The development of the serious game ‘Shkorey’ was launched in Leeuwarden in June 2020. The educational game – and more importantly, the road to it – aims to promote knowledge of sexual health and birth care among Eritrean youth in the Netherlands. Together with leading Ghanaian studio Leti Arts, 8D Games is responsible for the graphic and technical realisation. We are also developing the concept for the game in co-creation with young people and healthcare professionals.
Giel Hekkert is closely involved with Shkorey
Shkorey (‘darling’ in Tigrinya) is developing a digital game environment that provides Eritrean newcomers to the Netherlands with information on the human body, sexuality, birth care and raising small children in the Netherlands. Collaborators in the project include the Municipality of Leeuwarden, Stichting Lemat, GGD Fryslân, PincKlouds, 8D Games, Leti Arts and various cultural mediators and Eritrean youth.
Besides developing a digital game environment that shortens the distance between local care agencies and Eritrean youth, Shkorey organises a wide-ranging fringe programming with a lot of input from the target groups themselves. For example, a creative team of Eritrean youth has been set up to collaborate on content for the game, from videos to storylines.
This is how we have tackled itDuring the development process, co-creation was given free rein, from start to finish. In cooperation with project leader Geertje Postma, 8D Games organised sessions with both Eritrean youngsters and care professionals. What does a brand-new Eritrean parent encounter in the Netherlands? And what tools does a care provider need to effectively inform this target group? All results, insights and game modules created during game development in Leeuwarden will be shared within a National Knowledge Network and by joining programmes such as Kansrijke Start and Nu Niet Zwanger.
Initiator Geertje Postma: ‘The road to the game is at least as important as the digital game itself. The development process is structured in such a way that Eritrean young people themselves make an important contribution to the final product. For example, a team of young people works on short films and storylines for the game.’
This power-up we have realisedIn consultation with Eritrean youth, a narrative game concept was chosen in which you follow a group of friends. Each character represents dilemmas around a particular theme, such as the human body or sexual health. You decide how this character acts in different situations that come up in the story. Each choice affects the course of the story. Once the chapter is finished, a knowledge quiz follows. This quiz will also be available separately, where players can challenge each other, among other things. An important additional feature is the integration of a local healthcare map. This allows players to easily find a nearby healthcare provider who deals with a topic raised in the game. The technical realisation of Shkorey is currently underway. The game is expected to be delivered in February 2023. Read more at Shkorey.nl
Get in touch with Giel
Cross-continental game development: how does it work and what can we learn from each other? Let’s have a chat about this with Giel Hekkert (8D Games) and Eyram Tawia (Leti Arts). They are currently working on Shkorey, an informative game about sexual health, pregnancy and birth care.
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