MEMORANDUM
TO:
G.A.M.E.S. Program Network and Interested Persons
FROM:
Tayloe Washburn
DATE:
August 28, 2013
RE:
G.A.M.E.S. Program Overview
1. GOALS
The G.A.M.E.S. Initiative program is a national effort to add a powerful new tool to the
significant work by many organizations to increase the number of girls who choose science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers1. By all accounts, this number has been, and
remains, very low in our nation (less than 20%).2 While there are some examples of good games that
engage girls in certain specific academic areas, such as Math, past efforts to develop games that engage
girls in considering a STEM career have not been successful. Given this, a broad coalition of people and
organizations from across the country has come together to tackle this issue in our first initiative to
develop 2-3 compelling and effective video games which, when played by middle school-aged girls, will
result in more girls pursuing STEM careers. Our work will build upon what we know from existing
research. By making these games accessible and attractive to middle school girls, we hope to
dramatically increase the number of girls who will pursue STEM professions.3
Our overall mission is to, as part of the broader national STEM effort, use the medium of video
games to increase the number of girls who pursue STEM careers. Our specific initiatives:
Develop 2-3 compelling and effective games that girls in middle school will want to play and that
over time and in concert with other STEM efforts, will increase the number who opt to pursue STEM
careers;
2. Develop tools to enable girls in middle school to get actively involved in design and making games, in
order to increase the number of women over time in gaming and computer science careers; and
3. Build a sustainable network of committed professionals and stakeholder organizations to develop,
distribute and disseminate the games and related tools.
1.
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See page 6
See page 6
3 See page 6
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2. NEED
The research tells us that 80% of girls in this nation have decided by Grade 9 that while they
might have an interest in STEM subjects and may be very good at them in school, they do not wish to
pursue careers in science, technology, engineering or math. Studies also confirm that girls (and boys)
under 18 spend approximately two hours a day after school on some form of video device.
Northeastern University conducted a seminar of Gaming CEOs at its Seattle campus this spring
2013 to better understand why Gaming companies did not devote more time to educational games. The
CEOs in attendance stated: 1) business models are based on purely recreational games that sell in large
numbers; and 2) most efforts to develop educational video games are funded largely by philanthropic
groups and fail due to lack of sufficient resources to try and fail in their iterations in designing
games. Experimentation and failure in early attempts, is a key part of the process. The Gaming CEOs
indicated that development of compelling and popular video games for girls to interest them in pursuing
STEM careers was achievable, provided these principles are kept in mind.
3. FOUNDING PARTNERS
G.A.M.E.S. program is an ambitious Program, which requires the coordinated resources and
efforts of many people to be successful. The Executive Committee (EC) is led by Tayloe Washburn, Dean
and Regional CEO of Northeastern University’s Seattle Graduate Campus, Dana Riley-Black, Director of
the Center for Inquiry Science at the Institute of Systems Biology (ISB), and Karen Peterson, Principal
Investigator of the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) and CEO of the EdLab group. Together,
these volunteers have begun the process of designing the overall approach. A large number of
individuals have volunteered to help in one or more of the Working Groups (Research/Assessment,
Gamers, Fundraisers & In Kind Services, and Networkers). We welcome additional members of these
working groups who can add value. These working groups are a large part of the G.A.M.E.S. program
brain-storming and strategy development (see below), and the implementation that will take place.
Northeastern University serves as the fiscal home for collecting and distributing contributions to
the G.A.M.E.S. effort.
4. ACCOMPLISHMENTS
JUNE 28, 2013, G.A.M.E.S. PROGRAM LAUNCH: Following preliminary discussions among
leaders of Gaming, girl-serving organizations, STEM groups and corporate leaders, we conducted a two
hour "launch" event of the G.A.M.E.S. initiative, with groups in Seattle (145), Charlotte (20) and Boston
(20). The attached video captures the energy and excitement of the launch event. Attendees validated
the importance of the overall issue, the opportunity the video game medium provides, and agreed that
progress on this front would provide fulfilling new career choices for girls, and help our nation by
bringing more women and their creative and intellectual input into STEM industry sectors. Attendees
selected one or more of the four working groups to carry out our initiatives, each described below.
