When I was at the Games for Change Conference last month, I got a chance to talk to Anna Mostetschnig, who is Head of Research and Development of the game Kicked Out!, which is a game that teaches financial literacy in the increasingly popular game space of Facebook. The game explores how can you handle your money responsibly, and what are the consequences of your financial decisions.
Currently many young people in their twenties already hold an average debt of about $45,000. Katharina Norden, founder of Kicked Out! recently remarked that, “…Research supports the fact that if people don’t learn financial literacy skills before the age of 19, then spending patterns become internalized to the point where they’re extremely difficult to change.” The game was created in collaboration with psychologists, debt counselors and behavioral economists. The team behind the game come from Vienna, Austria and they have partnered with the game developers at ‘Team Vienna’ who have worked with Rockstar games on Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, other games.
So how do you play? In order to win at Kicked Out!, players must do well at navigating real-life financial situations, managing their daily finances and making long-term decisions while avoiding debt traps. The game is explored through trial and error, and you learn through the experience.
When I talked to Mostetschnig at G4C, she told me that this is the first Facebook that focuses on knowledge of financial decisions rather than focusing on “teaching.” She explained that knowledge does not lead to the experience, so the game approach is to be fun and a interesting experience. Issues like what does life really cost, what are the most common debt traps, are explored in the narrative of the game.
For the game you start out leaving your parents and getting your own apartment. You then have to decide how to decorate the apartment. You can invite your Facebook friends and have parties. If your party is successful you might have paty crashers like Lady Gaga or Justin Beiber. You can take pictures and post them in Facebook. Next day. Uh-oh. Your car just broke down and needs a $600 repair. Will you make it through the rest of the month?
Kicked Out! is currently working to develop this game independently and is using Kickstarter to get funds for the game. You can read more on the Kickstarter project website or at kicked-out.com
Image Source:
www.kicked-out.com
Links:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kicked-out/kicked-out