Supporting science, technology, and diversity in games.
First Round: what would you like to see our community tips donated towards?
This is just a first pass poll to see, generally, what we might be able to donate the community tips towards. Please make suggestions if you don't see something covered!




Be the difference you want to see in the world.
Honestly, I'll admit to being torn between Game Jams and Projects (since Game Jams are also a wonderful way to spur creativity), but I trend towards Projects simply because of how difficult it can be to get started in this industry. Game Jams are more suited towards allowing industry veterans of one stripe or another to experiment.
It may be worth splitting the difference and doing a bit of both as time goes by, but for now I think working on helping novel projects and startups is a good place to begin. Apart from the difficulties of entering the industry, it's an opportunity to try to encourage the industry to grow in new directions. Not just in terms of things like representation, but instrumentality.
As it sits, the gaming industry is a hive of pathological working conditions for everyone in it, as demonstrated by things like the recent letter from Alex St. John. Through our selection process and by helping startups get their start outside of current conventions, we have the opportunity to help people work healthier and with greater creative freedom away from the soul crushing industry mill.
That said, I think we need to be very thoughtful about what sort of teams and projects we endorse and why, if we start endorsing projects at all. It's very easy to make something that /appears/ to engage with an issue, especially an issue of representation.
Actual substance is a more complex question, as is the question of whether or not a given team can or will deliver on their premises.
I 100% agree. Now matter how careful we are, we'll never be 100% sure that our donation goes to something that will be completed and deliver on its premise. I think, to your first point, we just have to do our best and try to help where we can. I think there's a lot to be said for us trying to set the best example and make a bit of a difference, even if things don't go down perfectly.
Oh and I also agree that we can split donations around as needed. :) So far we only have five dollars so we have some time to plan and scale!
I voted Other - mostly because I've never heard of Game Jams/Projects. My recent favorite gaming-related charity is TakeThis.org - that'd be my recommendation. :)
http://www.takethis.org/
What a wonderful charity. Never heard about it until now. Thanks for mentioning it. :)
First posting, just want to say I think all of these ideas are great (but I voted for one >.>)
I think scholarships or programs like Con or Bust could be great ways to help people directly participate in venues they would not initially have access to, but I'd defer to opinions of game professionals.