A successful digital game design project has created new resources to use in a youth work setting.
Read the full case study and get the resources.
We set out to explore how informal education – specifically digital youth work – can help to bridge the digital divide, enabling young people to respond positively to the growing disparities in our society.
Two groups of young people from OYCI in Tillicoultry and The Datakirk took part in creating digital games supported by valuable input from Abertay University.
Young people involved in the project say:
“The workshops at Abertay were amazing. I’ve started using the tools at home to practice.”
“I didn’t think I’d like game design, but now I’m considering it as a career.”
“I feel more confident in speaking up and working with others.”
Hilary Phillips, YouthLink Scotland, was the project lead. She says:
“ We chose to work with groups whose location or role mean they are tackling issues that can lead to exclusion: rural location, socio-economic, ethnicity, neurodiversity and others. We were delighted to see how the young people benefited from so many aspects of the project – the skills and knowledge input from Abertay, experiencing a university environment, meeting new people and travelling to different places”.
The new resource includes both the story of the project and resources to support youth workers to deliver digital game design.
Dr Andrew Reid is a Lecturer in Games Production at Abertay University. He says:
“This has been a very rewarding experience on a personal and professional level. The young people have been a credit to themselves and the youth organisations that support them. I hope that their involvement in this project has encouraged them to continue making games into the future”.
Game Design for Youth Work includes the story of the project, new activities and resources and details the impact evaluation work which formed an important aspect of the project.
This project was supported by INCLUDE+, The Inclusive Digital Economy Network, which receives its funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.