The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), The Gabo Foundation, and Anima Interactive recently launched the world’s first investigative journalism game jam as a pilot event for OCCRP’s new Floodlight Gaming initiative.
Floodlight Gaming is a project that aims to translate real-world investigative reports into interactive media. This effort is built upon the success of the Floodlight Film initiative, which connects top investigative journalists with filmmakers and television series creators to adapt source material into rich stories in service of the public interest.
Anima Interactive has taken up a number of causes before, including its survival game Take Us North about crossing the U.S. border from Mexico. It also tackled the climate change issue through a game jam.
To kick off Floodlight Gaming, OCCRP and Anima Interactive launched the Floodlight Investigative Journalism Game Jam, which granted game developers across the globe access to exclusive in-depth investigative reports as well as opportunities to directly ask the reporters behind the stories questions throughout the development process.
Additional partners and supporters included V-Ventures, Global Game Jam, Good Game Generation, International Game Developers Association (IGDA), and Spielfabrique.
The game jam culminated in the Floodlight Investigative Journalism Gaming Summit held in Amsterdam on September 24 and live-streamed online. The summit featured highlights from the game jam finalists as well as discussions between game developers and investigative journalists about storytelling and the crossover between the two industries.
“Hunting the Hunter” by Berlin-based Greenwave Games won the grand prize and will receive $5,000 and a spot in SpielFabrique’s forthcoming Launchpad Program, which offers individualized mentoring and support.
“We launched Floodlight Gaming to give game developers all over the world exclusive access to top-notch investigative journalism about global organized crime and corruption,” said Floodlight Gaming and OCCRP cofounder Paul Radu, in a statement. “We want to generate a new wave of games that gives developers free reign to create in the public interest. The games that were submitted through the jam were incredible and really elevated the reporting.”
The winning project is based on an investigation by Anas Aremeyaw Anas from Ghana, “Hunting the Hunter: Infiltrating the Cocoa Smuggling Underworld of Ghana’s Western Border.” Anas went undercover to expose a deep-rooted network that sabotaged Ghana’s economy, deprived farmers, and threatened national security.
“Hunting the Hunter winning this award is a powerful reminder that storytelling and innovation can join forces to inspire the next generation,” Anas said. “This recognition affirms that the fight against corruption can engage hearts and minds far beyond traditional journalism. Above all, I hope it challenges young people everywhere to believe that they too can use their creativity and courage to make a difference.”
A jury of leaders from both the video games and investigative journalism sectors selected five finalists from the projects submitted to the world’s first investigative journalism game jam. The four other finalists included:
- Dark Money by Polyvale Studios, based on reporting by hundreds of journalists in the OCCRP network for the Laundromat series
- Echoes: El Salvador by Stijn Verstraete, based on reporting by Juan José Martínez d’Aubuisson
- Rise of Viktor Orbán by Pol Grasland-Mongrain and Dylhan ‘Zhanko’ Phong, based on reporting by Andras Petho
- Cocoa Capture by Leto du Plessis, Damian Grobler, Matthew Carlton, Kairan Moorlach, and Cale Adamson, based on reporting by Anas Aremeyaw Anas
“In an era of rampant misinformation, our roles as storytellers and artists have never been more critical,” said Anima Interactive founder Karla Reyes, in a statement. “Video games are one of the most powerful mediums of our time for bearing witness, telling nuanced and complex truths that do not often dominate public discourse, and building empathy.”
She added, “We are deeply grateful to all of the game jam participants and our partners for playing essential roles in the launch of Floodlight Gaming and are excited to continue to support developers interested in adapting these crucial stories about global organized crime and corruption into interactive media.”
Developed by Bernard Lis and Chris Vogel, “Hunting the Hunter” puts the player into the role of an investigative journalist who uncovers a smuggling ring. The Floodlight Gaming jury called the game an “impressive prototype that delivers a great overall experience and good visuals.”
“I really enjoyed that we were able to ask our questions to the journalist,” said developer Vogel during the event. “It made our game so much deeper than it would have been otherwise.”
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