VilDu?! wins Best Serious Game!
Last night the Dutch Game Awards 2017 were presented to the best productions the Dutch game industry has to offer. Our serious game VilDu?! was one of them. This is why the Award is so important to VilDu?!.
Children that are victims of sexual abuse: a difficult group to work with in therapy, the Dutch youth & family organisation De Rading experienced. The heartbreaking stories of young kids are hard to translate to the essence of the sexual crime — children often don’t have the words to describe what happened to them. They simply don’t know what boundaries should be respected and what is ‘normal’ sexual behaviour, while their bodies are developing. With that idea in mind, a group of four creatives planted the concept for VilDu?!, in the 2014 Lyst Game Jam. In 2015 YipYip developed a prototype, with the money won at the Stimulation Prize of the K.F. Hein Fonds. With some additional funds we had the opportunity to develop the serious game a bit further, as to where it is now: a tool that can actually be used during children’s therapy.
The first results are shockingly positive. Apparantly the start of a new therapy session takes much less time than before; then the therapist can move on to the next chapter more quickly. This is why the game is so important. Children relate to the characters easily and this guides the conversation into the most useful direction. With the winning of the Dutch Game Award (category: Best Serious Game) the door opens to a much wider audience for the game, with hopefully a great spin-off — that even more children can be supported to overcome their trauma through VilDu?!.
We celebrate this wonderful award with the whole team: YipYip, De Rading, Studio Lapp, Fontys Hogeschool. More info: VilDu?!
