The video game community is never one to back down from a righteous cause and the opportunity to help others. That is the philosophy of Gamers for Good, a gaming centered charity who just launched an ambitious project inspired by Undertale and its copious amounts of fan art. Gamers for Good recently launched a Kickstarter to create a book for Undertale fanart, the proceeds of which will go to benefit major gaming centered mental health programs including Child's Play, Anxiety Gaming, and Take This. Gamers for Good created the Kickstarter earlier this week, the second project of its type.
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The first, Gamer for Life Artbook was fully funded on IndieGoGo in 2014. Gamers for Good sought to create the art book to benefit cancer patients, started originally to aid Blizzard game developer Kevin Kenai Griffith, who was diagnosed with a rare strain of cancer in 2012. Kevin passed away in 2014, before the book could be completed and delivered, but the creators pushed forward, deciding to complete the project in his memory for the benefit of others also struggling with cancer. The artbook (also called the KKG Artbook) was filled with pieces inspired by Kevin's favorite games. Proceeds of that book went to Game Changer, a charity to donate games and financial aid to children with cancer, and CureASPS, a research group for Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma, the rare cancer Kevin was diagnosed with.
Gamers for Good is now hoping to repeat the success of their first artbook with Undertale, the popular independently made RPG that was released last year. The themes of Undertale greatly promote good will and many characters appear to struggle with issues like anxiety and depression, so the game lends itself to such a cause. While the Undertale Fanart Book is not dedicated to anyone in particular like the KKG Artbook was, it has still gained a lot of notice and has already compiled hundreds of works from talented fan artists. Undertale creator Toby Fox has given Gamers for Good the go-ahead for the project as well.
In addition to the physical art book, the Kickstarter also promises a fan soundtrack and stickers. The backer levels are lovingly named after Undertale characters, and most offer physical rewards including the book itself. Gamers for Good writes on the Kickstarter page that the reason for the project aside from helping out their chosen charities is to open the doors to talk about mental health and create "an opportunity for the Game Industry and Gamers to be an overwhelmingly positive and selfless force in service of others".
