From This Collection

How the video game Dot's Home was adapted for the stage

"Dot's Home Live" has been performed in Detroit in an effort to share the game's housing rights story with the community.
The video game Dot's Home has been downloaded more than half a million times on phones and computers. But co-creator Christina Rosales knew that games are often played alone, and she wanted to bring the production to the “next level.”
David Brancaccio/Marketplace

Video game Dot's Home brings a story of housing injustice to life

The interactive game lets players follow one family's account of disadvantage and discrimination through the generations.
"We wanted to tell a multigenerational story, because when you think about housing disadvantage, it is cumulative," says Christina Rosales, above, co-creator of Dot's Home.
David Brancaccio/Marketplace

Up-and-coming video game developers share their dream jobs

Video games have already grown bigger than a couple of other entertainment industries combined.
Students at the nonprofit Gameheads in Oakland, California spent the summer developing new video games. The group behind one called Project: Black Cat pushed the limits when it comes to making an online multiplayer game. Pictured here, from left to right: Trevor Cardoza, Jude Herbert, Matt Zhang, Melissa Romo Martinez, Jordon Dabney and Ryan Ramos.
Kelly Silvera/Marketplace

How video game training can boost employee performance

A recent study by Harvard and Columbia universities finds "gamified" training can lead to better business outcomes.
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For public good, not for profit.

What video games can teach us about economic decision-making

Jul 24, 2023
Researchers use some video games to learn about spending behavior and how players respond to economic crises.
A screenshot of EverQuest II. Dmitri Williams, a professor at the University of Southern California, said he uses that title and other video games to study real-world behavior.
Courtesy EverQuest II

Tomorrow's tech disruptors learn how to raise their game

Jul 17, 2023
The video game industry has a diversity problem. This Bay Area mentorship program has solutions.
"Marketplace Morning Report" host David Brancaccio speaks with mentees at Gameheads. The program aims to give students in the Bay Area the skills, connections and confidence to break into the tech industry.
Kelly Silvera/Marketplace

Sideshow culture gets the video game treatment

Jul 10, 2023
Google heard about the games, "HighSidin’" and "HighSidin’: Hyphy Edition," and gave the student developers a grant.
Gameheads is a nonprofit mentoring program in Oakland, California, that teaches students how to create video games.
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