, and was previously most known for his role helping to shape the Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Conference for many years.

He is also an investor and advisor to UK indie game publisher No More Robots (Descenders, Hypnospace Outlaw), a previous publisher and editor-in-chief at both Gamasutra and Game Developer magazine, and sits on the board of the Video Game History Foundation.

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