One of the other amazing projects I am helping with at the BAVC Producers Institute is "SOS Slaves," a web-based game that will educate and activate young people on the issue of sex trafficking around the world. Building upon "Sands of Silence" a powerful documentary about sex trafficking by filmmaker Chelo Alvarez-Stehle, "SOS Slaves" will inform youth about the various forms of sex trafficking through the stories of different characters. The goal of the game is to inspire young people to act to end this tragic crime.
Sex trafficking is such a difficult but critical problem to combat and to talk to youth about. Because of this, I am very impressed by the way that the "SOS Slaves" team have come up with creative and engaging ways of introducing the subject matter within the context of a web game, using beautiful illustrations, animations, and narratives. And this nicely complements the machinima that our Global Kids' Virtual Video Project teens are creating on child sex trafficking called "Discovered."
Tony Walsh of Phantom Compass games has been mentoring the "SOS Slaves" team about the ins and outs of creating an engaging serious game attached to their film property. And I've been helping them think about how to connect the game experience with youth and educators.
While I shouldn't play favorites among the many great projects being pitched at the Producers Institute, I do think that "SOS Slaves" merits serious consideration by the funders coming on Friday.
Hi! I write for Change.org’s human trafficking blog and was wondering if there is more info on this game. Is it out to the public yet? Is it going to schools? I’ve only found info on it dating 2008 and 2009, and at that time it was still in development. If you know where the game is now, please e-mail me! Thanks!