Red Cross entices gamers into alternative reality

Fundraising | 1 Dec 2008

The British Red Cross has become one of the first UK charities to produce an online Alternative Reality Game aimed at young people.

Coinciding with the charity’s Civilians and Conflict campaign, the game, which went live on October 10, aims to raise awareness about victims of war in an engaging, educational and thought-provoking manner.

Traces of Hope, created by digital agency Enable Interactive, is an immersive experience that requires players to use detective skills for the narrative to unravel.

Matt Connolly, strategy director of Enable Interactive, said: "The mix of detective work, gameplay and storytelling enables charities to build deep, meaningful and sustainable relationships with their audiences around serious issues."

Traces of Hope revolves around a fictional character, 16-year-old Joseph, who needs help finding his mother in northern Uganda where civil war has reaped chaos.

Dorothea Arndt, new media manager for the British Red Cross said: "Because we wanted to reach young people we felt that the Alternative Reality Game concept that Enable put forward would provide the right level of engagement and actively involve players with the campaign. This campaign will raise difficult issues."

Once players have registered at www.tracesofhope.com, Joseph contacts them via email leading to participants partaking in a progressive treasure-hunt style chase searching for clues over the internet in a 24 hour time-frame. Clues are hidden in various sites, including Reuters Alertnet and Penguin Books.

Designers have placed clues and solutions in real-life websites in order to blur the boundaries between the game and the real world. Participants will also have to think in a way that aligns them to Joseph’s circumstances in order to advance.

The game is expected to run for six weeks. By 20 October there were 7,500 registered players aged 15 to 78, but only 57 had completed the game.

Directory: British Red Cross

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