Summary of Evaluation Findings

WHY GAMES?

Playing games brings together

fundamental aspects of

psychology, sociology and

technology to engage people for

social change

72% of American households play

computer and video games

Have seen the rise of games in

popular culture with video games

and reality television competitions

Games engage the public’s

imagination

WHY FUND

SOCIAL

IMPACT

GAMES?

Knight Foundation aims to

increase the ability of individuals

to engage in change by funding

innovative ideas

Research on digital games

shows that they can influence

behavior

Knight wanted to see if the same

was true for games that took

place in the real-world, in real-

time with real-people

WHY FUND

SOCIAL

IMPACT

GAMES?

Funded two pilot projects:

Macon Money in Macon, GA

Battlestorm in Biloxi, MS

– Knight partnered with local

partners on a game that

promotes the importance of

hurricane preparedness

through activities focused on

youth as leaders.

CATALYZING

SOCIAL

CHANGE

Macon Money:

Connecting

residents and

spurring

economic

growth.

AT A GLANCE

More than 3,500 unique

players.

About one in five players

played the game more than

once.

$65,000 was distributed to

players to spend at 41 local

businesses.

The top-earning business made

more than $12,000

A MACON-

CENTRIC

INTEGRATE

D

STRATEGY

Game

designers used

images from

local partners

and from the

city’s history

HOW TO

PLAY THE

GAME

Match your bond

half with another

player, redeem

it for Macon

Money bills and

spend them in

local businesses

Watch a video of how to play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT91aQTFHiY

Timeline of

Total Game

Activity

(Online and

Offline)

WHO

PLAYED?

Game had a

young

audience

Most players

surveyed

were 40

years or

younger

Note: When pre- and post-game surveys were combined, the

percentage increases to 84%.

WHO

PLAYED?

Young

Professionals

Majority of players

surveyed that

were 31-40 were

employed full-time

with incomes

$60k and above

WHO

PLAYED?

More women

than men!

WHO PLAYED?

African Americans

underrepresented

Outreach

efforts to boost

their

participation

were largely

unsuccessful

Key Findings:

Engaged

Residents/

Created New

Connections

Key Findings:

Engaged

Residents/

Created

Social

Connections

Players used social networks

(offline and online) to engage

others in the game and meet

new people.

66% of matches were with

people players did not previously

know

63% of matches were with

people the player would be “very

unlikely” to meet otherwise.

Key Findings:

Engaged

Residents/

Created

Social

Connections

Players played regularly with a

group, such as friends, colleagues

or people at church

Key Findings:

Engaged

Residents/

Created

Social

Connections

Relatively few strong ties created – only1

in 5 matches led to further personal

contact, and only 15% of those became

friends on Facebook

Key Findings:

Catalyzed

Economic

Development

Key Findings:

Catalyzed

Economic

Development

Players continued to return to

businesses they visited during the

game

– 46% reported they spent Macon Money

at a business that was new to them, and

of those, 92% reported they have

returned to a business that was new to

them

– More than 85% of players surveyed said

their perception of shops, parks and

other amenities in the target revitalization

area improved since playing the game

Key Findings: Catalyzed Economic Development

Key Findings:

Contributed to

Place

Attachment/

Built Social

Capital

Key Findings:

Contributed to

Place

Attachment/

Built Social

Capital

Game created sense of excitement

about Macon and increased

optimism about Macon’s future

– Positive correlation between

number of times played game

and agreement with “the energy and appeal of the CHC/Downtown

Macon area is on the rise.”

“Macon is becoming a more welcoming place for

young adults to live. “

“5 years from now, Macon will be an even better

place to live”.

Key Findings:

Contributed to

Place

Attachment/

Built Social

Capital

Familiar faces

in our

environment

contribute to a

sense of place

and belonging

Majority of players would recognize

their matches and say “hi” on the street

What

did we learn?

BEST

PRACTICES:

Game Design

Create synergies by building on

existing revitalization efforts and

events

Combine diverse value

propositions for players with

different or evolving interests

Combine online and offline

elements to meet players where

they are most comfortable

interacting

– Explore use of social media to create

longer lasting connections

BEST

PRACTICES:

Game Design

Build in strategies so that bills are

spent equitably within target area

of local businesses

– Encourage use of social media by

businesses

Mobilize local business owners to

invest in game

Experiment with mechanics that

encourage looser or stronger

connections between players

BEST

PRACTICES:

Implementation

Target outreach to highly

networked players

Right-sizing: Macon Money best

suited to small cities or

neighborhoods

Right-timing: Game should be

played intermittently, not

continuously

Get city involved in game

promotion

KEY

TAKEAWAYS

Games like Macon Money need to

reinforce other efforts and be part of a

larger context. Tap into existing

networks and infrastructure

Keep your project grounded in the

community you are serving from

development through implementation.

Be open to changes that help fix

unanticipated bugs in the game’s

design or implementation.

Have an “open-source” mindset and be

prepared to let go when the game

shows signs of having a life of its own.

MACON

MONEY

In Your Town

Game designers produced

documentation designed to help

anyone interested in creating

future iterations of Macon

Money in their community

Link: http://www.maconmoney.org/in_your_town

MORE

ON KNIGHT

AND GAMES

Please visit:

Knightfoundation.org/games

EVALUAITON

AND

ASSESSMENT

Methodology:

– Pre- and post-game interviews with

Knight Foundation, Area / Code, and

community partners

– In-depth interviews with 26 players

– Results of pre- and post-game player

survey (n-757)

– Area / Code bond tracking data, analysis

of game website and Facebook traffic

– Participant observation of game-related

events

– Focus group interviews and surveys with

participating businesses

Questions?