Research/Assessment Working Group (21 members) – Led by Dana Riley-Black, ISB, and Professor
Magy Seif El-Nasr, Northeastern’s Game User Experience and Design Research Lab. Key tasks are:
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Analyze existing research on girls and careers, how girls interact with games, and basic protocols to
be factored into game plots developed;
Develop the assessment tools and coordinate the testing of these within the prototype games and,
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Supervise a longitudinal study to follow the education and career path of groups of girls who play
the games developed to assess the long-term impact.
Gamers Working Group (40 members) – Led by John Williamson, experienced game designer,
developer and producer and Susan Gold, Northeastern University, founder, developer and president,
Global Game Jam. Key tasks are:
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Organize the “Game Jam” process with hundreds of gamers and girls to develop ideas and plots for
G.A.M.E.S. Program;
Organize the Expert Gamers Panel to reduce the many game ideas to 20 prototype games for
testing, and ultimately to the 2-3 to move forward to production; and
Inform decisions on form and delivery approach the final production, marketing and distribution
should adopt.
Funders and In-Kind Services Working Group (18 members) – Led by Gail DeGulio, an experienced
Gaming Company business executive and technology leader. Key tasks are:
 Develop and implement the effort to secure the funds and resources needed to accomplish the
mission of the G.A.M.E.S. program; and
 Acquire data, ideas, and production services of for-profit gaming companies to inform and support
G.A.M.E.S. program, a community and non-profit enterprise.
Networkers Working Group (46 members) – Led by Tayloe Washburn. Key tasks are:
 Convene and connect people, companies, nonprofits, and others who share a commitment to the
overall mission of G.A.M.E.S. program
 Align the interest with the needs of this initiative and constructively organize and leverage the
support that is developed.
5. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY – KEY ACTIVITIES AND TIMELINES
The broad strategy outlined to date will become more detailed as the initiative moves forward.
We plan to take this in measured steps, beginning with development of a Logic Model in September to
map the desired outcomes, resources and assumptions.
 Gamers Working Group: Beginning in October, this group will address basic questions related to
game development and platform delivery options.
 Funders/In Kind Working Group: Beginning in October, this group will inventory possible sources for
funding and resources needed to move the initiative forward, including initial staffing. The next
anticipated expenses will be those associated with implementing the Research and Game Jam
process. The Preliminary Timeline below contains preliminary estimates of the larger financial
support needed to carry out: 1) the foundational and ongoing research; 2) the development of 20
game prototypes and subsequent testing by girls; and 3) the cost of producing, marketing and
servicing the 2-3 games envisioned for the primary objective. At this stage, most of the working
groups will be focused on producing 2-3 popular and impactful games. Our secondary objective to
support class and workshop activities to engage girls in designing games and the computer science
skills required can, to some extent, be integrated with our primary goal as we plan to involve large
numbers of girls from the outset. We are starting out with an estimate that up to $5,000,000 will
need to be raised to complete this mission. While partnership with a private or nonprofit entity
could reduce this amount, we presently assume it may be best to raise these funds on our own, and
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have maximum control to assure our objectives are met and the games we develop are available to
all girls on a free and as accessible basis. We will seek both private and public (e.g. federal grants)
funding.
Key Roles for Girls: To ensure success, we believe it will be important to engage and involve girls in
the development of the plot/storyline, characters, graphics, audio/visual, in-game currencies or in
game economies, telemetry and analytics, and platforms. They will inform attitudes and preference
in the research phase. They will help shape the basic protocols that any game idea must include and
will help vet the plots developed throughout the Game Jam process. A long-term study will follow
the experience of many of these girls as they purse their careers. The National Girls Collaborative
Project will serve as the primary recruitment tool for girls by utilizing its network of 40 states with
programs and organizations serving more than 8 million girls.
Interim Report: We anticipate developing an interim report and recommended next steps by
December 1, 2013.
