Can You Play Them Home?

I bet you never sit around and think to yourself “Hmmm… I just don’t have enough places to spend my money.” Companies know this, and advertise diligently to compete for your every dollar. The same is even more evident in the nonprofit sector. Anyone who has listened to NPR during pledge season knows that fundraising is a never-ending project. Also, if you donate to NPR, will you have money left to give to United Way? The Red Cross? Your child’s soccer team? Your friend’s kick starter project?

One of the most relevant things I learned in college sociology wasn’t about a theorist or a new social trend. Carrying Capacity is a term that in Biology defines the maximum number or organisms a particular environment can support. In my field, it represents the maximum number of causes to which you can reasonably dedicate your time, effort and money. I am constantly learning about a new injustice or a worthwhile cause, but I can’t make it to every rally or donate to everyone, and you probably can’t either.

I haven’t asked him personally, but I believe the public’s carrying capacity probably had to do with why Mark Horvath, founder of Invisible People TV set out to do something different. Invisible People is an incredible movement that deserves more focus than I am dedicating to it here- but you can watch episodes online. Mark, who has experienced homelessness himself, set out to interview people across the country who are homeless- and to learn their stories. The interviews, some already available, are part of a larger film project called @Home. Like other documentaries, the effort has a fundraising page to raise donations. Unlike other documentary projects, half of the raised funds are allocated for the creation of… a video game.

The idea was to create an interactive game that could teach players about homelessness and use social media to share what they learn about this issue. The @Home game went to Hackathon, where a team of programmers worked to create the app in just 36 hours. They also somehow found time to make a mini documentary about the process, and at 1:30 you can see the actual game interface and learn how to play. At 2:58 you see how to “win” the game: points can be redeemed for household goods and “move-in kits” that are then donated right in your own city.

Some might see this as a sad commentary on our society — we need to be tricked into caring, we are lazy enough to think we can rack up enough points to end homelessness through video game donations. Really though, this isn’t laziness; its carrying capacity, and we all have a maximum. The people who can create innovate ways to grab our attention are the ones who will get their message across, and this game uses real interviews to get the message of thousands of people into the phone in your pocket.

The game makers explain their goals for the project are to “entertain, educate and move players to take action on homelessness.” This is not a game in the same way that Angry Birds or Candy Crush is a game — this is a game that seeks to inspire you to do more.

Because the program isn’t finished yet, we’ll have to wait and see how video apps can impact homelessness — but I know I’ll be playing!