Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The fusion of games and serious topics of education, politics, and health has always been a curious one. There's an obvious desire to make impact-driven projects more entertaining, but is that the only value games bring to these missions?
In this talk, Nicholas Fortugno looks at a more radical way play can be part of change-based initiatives. Drawing on theories of play and the history of the labor movement, Fortugno argues that play is not just a vehicle to carry policy and training ideas; play in itself is revolutionary, and simply bringing play into these issues can be the impact we want to make.
Speakers: Nicholas Fortugno (Director of the Digital Game Development Program at City College of New York)
Recorded at the 2026 Games for Change Festival, "Reimagining Play," July 21 to 22 at The Glasshouse in New York City.
Learn more about Games for Change at www.gamesforchange.org.
The fusion of games and serious topics of education, politics, and health has always been a curious one. There's an obvious desire to make impact-driven projects more entertaining, but is that the only value games bring to these missions?
In this talk, Nicholas Fortugno looks at a more radical way play can be part of change-based initiatives. Drawing on theories of play and the history of the labor movement, Fortugno argues that play is not just a vehicle to carry policy and training ideas; play in itself is revolutionary, and simply bringing play into these issues can be the impact we want to make.
Speakers: Nicholas Fortugno (Director of the Digital Game Development Program at City College of New York)
Recorded at the 2026 Games for Change Festival, "Reimagining Play," July 21 to 22 at The Glasshouse in New York City.
Learn more about Games for Change at www.gamesforchange.org.
