Games have a powerful influence on society, and creators can use them to foster a more inclusive and positive world. In Aotearoa New Zealand, our game development community is full of developers, researchers, students, and players who are pursuing ways to make both games and the sector have a positive impact.
Each year at the New Zealand Game Developers Conference we see some of this community-led exploration shared. Community Research and the New Zealand Game Developers Association are partnering to make talks which fall in the space of social good, equity, and diversity available year-round via Community Research’s open-access community-led research database.
Check out below talks from 2025 and 2024 featuring themes of social good. Prior years still to come!
Theme: Games with Positive Social Impact
Games with positive social impact
Games can have all sorts of impacts on our society. Through interactive play we can access experiences which shape our sense of self, build our social skills, inform us about the world, give us opportunities for empathy, instil feelings of success, teach lessons of overcoming adversity, and build our reflexes, problem solving, and hand-eye coordination.
Unlike other forms of media, games being interactive brings with them additional layers of immersion. Through the play, interactivity, learning and role-play of games, designers can use a range of tools to help games have a positive impact on society.
Unlike other forms of media, games being interactive brings with them additional layers of immersion. Through the play, interactivity, learning and role-play of games, designers can use a range of tools to help games have a positive impact on society.
Browse talks - Games with positive social impact
2023
Making Educational Games Kids Want To Play
Sebastian Barber and Nicolette McDonald
This talk focuses on approaching educational games from a game design first approach. It covers how to abstract learning topics into core game mechanics, the psychology of a child player, and the importance of self driven learning. This will be complimented with examples from the speakers’ game Sugar Shot, a diabetes and sugar management game targeted at 8-10 year olds.
A Model for Empathy: Building Games which Make People Care
Moana Moran
Ever wondered how to build heart and social impact into a game without turning it into a ‘serious’ or educational game? This talk presents the findings from user-tested research into how to create empathy-building encounters in mainstream games.
With such starting points as: ‘Put Play First – Don’t let your social issue take over the game’ and explaining how through in-game choices we emotionally entangle the player with the game’s consequences, the talk presents a model which can be used by anyone in the game making pipeline (writers, producers, directors, designers, and devs).
Hands on DNA using mixed reality for scientific education
Sebastian Dunn
Virtual Reality offers us new and effective ways to teach about spatial concepts like physical scale and 3D structure. Biochemistry is a field where students need to master these concepts and build detailed understandings of molecules that can’t normally be seen.
We saw how the advantages of VR lined up with the specific difficulties of learning biochemistry and created Hands-on DNA to bridge the gap.
This talk will explain the design choices made, how they were informed by research into pedagogy, and the lessons we learned about using VR for scientific education.
Toe bean botany bringing foraging ethics and culture into cosy games
Piper Van Rinsvelt
This game aims to educate people on how to forage and the ethics behind foraging culture. It also focuses on bringing people back into our environment and how important it is to look after the world around us.
This will be done with ambient learning making it seem fun and whimsical with a high fantasy world and cute cats while educating players on real-life plants and environmental world issues.
Designing games for Kiwi Conservation club
Tanya Marriott
This talk will discuss the design and development of physical nature-based games for the Kiwi Conservation Club.
Part of an ongoing six-year research project between students at Massey University and the Kiwi conservation club ( KCC), the junior division of Forest and Bird, it explores how interactive games (and how they are designed) can teach our young people about conservation and looking after our natural environments.
2024
Unpacking values: A laddering technique for value mapping game design
Rich Durham
This talk is a presentation of a practical method I evolved over the years to address a common early game design challenge faced by learning clients (that is, clients looking at a serious game or for training). That challenge is clients presenting an unrefined goal, like “we want players to understand X and Y and Z.”
Over years as a serious game designer and learning designer, I’ve used many techniques to unpack this into a a high-level framework for a game design, and have focused on a values-based exploration of the client problem.
Here I will present my current technique for moving from unrefined learning goal to a value-aligned game structure addressing game-goal, sub-goals, and play dynamics.
Shape the Future: Unicef in the Digital World
Elena Sylvester
A discussion on UNICEF and its mission to support children’s rights and well-being globally through partnerships and collaborations and the role of Game technology and innovation in addressing global challenges.
