White House Hosts Video Game Event

Empty Lighthouse is a reader-supported site. This article may contain affiliate links to Amazon and other sites. We earn a commission on purchases made through these links.

The nation's capital is hosting industry professionals for the "White House Game Jam." Trending on Twitter, the intent of the event is to "explore the beneficial properties of (video) games."

The Office of Educational Technology is holding the event, which has gotten attention via Twitter under the hashtag, #WHgamejam. Gaming professionals have been tweeting about it, sounding pleasantly surprised.

Taking place during the weekend, the event's closing ceremonies will be held today.

Ubisoft tweeted that its subsidiary, Red Storm Entertainment-- the studio behind Far Cry, Ghost Recon, and Rainbow 6-- sent a team to the nation's capital for the event.

Dubbed "Team Wolfshark," the group from Red Storm developed an island ecosystem simulator for the White House Game Jam. Featuring a mechanic that allowed players to create creatures, the game was titled Endemos.

During the weekend, their Facebook page showed off pictures of young adults and journalists--including USA Today's Greg Toppo-- trying the game.

Other developers were present; Pixelopus--a Sony studio-- showed off a nutrition-themed game. Mary Beth Haggerty stated via Twitter that it was a "huge hit with kids."

1st Playable--an independent studio--was also at the event showing off a game that, according to Haggerty, taught kids about the American electoral system.

Video games have been controversial in recent years. Blamed for negatively impacting the cognitive development of modern youth, politicians have suggested bans on certain video games.

Despite the scrutiny, industry leaders are determined to utilize the gaming medium to influence the nation's youth in a positive manner.