CREATED WITH THE MIDDLEBURY INSTITUTE CENTER ON TERRORISM, EXTREMISM, AND COUNTERTERRORISM
SERVICES: GAME DESIGN, UX RESEARCH
COLLABORATORS: AFFORDANCE STUDIO, TOIYA FINLEY (SCHNOODLE MEDIA, LLC), THE URBAN ASSEMBLY
FUNDERS:Â DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (DHS)
With funding through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) FY21 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant program, iThrive Games and the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC) at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies are designing and producing a single-player simulation game hosted on iThrive Sim that helps teens develop their awareness of and resistance to online radicalization threats, building their resilience and skills. With extremist and terrorist actors increasingly targeting teens for recruitment, the game will respond to teens' specific needs, equipping them with the knowledge to spot the signs, resist the bystander effect and feel less powerless about it. The game, slated to launch September 2023, will build capacity at high school and district levels for future Prevention and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) program administration.
With Teens: Intended to support teen resilience directly, development began with a hands-on design session with high school students in a media studies program, which shaped our initial prototype. Several one-on-one interviews and playtesting sessions were held with teens, ages 14-19, who informed and refined the language, examples, visual style, and strategies featured in the game to ensure maximum relatability and efficacy. Playtesters and co-designers have been enthusiastic about the realistic feel of the conversations between characters and the chance to practice interacting with a "friend" who is being radicalized. Teens' perspectives on the best ways to cope with the big emotions and experiences that can make someone more vulnerable to radicalization continue to enrich this game as it undergoes iteration ahead of launch.
With Subject Matter Experts: Game development is informed by the incredible minds at Middlebury Institute of International Studies Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC) as well as consultants John Horgan, PhD, of Georgia State University, a leading expert in the psychology of terrorism and radicalization; and Christian Picciolini, a former member of an extremist group whose life's work is now dedicated to prevention, de-radicalization, and activism.
