At a festival in Singapore to promote digital literacy and wellness, Tencent partnered with a local gaming-for-good group COMEBACK for a series of workshops and tournaments that illuminated how gaming can benefit young people and strengthen families.

Video games can benefit young people. Memory, hand-eye coordination, problem solving, creativity, teamwork, inclusivity — it can all get a boost through gaming. And so can family ties.

The Digital for Life Festival, organized by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), invites people of many ages and backgrounds to discover the world of digital technology. More than 120 partners from diverse sectors met to champion digital literacy and wellness, explore cutting-edge technologies, and nurture inclusivity with 46,000 festival attendees. 

As part of the festival, Tencent collaborated with COMEBACK for a series of webinars and workshops to demystify gaming for parents, as well as community gaming tournaments that promoted bonding among the young and young at heart. To fully capture the benefits the games industry can bring to shape a healthy gaming environment locally, the partnership also adopted a collaborative approach, tapping on the expertise of various ecosystem players, including the Singapore Institute of Technology and the Singapore Centre for Fathering.

Parents and their children taking part in the COMEBACK x Tencent TeleMatch at the Digital for Life Festival 2023.

Fun and Safe Gaming for All

As a global games publisher, we recognize our responsibility to champion healthy gaming practices among youth and new generations of digital-native gamers. Adam Najberg, Head of Communications at Tencent Games Global, said, “Through the transformative power of gaming, we remain committed to bringing innovative and engaging experiences to gamers in the region, while fostering a safe and supportive environment for everyone.”

Nicholas Aaron Khoo, Board Director of COMEBACK, shared how such collaborations “bring greater attention to gaming’s potential as a catalyst for personal development and nurturing meaningful relationships,” and focused on the positive impact of gaming, noting how “gaming builds bridges between people and can support youth in profound ways, including personal development, emotional support, and a sense of belonging.”

Below, a snapshot of Digital For Life highlights:

1. Community TeleMatch for Parent-Child and Peer Teams

A festival favorite, the TeleMatches community gaming competition featured games such as Pokémon UNITE to give family participants a platform to foster quality time and create stronger parent-child connections. Yew Kin, dad to a 12- and 10-year-old, said the event “helped to build a better bond within the family and allowed my son to learn responsibility.”

2. Parenting Workshops: Understanding Games and Gaming Habits

These workshops, led by clinical psychologists from COMEBACK, gave parents a chance to put into practice the communication skills they learned in webinars. Through role-playing, parents developed a better understanding of their children's gaming interests and worries, enabling more productive discussions at home.

3. Interactive Festival Booth

This interactive booth focused on gaming as enjoyable and educational. Visitors could chat with virtual non-playable characters (NPCs) about the use of gaming in problem-solving, teamwork, and building resilience. The displays highlighted the balancing act of having fun gaming while also committing to IRL achievements, interaction, and exploration.

As video games become an integral part of our lives, the ecosystem of industry players, government agencies and community stakeholders play key roles in creating safe spaces and a healthy gaming environment for young gamers.