G.A.M.E.S. Program Coalition Convening: On December 4, 2013 a G.A.M.E.S. program Summit will
occur in part of a larger conference hosted by NGCP at the Microsoft Campus in Redmond,
Washington. The goal of this Summit will be to review work progress and chart out the 2014-15
work-plans and identify expertise, people, and resources needed. The agenda and registration
information will be distributed by the end of September, 2013
6. HOW CAN YOU BE INVOLVED?
The G.A.M.E.S. Program is a community non-profit effort. We hope to make the video games
developed through this process available to everyone at no cost, as we believe this is the most effective
way to involve as many girls as possible and engage them in pursuing careers in STEM fields. To
accomplish this will require significant and sustained support from foundations and philanthropic
sources. Following development of a G.A.M.E.S. program Logic Model and related outreach strategy, we
will begin the fund-raising component of this initiative. We welcome individuals and organizations that
can help us move forward in this effort. If you have an interest in joining us, contact Tayloe Washburn
(t.washburn@neu.edu), Dana Riley-Black (Dana.RileyBlack@systemsbiology.org), or Karen Peterson
(kpeterson@edlabgroup.org).
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KEY G.A.M.E.S. STRATEGIES AND PRELIMINARY TIMELINE
Timeline4
Task
Staffing
Level 1
By June 29, 2013
Level 2
Jul - Aug 2013
June 28 Launch Event
NU and ISB Staff
Build the G.A.M.E.S.
program network
Funding Lift 1
Jul 2013- Sep 2014
Raise $ 1-2 million for
research, game
prototype development
and ongoing evaluation
Conduct Research
Design and prepare for
Game Jam phase
Level 3
Sep 2013- Jun 2014
Level 4
Jul- Aug 2014
Game Jam
Level 5
Sep 2014
Experts pick 20 projects
for funding to Game
prototype
20 games are brought to
Game Prototypes
Level 6
Sep 2014- Jun 2015
Funding5
Planning Meetings
Put needed initial
staff in place.
Secure funding for
initial staffing
(est. $2-300.000)
Initial EC meetings
Funders working
Funding working
group
and EC
TBD
EC and working group meetings
Dec 4, 2013 G.A.M.E.S. Summit
Research and
gamers
funding working
group
Gamers working
group
Games Production
Manager
Expert Panel and
Games working
group
20 game teams and
games working
group
TBD
EC and working group meetings
Dec 4, 2013 G.A.M.E.S. Summit
TBD
EC
TBD
EC
TBD
EC
Level 7
Jul - Dec 2015
Educators/ STEM groups
assess whether 20
games move the needle
in motivating girls to
STEM careers
TBD
EC
Funding Lift 2
Jul 2013- Dec 2015
Raise $ 2-3 million for
game prototype
development
Game experts pick
top 3 games
Producer/ developer
make
and prepare games for
marketing/distribution
Game goes to girls and
long term monitoring
starts
TBD
EC
Expert Panel
TBD
EC
Gaming company(s)
TBD
EC
Level 8
Jan- Mar 2016
Level 9
Mar 2016 - Jun 2017
Summer 2017
EC
Footnotes
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5
Timelines are initial rough estimates and will be revised as we proceed
Funding estimates are also preliminary and depend on future plan and design decisions before they are finalized
5
Footnote 1, While the gender gap in STEM interest had remained relatively steady over the past two
decades, it is now increasing at a significant rate. Male students are over three times more likely to be
interested in STEM majors and careers, compared to female students. My College Options &
STEMconnector (2013) Where Are the STEM Students? What are their Career Interests? Where are the
STEM jobs? Lee’s Summit, MO and Washington DC: Authors: retrieved from:
http://www.stemconnector.org/sites/default/files/store/STEM-Students-STEM-Jobs-ExecutiveSummary.pdf
Footnote 2, in 2008, the percentage of jobs held by women in computer science was 24% down from
36% in 1991. Ashcraft, C., & Blithe, S. (2009), Women in IT: The Facts. Boulder, CO: National Center for
Women in Information Technology
Footnote 3, Many people argue that encouraging women and minorities in these fields will improve
these professions, maximizing innovation to create products and services that are better representative
of all users. Hill, C., Corbett, C., & St. Rose, A. (2010), Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics, Washington, DC: AAUW
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