Ani-Gamers Joins Anime and Manga Bloggers For Japan

In my last post on the recent Japanese earthquake, I provided some basic details of the problems currently occurring in Japan in the aftermath of the massive 8.9 quake. And while I suggested you donate to charities to help the victims of this tragedy, Daniella Orihuela-Gruber from All About Manga has gone the extra mile and started up an informal group of anime/manga bloggers who are pushing for more donations.

Today Ani-Gamers joins in this campaign, reminding our readers that there is still months if not years of work to be done for Japan to rebuild after the earthquake. And, as Daniella points out, the $12 million in donations have not yet even surpassed the numbers for the recent Haitian earthquake or the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe in New Orleans!

For more information on donating, and suggestions on some great charities to give to (namely ShelterBox and the highly-rated Doctors Without Borders), check out Daniella's big Anime and Manga Bloggers For Japan post.

Continue reading... | Write a comment

Design an ARG to Support Cancer Research

ARGs, or Alternate Reality Games, are large-scale games that use mass media such as the internet and newspapers to relay game information to players, who must discover clues and solve riddles to proceed. Their fans are often very dedicated and they place large amounts of time, money, and attention into them. With Let's Change the Game, though, some developers are trying to turn this rabid fanbase to help support the important work done by Cancer Research UK.

At their site, you can send a 500-word proposal for a new ARG. The winning teams receive £1300 ($2600) and all of the resources of Cancer Research UK to develop their ARG. The people at Let's Change the Game claim that these resources "could result in one of the biggest ARGs, ever."

Those interested can form a team and send in their proposal at Let's Change the Game. I'm loving the idea of playing in an ARG that allows each of us to have an impact on the important work of researching cancer. People talk about creating games with real-world messages, but they should look no further than this very ARG.
[via Joystiq]

Continue reading... | Write a comment