BioWare's new R&D group, BioWare Labs, gives us The Gift of the Yeti, a Facebook game that could raise up to $10,000 for Child's Play while giving gamers $10 off Dragon Age: Origins.
Help out a sick Santa by maneuvering your yeti through town, avoiding police and delivering as many gifts as you can within the time limit. An advent calendar tells the back story of the game on a daily basis, while leaderboards help you keep track of what a good yeti you've been.
"Gift of the Yeti is BioWare's digital holiday card to its fans. We use social networking as a powerful tool to connect meaningfully with our tremendous fan community," said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder of BioWare and the Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group at EA. "Gift of the Yeti is a fun, engaging holiday present from BioWare to our fans, the first in a series of compelling social experiences from BioWare Labs."
The game is cute, but it's goal is what's more important; each play of The Gift of the Yeti raises 1 penny for gamer children's charity Child's Play, to a maximum of $10,000 dollars. I've already played three times, so that means you folks have only got 999,997 plays to go before they reach their goal.
"Child's Play draws the bulk of our support from video gamers and the games industry, and we are honored to be part of BioWare's Gift of the Yeti campaign," said Kristin Lindsay, Program Coordinator, Child's Play. "Now gamers can help support pediatric hospitals in the US, Canada and worldwide simply by playing the game and having fun! When gamers give back, it makes a big difference."
As an added bonus, folks visiting the Gift of the Yeti game are entitled to 10% off the purchase of Dragon Age: Origins from the EA Store.
Charity, discounts, and yetis. What else could a gamer want for Christmas?