Natron Baxter collaborated with world-renowned game designers to realize blended reality games for social good. Across web, mobile, and no-tech platforms, we used games to solve real problems for organizations, inspire new perspectives, and bring out the best in people. Natron Baxter games were featured at TED Global, GDC, SXSW, The New York Times, The Age, Wired, CNN, NPR, Games For Change, BoingBoing.com, Mashable.com and blogs all over
Players from nearly 200 countries and territories contributed 30,000 pieces of original content during the game’s ten-week run. The game’s legacy lives on in ~50 award- winning, EVOKE-inspired start-ups.
From its 2012 summer pilot until the pandemic, annual average participation in this urban race was ~30 cities across the country, registering 30,000+ virtual donations throughout their respective communities. 39% of participants said they started walking /exercising or increased the amount of exercise and 23% of participants said they started eating healthier.
Find the Future kicked off with a once-in-a-lifetime overnight event, where 500 players swarmed the library to discover its treasures and composed a collaborative epic to join the NYPL’s permanent collection.
After #findthefuture became a trending Twitter topic, the story of library foresight garnered attention from CNN, Wired, and The New York Times – and remains one of the NYPL’s most innovative and memorable extracurricular activities.
Like a frozen version of Oregon Trail, Cold Claim was a fun-first learning game for older students. It told the story of Antarctica in 2049, when expeditionary treaties expired and the continent became a resource-gathering free-for-all. Subtly, players learned the impacts of market regulations, international treaties, and the tension of environmental protection and industrial expansion. Up to 4 players could go head-to-head, or take on a custom “learning AI” opponent that made every play unique.
Role: Co-Founder, Creative Director, Art Director. Creative team: Nathan Verrill, Stuart Candy, Ryan Larson, Brad Dunn, Mathias Crawford, Kat Neville, Phoebe Elefante, Perry Maple, Driftlab, Antidote STL, and many more. (If I’ve forgotten you, let me know!)
Special thanks to the instigator of much of our success, the talented Jane McGonigal.