Gaming for charity isn't new. From the Child's Play organization to Microsoft's Children's Miracle Network Game Pack there are various ways for gamers to give back to those in need. And now you can get an achievement for your generosity.

Upcoming charity game Chime offers some incredibly addicting gameplay in the vein of Tetris and Lumines, only this time around all of the developer royalties are going to a good cause rather than a corporate balance sheet. Developer Zoe Mode worked pro bono, musicians such as Moby, Philip Glass and Paul Hartnoll of Orbital donated their music and publisher OneBigGame coordinated the whole shebang.

We've often joked that given the vast number of players that go to any length to increase their gamerscore that an XBLA game which simply doled out achievements would likely be a smashing success. Chime will give us a chance to test that theory. Granted, it's only one achievement that you get for free, but it has to be the easiest achievement available on the Xbox 360.

After purchasing Chime, the "Fairy Godmother" achievement is granted as soon as you start the game. You don't have to do anything in-game, rather the achievement is granted specifically because you purchased Chime and in doing so funneled money to charity.

"You've done a great thing and made the world a better place. Here's a little gift!"

Now this isn't something we would ever want to see done with a standard retail game, but with a charity involved it seems kind of cool. After all, if you donate to your local PBS station you often get something as a thank you. This is true for many charity drives.

Perhaps OneBigGame is onto something here. Gamers are plugged in and online. While we might not go for traditional charity drive gifts, getting a digital item such as achievements, gamer points or avatar clothing could make for a nice "thank you" in exchange for a donation to a favorite cause.
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