2025 (coming soon)
Theme: Diversity, Accessibility and Wellbeing in Games
Diversity, Accessibility and Wellbeing in Games
As a form of media, games have the potential to share and normalise diverse perspectives and experiences. Through interacting with games we can learn more about different cultures, histories, disabilities and barriers – different ways of knowing, being and doing.
Game developers also explore ways that games can be more accessible, and how games can promote things like wellbeing, hāuora, and learning.
Browse talks - Diversity, Accessibility and Wellbeing in Games
2023
Localisation: speaking in tongues
Jon Cartwright
Localisation for indies – benefits of doing it, planning, implementation, translation, LQA, budgeting, and traps to watch out for when you do it.
Panel: The Power of Storytelling and Collaboration
John Paul Marin, Michaele Ternasky-Holland, Kat Lintott, Ryan Green
Examining the emotional aspects of game and experience design, this panel of world-class creators discusses how they harness the power of cross-disciplinary collaboration to craft impactful immersive experiences that challenge perceptions and reveal humanity’s complexities.
Panellists will share their expertise and insights on how storytelling, form, technique, and technology can intersect to convey powerful narratives and promote social impact.
Oh you want Māori content in games? Here’s the first step
Taikawa Tamati Elliffe
This talk will address and give insight to the use of Māori Cultural IP in games discussing CODEs “proper practice” in creating meaningful partnerships between games studios and local iwi to create authentic Māori content in games.
Māori storytelling in game development
Bradley Walker, Maru Nihoniho
We unpack our experience in Maori storytelling in the games we have developed, what we have learnt and what effect this has had.
2024
Creating More Accessible In-Game Text
Cameron Hopkinson
For this talk, I would present some example text (such as some mock dialogue where you are given a quest) that has been made extremely inaccessible and hard to read. I will then talk about the problems with this piece of mock dialogue (including explanation of why they are problems) and demonstrate different ways that it could be made easier to read and understand using this text.
Music Without Borders: Bringing Musicians from Iran and Turkey to Mars
Tom Jensen
This talk examines why game developers, marketing teams and composers should look at unique performers for their game’s soundtrack, detailing my experience working with musicians in Iran and Turkey.
I will give an overview of instruments lesser known in the west, then focus on the middle east with a brief into to (widely misunderstood) Iran, and then cover two specific tracks I wrote for the game ‘Claiming Mars’.
2025 (coming soon)
Theme: Diversity, Accessibility and Wellbeing in the Sector
Diversity, Accessibility and Wellbeing in the Sector
The gaming sector in Aotearoa New Zealand is relatively ‘young’, and it is marked by the visible presence of women, diverse cultures, LGBTTQIA+ folks, and disabled and neurodiverse people. These people are leading the charge to make the sector more accessible, boost the wellbeing of all, and making work environments more welcoming. This is making games better in turn – through the range of perspectives at the table.
There is an opportunity in Aotearoa to grow a world-leading sector which is built on the foundations of being people-centred. If accessibility, wellbeing, and diversity are placed at the centre as core values, we can make the sector a place where everyone can thrive and make great games together.
Browse talks - Diversity, Accessibility and Wellbeing in the Sector
2023
4 day work week experiences
Anna Barham, Niamh Fitzgerald, Philip Buchanan, Sam Cook
As more companies consider the 4 day work week, four New Zealand game development companies have begun to try it out for themselves. We represent solo, small, and medium-sized indie game dev studios that are trialing or have adopted the 4 day work week.
We will discuss how and why to switch to a 4 day work week, and cover the positives and negatives in terms of health, productivity, and workflow. We will look at the process taken in deciding to trial and switch to 20% fewer hours per week, and the different priorities regarding time management for managers and employees in the shorter work week.
People more, people weirder, people better
Rick Stemm
A harsh truth of game development is that all of your craft, expertise, and learning breaks down if you don’t have good collaboration. And all the techniques on facilitation, meeting hosting, and alignment break down if you don’t understand people.
