Online Game Helps Troubled Young People

Online Game Helps Troubled Young People

September 24, 2007
Online games take a lot of heat these days over issues like violence and addiction.

But an online game developed by a youth welfare organization in Australia is designed to help 16-25-year olds who are going through rough times.

Reach Out Central lets players "test-drive life," according to the Inspire Foundation, which developed the game. As reported by Stuff:
Helping and befriending the computer-controlled characters that inhabit the online world is essential, and Inspire hopes skills developed in the game - and choices made there about friends, partying, work and life in general - will transfer to the real world.

Said Inspire's Jonathan Nicholas:
The purpose of the game is to build social standing with other characters and progress through the storyline, and to do that and progress well you have to maintain your own happiness, maintain self-confidence and you have to have physical energy.

[Reach Out Central] should be a place where young people want to go, rather than the classic educational games that may be good for you but you didn't particularly enjoy.

Mark Rosser, who works with issues involving youth and depression, cited statistics showing that only 40% of depressed 16-25's sought help.
Young people are online, we know that they're high consumers of the digital age, so we need to get our messages and we need to interact with young people online - that's a given.

The Sony Foundation backed the project with a donation of $A500,000.
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Comments

Submitted by nightwng2000 - September 24, 2007 at 7:56 am -0500
Definitely a thumbs up sounding project. I don't have a lot of time to check it out at this moment, but it sounds like a great addition to an arsenel of tools to help young people through difficult times. The more tools that come along, the better coverage catching those that one tool won't work with but another will. The more the better.

Nightwng2000
NW2K software
Submitted by Gavin Schmitt - September 24, 2007 at 8:10 am -0500
I agree that this is a positive idea, but I wonder if "troubled" youth will seek this out and/or take anything away from the experience? How relatable can an fantasy experience viewed alone, in the solitary confines of a computer, can anything be? Likewise, how much social impact can a narrative have, as opposed to actual social contact (or even virtual contact via instant messaging)?
Submitted by nightwng2000 - September 24, 2007 at 8:22 am -0500
True, it probably won't help everyone. Still, the "every little bit helps" falls into play. If it were the only solution to such issues, I'd say it were seriously lacking and people should be looking for other ways to help also.

But, we know that there are already other ways to help, this one added on helps others that those solutions don't help, and other newer solutions will come along to help those who none of the other solutions help. Every solution has some form of weakness when it comes to some individuals. But additional solutions work to cover the weaknesses of other solutions, so it does tend to be a hit or miss to find the right solution or the right way to deal with the problems.

We all wish there was one simple, perfect solution for everything and everyone. Sadly, there isn't.

Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Submitted by Soul - September 24, 2007 at 8:57 am -0500
What a great idea, take that you game haters out there.
Submitted by BlackIce, Leftie - September 24, 2007 at 9:44 am -0500
Anyone here about Iraq veterans being given Parrots as therapy? Same thing isn't it?

Anyway, two thumbs, right up.
Submitted by lumi - September 24, 2007 at 9:45 am -0500
I'm confused...is this an MMO, of sorts? Are players interacting with each other?

If so, what's to stop jackasses from logging on to grief people, just as they do in every other online medium? I would worry that this would turn into griefer's shooting fish in a barrel.

Fish who are already emotionally or psychologically troubled... =(
Submitted by BlackIce, Leftie - September 24, 2007 at 9:59 am -0500
Don't think it's an MMO. Computer Controlled Characters...
Submitted by brokenscope - September 24, 2007 at 10:55 am -0500
This sounds like it follows the same pattern that many of the online dating sims do.
Submitted by Iniquus - September 24, 2007 at 10:58 am -0500
I'm looking it over now. It seems interesting enough. I did like that it has a bit of a survey at the beginning to keep track of a player's mood. Like Nightwing and Gavin said, it's not a perfect solution. I'd give anything for tools like this to be unneeded, but once again, anything helps. I'd still rather be out of a job though. Seeing depressed people suffer is a hard thing.

-Mike Schwinger
Submitted by nightwng2000 - September 24, 2007 at 11:15 am -0500
The main site's video demo is in QuickTime, which our work computer doesn't use.

HOWEVER, there is a YouTube video news story about it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvo7nQLiW2s

Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Submitted by Gavin Schmitt - September 24, 2007 at 11:38 am -0500
I wonder if there are any negative consequences in the game? In the youtube, one of the players watching the screen notes "I think she wants us to go home". I certainly don't take this as a bad thing, but is it possible to reject the NPCs, or be rejected yourself? Or is it a solidly feel good only game?

I think it would be a shame to rule out reality, in a drive to make this a stabalizing environment for troubled teens...
Submitted by John Stretton - September 24, 2007 at 1:07 pm -0500
I just went threw the game and it is really worth checking out even if your not a teen like my self it really hits on the key points on reality for teens moving to a new place meeting new people making new friends etc
Submitted by Seren - September 24, 2007 at 1:45 pm -0500
I really like the idea. I think it would be a good way to ease people with social issues or who are re-entering society with the transition one has to make.

I'm interested in seeing if there's any uproar over the fact that the game is fairly restricted (in that players are interacting solely with NPC, as that's what it seems at the moment). I'm sure someone will be crying over unrealism.
Submitted by CaptainZM - September 24, 2007 at 5:57 pm -0500
This looks interesting. Its kinda set up like a Cheap Flash game or one of those "Gaming College" Commercial's games you see.

If they got a Full Blown investment, you could end up with a game like AA:RoS. AA really sucks you in, so, with a bit of work, they could make a REALLY helpful game.

Thats my 2 Copper.
Submitted by White-haired Journalist - September 24, 2007 at 7:59 pm -0500
Nice move. We rarely see projects like these. I hope they succeed in their goals. XD
Submitted by Cinematech - September 25, 2007 at 1:53 am -0500
If anything this would probably make the emo population more suicidal, not less. I know I'd want to kill myself if I could only make friends in a game designed to make me not want to slit my wrists.
Submitted by lol - October 11, 2007 at 3:44 pm -0500
lolz u all sok cok jk u should go to xpeeps.com or xxpeeps.com great sites well l8r motha f*krs jk lol
Submitted by Hello Kitty Online World - January 20, 2008 at 4:00 pm -0500
[...] GamePolitics.com Blog Archive Online Game Helps Troubled Online games take a lot of heat these days over issues like violence and addiction. But an online game developed by a youth welfare organization in Australia is designed to help [...]
Submitted by Jogos - March 7, 2008 at 4:07 pm -0500
This is definitely a great idea. I think it would be a good way to ease people with social issues or who are re-entering society with the transition one has to make.

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