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.
Comments
Nightwng2000
NW2K software
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
Anyway, two thumbs, right up.
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... =(
-Mike Schwinger
HOWEVER, there is a YouTube video news story about it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvo7nQLiW2s
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
I think it would be a shame to rule out reality, in a drive to make this a stabalizing environment for troubled teens...
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.
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.