This comically simple yet (hopefully) deeply truthful talk will touch on the complexities, techniques, and opportunities to build trust, grow your influence, and become an advocate for yourself and others. With real examples and simple exercises, audiences should come away with advice they can start practicing immediately to build their own soft skills and thus better teams.
Brand values – actions speak louder than words
Zoe Hobson
Brand values can be seen as a meaningless piece of paper that company executives float around for PR. Before joining Runaway, that was my personal experience of brand values…but then I discovered how to create brand values that were meaningful to our team, that drive and define every aspect of what we do, and have become a core differentiator for our business.
Based on our story, learn about how brand values can drive meaningful day to day decisions and actions, and can become your core differentiator in the market for both products and team culture, creating a world class brand and company.
Studio Wizards: Unlocking the game dev world
Mario Wynands, Chantelle Cole, Jevon Wright, Caden Scott
“Studio Wizards: Unlocking the Game Dev World” brings together a diverse panel of game developers each with their unique journey in establishing game development studios. Join Mario Wynands, Chantelle Cole, Jevon Wright and Caden Scott as they aim to enlighten and motivate students about the thrilling world of setting up their own game development ventures.
The panelists share their tales of passion, perseverance, and creativity, taking the audience on a roller-coaster ride through their experiences. They delve into the origins of their aspirations, recounting the sparks that ignited their love for gaming and the desire to create immersive digital worlds.
As the discussion unfolds, the panelists candidly reveal the hurdles they faced when starting their studios in New Zealand, shedding light on both the highs and lows of their careers. They discuss how they navigated challenges, overcame obstacles, and tackled the daunting task of building a dedicated team of like-minded individuals.
Audience members will be treated to insights from both veterans, who have witnessed the evolution of the New Zealand gaming industry over the past two and a half decades, and newcomers who are presently in the throes of carving their niche in the market. The wisdom and lessons learned from their diverse experiences serve as guiding beacons for aspiring game developers.
Opening up the conversation
Jaques Smit
I discuss how we used facilitation to generate effective conversations in PikPok to create meaningful improvements in the way we work and support game teams as they go through pre-production and beyond.
2024
Your turn: supporting neurodivergence in the gaming sector
Laurel L Barr
I have been doing research and development looking at how our high level of neurodivergent students are really thriving despite usually struggling with tertiary study.
I have been looking at best practice in supporting all students to grow and achieve their goals as they are as learners and animators. This has branched into looking at how to best support new and existing neurodivergent staff in the gaming and animation industry.
I will share some of my research as well as practical tips and tricks for creating inclusive environments for neurodivergent people.
Building environments for every gender
Adam Rohe
This conversation will help all participants unravel their anxieties around the rapid expansion of gender in our current socio-political landscape. Participants will learn basic literacy around gender and gender expression, as well as develop a sensitivity to actions that create exclusion for minority genders, and division between us and our cisgender counterparts.
This will help anyone develop environments – whether virtual or physical – in a way that minimizes risks of hostility and harm, and promotes easefulness, inclusion and community.
Designing Teams & Production Processes with Accessibility in Mind
Amila Nuhodzic
This talk examines how we design our game development teams and explores how we can make the way we work more accessible to others.
I plan to share my experience as a disabled game dev + my experience designing custom processes to accommodate my team at Moon Candy.
Why Māori can scrum: How a Te Āo Māori approach adds value to agile scrum
Terri Pomana and Sara Noble
Agile philosophy and Scrum methodology are frequently considered the go-to project management methodologies in game development. Unfortunately the fundamentals of Agile-Scrum are, more often than not, seriously misunderstood with research showing that up to 80% of Game Dev studios that use Agile-Scrum do not implement all the essentials of the system. The vast majority of game dev projects experience periods of severe crunch, missed deadlines, blown-out budgets, massive feature creep etc. The term Fragile (Fractured or Failed Agile) has been coined by some analysts.
Using insights from Te Āo Māori, we focus on the elements of Agile-Scrum that are often neglected. Terri and Sara will consider ways that Agile-Scrum is consistent with tikanga principles such as whanaungatanga and kaitiakitanga, and the systems of tapu, noa, utu and ea. Using these insights, we will present a model that embeds the critical features of Agile-Scrum often missing from game dev projects to their detriment.
