CREATED WITH AND FOR THE SEED INSITUTE
SERVICES: GAME DESIGN, UX RESEARCH
FUNDERS: WILLIAM T. GRANT FOUNDATION, MASSACHUSETTS COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT GRANT
COLLABORATORS: FABLEVISION STUDIOS, DR. LORA HENDERSON-SMITH, BMA TENPOINT ALLIANCE, TRANSITION HOPE
Children of the Flame is a trauma-informed, single-player virtual reality (VR) game designed by youth experts at the SEED Institute with game design mentorship from iThrive Games and the community wisdom of BMA TenPoint Alliance and Transition HOPE staff. The game familiarizes players with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and supports them in understanding their developmental impact and influence on young people's social, emotional, and physical health. The game's prototype, designed with game design mentorship from iThrive Games and the community wisdom of BMA TenPoint Alliance and Transition HOPE, invites players to engage with a set of characters who attend the same predominantly white high school, are enrolled in a METCO program there, and end up in the same detention room. The player behind the headset must figure out what led the characters to be in trouble by diving into that character's story. In clicking each character, the player is transported to that character's home via the headset, where they explore their room and neighborhood to learn more about their life, family, and community. A facilitator guide, authored by Dr. Lora Henderson-Smith, was created to deepen the game's learning experience.
