Interactive storytelling: “My Life as a Refugee”
There aren’t many interactive campaigns made by non-profits. It’s a budget thing I guess. This new interactive campaign from the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, is surprisingly simple but very good.
The interactive story of UNHCR is based on the fact that we have to make thousands of choices every day. Usually small, insignificant choices. That does not apply to refugees. Their choices are often crucial.
In this campaign we are refugees. We play the lead role, we must make choices.
The role play revolves around three main characters who have been forced to flee. Months or years of narrative are compressed into each of the stories. Players have to make decisions along the way in order to reach safety. The events and outcome of each story depend on the decisions that the player makes, resulting in a potentially different experience every time.
“Have you got what it takes to survive?”
My Life as a Refugee engages and educates players, compelling them to wrestle with the same perilous dilemmas faced by millions of refugees worldwide.
The campaign is an app available for iPhone and Android.
While playing this app I asked myself for whom this campaign is intended. It isn’t for the refugee fieldworkers or policymakers. It is educational therefore I think the best place to experience is at school or workshops.
