Against All Odds (video game)

Against All Odds is an Adobe Flash video game developed by UNHCR designed to teach players about the plight of refugees. Originally released in Swedish in 2005, the game has been translated into several languages, the English edition of which was released in November 2007.[5]

Against All Odds
Against All Odds entrance screen
Developer(s)UNHCR
Platform(s)Adobe Flash
Releasefr September 22, 2008[1]
da es June 20, 2008[2]
fi January 25, 2008[3]
en November 7, 2007[2]
el June 20, 2006[2]
de March 6, 2006[2]
nb December 7, 2005[2]
sv May 10, 2005[4]
Genre(s)Educational

Initial funding for the project came from a grant of NOK 1 million from Statoil to UNHCR's Baltic and Nordic regional office, with the aim of developing a project to reach young people and promote integration in the region. UNHCR sought advice from Umeå University regarding interactive media for schools, and discussed ideas with the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training and the Swedish Integration Board. [6][7]

UNHCR decided to proceed the project as a web-based game, a medium which could reach a large number of young people, require no distribution costs and minimal marketing costs. The game was aimed at 12 - 15 year olds, an age where people began to develop ideas regarding refugees and similar issues.[5][7][8]

In Against All Odds, the player takes the role of a refugee, and plays through twelve stages - depicting his persecution and flight from his native country, through to eventual integration into a foreign country as an asylum seeker. Complementing the game is a facts repository detailing the history of asylum, and refugee testimonies. A teacher's guide section provides discussion points and lesson ideas for the classroom. The game takes approximately 45 minutes to play through, coinciding with the typical length of a lesson.[7][8]

Reception has been positive, prompting translations into multiple languages from its original Swedish. In 2006, the German edition of the game, LastExitFlucht was awarded the Austrian State Prize for Multimedia and e-Business in the Knowledge and Learning category. The jury praised the game for building understanding, empathy and concern for the plight of refugees in the player.[9][10]

References
  1. "Surviving against the odds: a taste of life as a refugee". UNHCR Regional Office for the Baltic and Nordic Countries. Archived from the original on 2008-02-25. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
  2. "Mot alla odds" (in Swedish). UNHCR Regional Office for the Baltic and Nordic Countries. Archived from the original on 2009-05-27. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
  3. "UNHCR:n nettipeli tuo pakolaisen arjen luokkahuoneeseen" (in Finnish). UNHCR Regional Office for the Baltic and Nordic Countries. 2008-01-24. Archived from the original on 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
  4. "Against All Odds" (PDF). UNHCR Regional Office for the Baltic and Nordic Countries. 2005-05-10. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
  5. Thomas Lane (2007-11-09). "Gamers get taste of refugee life". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
  6. "Backing tolerance-building game". Statoil. 2005-12-07. Archived from the original on 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
  7. gamesTM staff (March 2008). "Against All Odds". gamesTM (67): 34–35. ISSN 1478-5889.
  8. Gregor Kucera (2006-03-19). ""LastExitFlucht" - UNHCR startet interaktives Reality-Game" (in German). Der Standard. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
  9. "Multimedia & e-Business Staatspreis - Gewinner 2006" (in German). Austrian State Prize for Multimedia and e-Business. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
  10. "Die Besten in Multimedia & e-Business 2006". Austrian State Prize for Multimedia and e-Business. Retrieved 2008-10-22. (in German)
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