We are pleased to announce the PLAY4CHANGE LAB - a new joint venture between The Hollywood Hill and USC's Games Institute, to build a new generation of videogames for real-world social change (aka Games for Change).

The Hollywood Hill's event "Social Change Videogames: The Next Frontier" on May 7, 2006 at Lawrence Bender's home introduced our members to this new movement. Among the speakers were the founders of the NYC-based Games4Change trade association (www.gamesforchange.org) as well as some of the game developers who have pioneered the early-stage games.

With our focus on the role of innovation in social change, The Hollywood Hill has always seen tremendous potential in the development of new types of videogames that can tackle the significant problems the world faces - from global warming to hunger and disease. Over the past year we started exploring a partnership with USC's Game Institute that would combine the strengths and resources of The Hollywood Hill and its entertainment community, with USC's School of Cinematic Arts, Viterbi School of Engineering, and Annenberg School of Communication. This new lab will focus on the development of games that have real-world consequences - where the user's actions in the game directly translate into real-world change. We plan to ramp up to an output of approximately 10 games per year, helping to develop a set of standards for the industry as well as measuring the real-world impact of the games as they are launched.

The Play4Change Lab will be based out of The Hollywood Hill's new event facility and HQ, The Catalyst Center. Funding for the lab and its games is provided by Armchair Revolutionary (www.armrev.org), and partner foundations and sponsors.

Contact Ariel Hauter (ariel [at] hhill.org) or Chris Swain (cswain [at] cinema.usc.edu) for more information about the PLAY4CHANGE LAB.