New York Game Awards creators on games as tools for education

The New York Video Game Critics Circle is perhaps best-known in the wider industry for being the hosts of the New York Game Awards. However, its founders see the Awards themselves as more than just accolades for game creators — though they are that, too. The NYVGCC have made an effort to incorporate its nonprofit work, specifically its work with students, into the Awards at all levels, and they spoke with GamesBeat about how important this work is to them.

The NYVGCC’s Playing with Purpose Program is its writing program in which it offers writing and journalism classes and workshops to schools and shelters across New York City. Participants connect with industry professionals through these classes, which also offer mentorship opportunities. Paid interns also write reviews and essays via the NY Game Critics website.

Harold Goldberg, NYVGCC founder and president, told GamesBeat in an interview that the New York Game Awards are “kind of a Trojan Horse for talking about our nonprofit activity. The beauty of that is that our interns and writers — who are either underserved or unhoused — are part of the show as well.” Regarding the Awards themselves, he said, “We don’t have the glitz, but we have the soul. That’s what our awards are about — soul, feeling, empathy, caring about not only the students we serve and showcasing their work but also the people who come to the awards and developers.”

Ryan O’Callaghan, the Awards’ executive director, also told GamesBeat, “The big thing for us is that it always ties back to education, writing and the kids we work with. We have students helping with the show itself through Playing with Purpose … . Don’t be afraid to try games in your classrooms. It’s a wonderful tool and I think it gets overlooked.”

Bringing games to education

Both Goldberg and O’Callaghan said they’re planning to expand mentorship and internship opportunities in the future, and many people in the industry wish to give back to the community. According to the NYVGCC, its Playing with Purpose program offers opportunities via classrooms, shelters and libraries, and offers items such as consoles and VR headsets as educational tools.

Goldberg spoke about the potential for games as vectors for education. “When we teach journalism and narrative, it’s easier because [the students are] seeing it through the medium they care most about … . Today, I would venture to say that young people care more about video games than they do any other sort of medium. That is a powerful thing in many ways, and we use it primarily to teach them how to write, work in teams and sometimes make games.”

O’Callaghan said Playing with Purpose is working to expand to new schools and students and added that games (and writing about them) offered different opportunities than students might otherwise have access to. “We are not only engaging students in something they’re interested in, but we’re pushing students a lot harder than I’ve seen — having been a teacher — some curriculum might push them in a standard setting. Students who are successful have an opportunity to intern with us, and students who do so are writing well above grade level, and because we treat them the way we’d treat a journalist, they rise to the occasion.”

The 13th New York Game Awards are set to air on January 23 at the SVA Theatre.