Are any nonprofits using Alternate Reality Gaming?

I would love to hear an answer to that question. I can’t find any. And trust me, I am looking. What is your experience? Know any that I missed? Not sure what alternate reality gaming is?

Check out these links.

NIN Alt Reality
http://www.jawbone.tv/news/1-news/466-trent-reznor-transmedia-case-study.html

LOST Alt Reality
http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/The_Lost_Experience

Olympics Alt Reality Game
http://blog.avantgame.com/2008/03/lost-ring-alternate-reality-game-of.html

P.S. I am in love with Jane since seeing her keynote at SXSW.

So take a look and let us know what you find. Or maybe pitch us on how they SHOULD be using it.

4 comments

  1. You should check out the World Bank’s social gaming site. I can’t remember the name off the top of my head, but they have a MMPRPG that deals with social responsibility.

    Robert Hawkins is the dude in charge of that stuff.

  2. Off the top of my head I can think of a few, if the concept of “nonprofit” is expanded a little:

    The Smithsonian: maybe not a strict nonprofit, but they do some great things in alternate reality gaming, including something w/ the Boy Scouts this weekend.

    Coral Cross: Hawaii pandemic flu from about a year ago.

    Finksburg Library, MD: is finishing up its 2nd alternate reality game this summer. It’s for their summer reading program.

  3. I know this isn’t exactly what you want but a Runescape Private Server I helped run donated all excess revenue from donations to Multiple Sclerosis. The cause was one of the admin’s best friend’s. In previous years there was problems with admin’s selling money and profiting while the server owners never made a profit. We had a pretty heart-warming thread on the forums(which got deleted in a hacking) with people saying about how glad they were we were doing it. We only got 4 unique people to donate directly but we never really campaigned it either. I had tried to send out some emails but one of the other server owners(who still is there after myself and the other activist left) made sure i never got access to the emails because then when I left I might take everyone with me(lol- rpg drama right).

    Of the total I’d say about $950 came from the server:
    http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?pg=fund&fr_id=7540&pxfid=212206

    Here’s the server. like i said, no one involved in that is still there:
    http://www.near-reality.com

    email me if you want to contact anyone involved.

  4. http://www.nonprofitcommons.org These guys are doing a ton in Second Life to promote and support non profits from all over the world. I’m trying to get my organization to buy into this too….

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