This fall, I attended the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies in San Francisco, where we worked to develop the "real-world game" we are planning for the community engagement campaign for @home, the Kindling Group’s new project about homelessness in the United States. Launched in 2007, the Producers Institute is "a week-long social impact laboratory that connects the world’s best social issue documentary filmmakers and non-profit organizations with leading technologists and mentors to develop transmedia tools and story assets to advance shared social change agendas." Only six social issue documentary teams were selected, so it was a great honor to be there -- and @home's participation was sponsored by ITVS, further validation of the project.
Now you may ask, "What? A game about homelessness?!" Well, games have been proven to be a great sandbox for exploring complex social ideas in a safe and fun way -- and they also have proven to be very effective in changing attitudes. Homelessness is a tough issue perceived by many as a hopeless cause. Kindling feels a real world game is a great, unexpected vehicle to help people see that not only is homelessness a solvable problem, but they can be part of the solution.
Our team at the Institute also included Heidi Boivert of FuturePerfect Labs, who is leading the game development, as well as Catherine Herdlick, executive director of Come out and Play and director of strategic partnerships for the 100,000 Homes Campaign. Throughout our week in San Francisco, we met with experts, designers, broadcasters, and fellow film and media makers. We defined our audience, goals, and basic mechanics for the game. In the end, we came away with a solid plan and design for a fun, real world game that actualizes solutions to homelessness, allowing players to make change in their own communities -- one person, one home at a time.
Participants will play this game on their mobile devices, following the story of an interactive comic book from scene to scene to learn more about realities of homelessness and how hard it is to get off the streets -- and to impact homelessness in their own neck of the woods. We hope that as we roll out our upcoming film, we will challenge the notion that homelessness is intractable, and help create a network that is engaged in ending homelessness in the United States.
Please stay tuned for updates as we move forward with this project -- and thanks.
- Danny