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In this installment of the Ypulse Youth Website Profile series we look at online edutainment game The Curfew, recently launched in the UK at the end of July. Developed by Channel 4 Education, the same team behind media literacy game Smokescreen (reviewed in an earlier site profile), The Curfew takes a similar approach to addressing how the issues of civil liberties and surveillance affect youth. Here were some first impressions..

What it is… “an adventure webgame with a political thriller theme of trust, privacy and liberty.” Commissioned by Channel 4 Education, The Curfew was designed by creative agency Littleloud and written by game critic and Marvel writer Kieron Gillen to educate teens about the value of political freedoms.

Who it’s for… 14-19 year olds in the UK.

What Works: The premise. Set in 2027 when Britain has become an authoritarian state, The Curfew places players in a dystopian future with present-day relevance that ominously foretells what could come if current questionable practices (like curfews) continue unchecked. As anyone paying attention to the recent boom in post-apocalyptic young adult fiction knows, this set-up has HUGE potential for teens today – as long as the story holds up as more than a cautionary tale. And from what I’ve seen so far (including the video above) and other early reviews of the game (which lament some “pointless mini-games” and not much else), this doesn’t seem to be a problem.

As with Smokescreen, Channel 4 has taken care to collaborate with experienced gaming professionals and other creatives to organically integrate messaging into the gameplay (versus the stop-and-learn approach we’ve seen in other edugames). The strong characters (played by recognizable British actors) and a fully developed fictional universe (the design even includes 3D sets) promise an immersive episodic adventure for those that step into the world of 2027 Britain.

Challenges: While I believe these issues are extremely relevant and the game itself is promising, as any “fun” content packaged educational material, The Curfew could be an initial tough sell to teens. I’m curious about the context in which teen players are coming across the game (would be an awesome addition to a government or history curriculum), but the name itself makes the inner teen in me groan a little with negative associations. The same might be true of those British teenagers actually living under curfew. According to Alice Taylor of Channel 4, there are “over a thousand towns and cities across Britain today, where anyone under the age of 16-years-old found outside after 9pm can be removed from the streets.”

The hope is that the cool factor will override any stigma that does exist and the parallels will inspire a rallying cry to get young people involved in community issues and politics. I’d love to see that happen (and replicated here in the States), but the realist in me feels like that might be an ambitious goal for the game alone to accomplish regardless of how much teens enjoy playing. While The Curfew might give players’ serious food for thought like the best of dystopian YA (a worthwhile goal in and of itself), my sense is that it would take an action-driven campaign (like the youth-targeted site aboutmyvote.co.uk launched for the election) and real-world influencers (peers or adults) to see a heightened awareness translate into on-the-ground action.

We’ll definitely revisit with a Youth Advisory Board review, but let us know what you think in comments.

For more coverage of youth marketing, go to the Ypulse Youth Marketing Channel sponsored by Youth Marketing Connection.

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Categorized under: Education, Web

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