The translation of books into other forms of media has made a lot of people quite wealthy, but Zynga isn't in this for the cash. Taking the 2009 bestseller, Half the Sky, the social game mogul is looking to contribute "significant staff time" to the project, which includes a four-hour PBS miniseries.
The book was a catalyst for a global movement which sought to end the oppression of women and young girls worldwide. Currently a multimillion-dollar project is underway, utilizing various forms of media and over 30 NGO partners to raise awareness and incite real-world action. The grand scope of Half the Sky is to create a PBS miniseries, a Facebook social action game, mobile titles in India and Africa, websites, educational materials – the list goes on. It's quite nice to see a Facebook game that might actually change perspective or raise awareness for the people who play it, instead of mere competitions through microtransactions for your mob or farm.
Frima Studio is heading up the development of the Facebook game and Games for Change are slated as the executive producers. Games for Change is seeking to use social games to promote humanitarian causes and generally better the lives of those who inhabit this planet. Show of Force, an award-winning production company, is heading up the PBS miniseries and will also be serving as an executive producer on the title.
Zynga doesn't always have the best press, but they're knocking this one out of the park. Ken Weber, Zynga.org's Exectutive Director said, “The mission of Zynga.org is to help make the world a better place through games. Zynga’s employees are eager to leverage social games for good, and we are honored to be collaborating with Games for Change and Frima on this important initiative.”
