Developing the serious game "N.S.I. Commitment works" for the BMUKK posed a special challenge to us: Of all people, the target group was 13 to 15 year olds – definitely one of the most gaming aficionado age groups. And in addition, the topic was quite thrilling as well: political participation!

We developed and tested the storyboard, characters, game and interactional design together with a focus group consisting of five teenagers, in the course of a series of workshops. For the implementation, we opted for a point and click adventure with a two-dimensional setting as a background and three-dimensional tokens. This creates an environment where gamers can simulate the role of a token (an avatar) and become active in fighting the excesses of unbridled capitalism as a member of an NGO.

In 2008, competence-oriented training was incorporated in school curricula for 14 year olds. In this context, N.S.I. represents an important and innovative educational game, used in schools throughout Austria since March 2009.