Tackling taboos in social gaming

When we speak to our community, it’s clear that freedom of expression, creativity and the ability to be who you want to be is what drives and nurtures the immersive experience of Avakin Life.

What’s more, it creates an environment where quirks, differences and imagination are not suppressed but encouraged and embraced. It’s easy to see how this will help to enhance the inventiveness of anyone participating in the community, but does this openness to difference have a more profound effect?

We already have seen gamers largely agree that social gaming has a positive effect on their mental health, but can it change perspectives and alter opinions? Can social gaming be an environment that goes beyond entertainment and creativity and into taboo-breaking and activism? The answer seems to be, yes.

Take for example Wildeverse, a social gaming experience that is geared towards educating players about animal conservation and species decline. Or indeed a library dedicated to being a safe haven for Reporters Without Borders content, being built in Minecraft. There is a clear desire, both from the social gaming community and from those traditionally found outside of it, to explore the potential virtual worlds have in tackling real-world issues.

Our own Avakin Life community made it clear that they wanted the ability to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement both outside and inside the platform. We listened, and we acted giving those that wanted to show solidarity the opportunity to do so within the game. Further to that we reviewed our advertising policies and have set processes in place to ensure an even more consistently diverse representation of our players from around the globe.

Publishers should be reacting to the community not thrusting issues down its throat. It’s far more powerful to enable and facilitate a conversation that is born organically out of a game than to try and stir the pot.

That is and will always be our focus.

Can social gaming tackle taboos? Absolutely, so long as it’s community-driven and publishers pay attention.