It is often said that game developers and publishers are only in this business to make a profit, but OneBigGame is one company which is out to prove itself the exception to the rule.

Today, the non-profit company announced their first title, Chime: an Xbox LIVE Arcade game created pro bono by the developers at music game specialist Zoë Mode. It is described as a block puzzle game with unique music creation elements featuring contributions from famous musicians.

Chime will be the first of a series of more than fifteen games currently in development, created by developers and designers for the charity publisher so that they can raise money for Save the Children and the Starlight Children's Foundation.

Notable other developers include Shiny founder David Perry who will remake one of his favorite ZX Spectrum games, adventure games guru Charles Cecil who is creating an adventure version of one of the most played casual games in the world and the father of music rhythm action games Masaya Matsuura, working on a reinvention of the genre for the iPhone, WINtA. All these games will be released in the course of 2010, following the launch of Chime this winter.

All participating non-profit games will be published and distributed by OneBigGame both through its own dedicated games portal and a number of digital download platforms on both console and PC. Games will be available for a limited exclusivity period, ranging from 4-12 months, during which all net proceeds will be going to charity.

For more about Chime and the organizations involved, read the fact sheet and information below, then check out the game's first screenshots in our gallery.

CHIME ­FACT SHEET

PLATFORMS: Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft
RELEASE DATE: Winter 2009
PUBLISHER: One Big Game in conjunction with Valcon Games and Easy Tiger
DEVELOPER: Zoë Mode
ESRB RATING: E for Everyone
GENRE: Music/Puzzle


PRODUCT OVERVIEW:
An exclusive Zoë Mode production for OneBigGame, the videogames industry-wide charity initiative, Chime pits gamers against the melody in this all-new puzzle experience: Players place blocks against the clock, remix famous artists and contribute to children's charities around the world. More than 60 percent of the purchase price of Chime will be donated to charities around the world, helping those who need it the most.
Chime is all about placing shapes on a grid to make music. Gamers control a single shape at a time, and can move, rotate, and then place it on the grid. A beatline moves across the grid in time with the music, and sets off events when it hits placed shapes. Quads are created by placing shapes in solid blocks of 3x3 or more. When a quad is completed and the beat line hits, different musical samples are triggered dependent on its shape. The size of the quad denotes the score, and multipliers can be achieved by having several quads on the screen at once. Once the beatline hits a completed quad, it is stamped down into the grid, earning the player coverage. Put simply, place blocks to create quads, create quads to gain coverage, and gain coverage to fill the grid.

Chime features two modes to explore and conquer; five fantastic songs by world-famous musicians – including Moby and Paul Hartnoll (Orbital); multiple difficulty levels; and different playing grids with a variety of shape-sets. Chime also offers full Xbox LIVE Arcade leaderboard support so players can impress the world with their musical talent and promote goodwill.

PRODUCT FEATURES:
· Addictive block puzzler: Rotate and place shapes to form quads of 3x3 or more to fill your grid before the time runs out
· Music tracks from world-renowned musicians: Featuring music by Moby, Paul Hartnoll (Orbital) and more
· Remix music tracks: Fill the grid to alter the track loop, place pieces to play notes, and create quads to trigger a range of song samples
· Unlimited replay value: Keep reaching 100% and resetting the grid to continue playing and beat your high score
· Five unique levels: Each level is made up of its own music, grid, and shape-sets
· Time mode: Choose between three different levels of difficulty, based on time limit
· Free-play mode: Play for the sake of making music with no time pressure
· Charitable donation: All Zoë Mode's services are provided at no cost to OneBigGame, and all Zoe Modes royalties (a minimum of 60 percent of the purchase price) are donated to the OneBigGame charity initiative. OneBigGame always aims to donate a minimum of 80% of all donations to its charity partners Save the Children and Starlight Children's foundation.

About OneBigGame

OneBigGame aims to raise funds to help solve problems afflicting children around the world. The nature of these problems can be diverse, but the kind of projects OBG supports will always revolve around a structural improvement in children's lives, expanding their opportunities in life.

OneBigGame raises funds by publishing games kindly donated pro bono by established names in game development in conjunction with support from the development community as a whole. The games will be published amongst others on its dedicated games portal onebiggame.org (to go live later this year) as well as through a variety of pc and console download channels.

OneBigGame always aims to donate a minimum of 80% of all donations to its charity partners Save the Children and Starlight Children's foundation.

www.onebiggame.org



About Zoë Mode

Zoë Mode makes games that are accessible; simple, social, games that are effortlessly fun but don't take themselves too seriously. Based in Brighton, London and San Francisco, its diverse work force is unified by its attitude to gaming. Zoë Mode believes that games are powerful ways of bringing people together and having fun and that there's more to life than gaming, but that gaming can make life better; and strongly believes that there is a game for everyone. Zoë Mode is part of Kuju Entertainment Limited.

All of Zoe Mode's services are provided at no cost to OneBigGame and all Zoe Mode's royalties (in the case of the Xbox Live Arcade version a minimum of 60% of the purchase price) are donated to OneBigGame.

www.zoemode.com Media - Anna Morris, T: +44(0) 1273 573600 E: anna.morris@zoemode.com



About charity partner Save the Children
Save the Children is the world's independent charity. We're outraged that millions of children are still denied proper healthcare, food, education and protection. We're working flat out to get every child their rights and we're determined to make further, faster changes. How many? How fast? It's up to you.

www.savethechildren.org.uk



About charity partner Starlight Children's Foundation

When a child or teenager has a serious medical condition, everyone in the family is affected. For 25 years, Starlight Children's Foundation has been dedicated to helping seriously ill children and their families cope with their pain, fear and isolation through entertainment, education and family activities. Starlight's programs have been proven to distract children from their pain, help them better understand and manage their illnesses, and connect families facing similar challenges so that no one feels alone. Through a network of chapters and offices, Starlight provides ongoing support to children, parents and siblings in all U.S. states and Canadian provinces with an array of outpatient, hospital-based and Web offerings. Programs are also delivered internationally through affiliates in Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom. To learn more visit www.starlight.org.