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OneBigGame assembles 17 game composers for album to benefit children's charities
Gaming charity OneBigGame has partnered with developers for such as Chime and WINtA, with a portion of the profit they've generated going to benefit children's charities. Its new project, while still game-related, is decidedly less interactive -- but nonetheless compelling. The organization has announced it's teaming with the Game Music Initiative to bring together 17 game composers to create the OneBigAlbum, featuring new works by the likes of Masaya Matsuura (above, PaRappa the Rapper) and Emmy award-winning Christopher Tin (Civilization IV). Eighty percent of the proceeds will go to Save the Children and the Starlight Children's Foundation, each receiving half. OneBigGame hasn't firmed up a release date yet, but we'd say keeping the album on your radar would be a sound move. We've got the full list of composers who are contributing just past the break.
Chime charity drive to end Dec. 1, with XBLA update
Sometimes lost in the rabid daze of "good" deals this Black Friday week are genuine opportunities to spend a little money on good causes. If you've been meaning to pick up "that charity game" on XBLA -- and in doing so, donate 100 percent of your 400-point purchase to charities, including Save the Children and Starlight Children's Foundation -- you have until December 1 to do so. Come next Wednesday, Chime's 10-month charity drive will expire, at which point the game will be updated to donate 5 percent of all $5-purchase royalties to publisher OneBigGames, which then passes the donations along to its charity partners. Additionally, the update will remove the game's high-score cap. "Now that this cap has been removed it will finally be possible to discover the best Chime players in the world," game director Brynley Gibson, of developer Zoe Mode, said in an announcement. "This fix has been a long time coming and is absolutely one made for the fans; we hope it tides them over until we can announce our plans for where we are taking Chime next."
This Wednesday: Chime for charity on XBLA
Today's lone Xbox Live Arcade release is Chime, the not-for-profit project from Zoe Mode and OneBigGame. 60 percent of proceeds from the 400 ($5) game will go to Save the Children and Starlight Children's Foundation, so consider it a surprisingly entertaining chance to stop being such a selfish jerk. If you're looking for a pre-purchase glimpse, check out the trailer above or download the demo on Xbox Live. We'd ask you to chime in with your opinions, but that joke's been done. Just now. Shortcut: Add Chime to your download queue [Xbox.com] %Gallery-77193%
Harmonix, MTV donate money and Rock Band to Starlight Children's Foundation
Harmonix and MTV have announced plans to donate a minimum of $50,000 to the Starlight Children's Foundation, an organization that helps seriously ill children cope with disease or life-altering injuries (readers may recall Nintendo partnering with Starlight last year). In addition to the cash donation, Harmonix will be donating over 650 Rock Band bundles to the organization for use in partner hospitals and at its Great Escape events, which will give Starlight children and their families "a behind-the-scenes look at Rock Band, a chance to meet the game's creators, a sneak peak at new content and other once-in-a-lifetime experiences." The partnership will also allow Starlight families to attend the Rock Band Tour. Paula Van Ness, CEO of Starlight Children's Foundation, said that the games will provide "distractive entertainment therapy for thousands of seriously ill children" and expects the games to have "a powerful, therapeutic effect."Protip for partner hospitals: Stay away from "In Bloom." That whole "sell the kids for food" thing might not go over very well.
