Woodward C. Warrick, J.D. B.M. B.B.A. Dear Friends, I am a computer game enthusiast and have been so for many years. Like yourself, your children, or your customers, I have spent countless hours campaigning through a wide variety of games in solo play, as well as multi-playing in groups on the Internet and on my four computer LAN network at my home in Michigan. I have had a lot of fun playing computer games. However, I am also an adult with responsibilities and goals. I have a life, (outside of gaming), that needs my attention.  The time spent gaming was great, but I would consider the other things I could have accomplished if I had spent that time "more productively." One day I had an inspirational thought, wouldn't it be great if I was getting something beneficial back from the game experience, something beyond diversion and temporary thrills. It occurred to me that without much difficulty educational content could be blended into any game. Considering that the main audience of electronic gaming is children, teens and young adults, I immediately recognized the tremendous untapped potential of electronic gaming as a vehicle for quietly educating game players in the background fabric of game designs. It was some years ago when I first had those flashes of insight and at the time there wasn't much room to spare on the media, (the disks and cartridges). Game developers were hard pressed to cram their games onto a 360 KB floppy disk, the Internet was just getting off the ground and audiovisuals weren't very impressive. Today, the time is ripe for the inclusion of educational content in electronic games. The media has evolved to where many game designers are already including educational content; strategy games include more historical content, military first person shooter games include more current events, sound tracks are more symphonic, landscapes are more scenic, and game characters possess more personality. Only one thing remains to be done to really bring this process to fruition: Developers of games need to consciously include more educational content in their creations. Developers need to realize how powerfully good it is for everyone involved when they cleverly slip unintrusive educational content into their games, even if it's little more than a name, or a place, or an event or an image in the background. It all counts! Developers must acknowledge the fact that their games can reach millions of individuals, and knowing that, they need to grasp the tremendous opportunity they possess to benefit game players, (especially the young ones), by sneaking some educational content into their games. Because I have a high degree of respect for the creativity of game developers, I believe that they can include more educational content in their games with little or no additional effort. Furthermore, I would like you all to know that I have discussed my concept with many parents, and without exception, they are very high on the idea. In fact they think the idea is great! I have one other thought to share that I regret is negative. There are persons out there who are of the opinion that console and computer games are not merely neutral, but are harmful. Unfortunately, they get far more media attention than they probably deserve, and we must accept the likelihood that some parents are listening. While I don't subscribe to their position, I think it would be a good and positive response to detractors of games to intentionally include increasing amounts of educational content in all electronic games so the industry can point to what then would be a fact: Electronic games carry benefits by design. And why not? Especially when it's so easy to do. Artificial WisdomTM is dedicated to promoting the inclusion of educational content in all electronic games. The benefits are gigantic, while the costs are negligible. The opportunities for adding educational content to a game are endless, and designers will discover including them both effortless and rewarding. Participating with Artificial WisdomTM and the G.R.A.D.E.TM rating system is a straight forward way to benefit everyone involved in the industry, and there simply is no downside to blending educational content into a game. Please join with Artificial WisdomTM in taking this next beneficial step in the evolution of electronic gaming. Sincerely, Woody Warrick