SassyBot, a games company from the Netherlands, is participating in a big charity event of radio station 3FM and the Dutch Red Cross called “Serious Request“. SassyBot consists out of students and graduates of the highly acclaimed NHTV – Games Academy and have won several prizes and various nominations. For Serious Request the three guys had themselves locked up symbolically by the local alderman of education, Saskia Boelema, and head of the NHTV’s games academy, Daphne Heeroma. The guys will stay in the Huis voor Beeldcultuur from 18 December till 24 December to realize a game that has a function next to being enjoyable.

(Spoken Language is Dutch, no subtitles)

Games with a function are being used on a regular basis and combine fun with a certain purpose. An example is Branded Entertainment, games that revolve around a certain brand identity. Other types are educational and serious games, this SassyBot Studio game is both an educational game and a serious game. With this serious and educational game SassyBot wants to show the world that games can be more than mindless shooters.

The game tries to show the public what kind of obstacles the Red Cross encounters in their quest to raise the standard of life of many. The theme of Serious Request this year focusses on reducing child mortality by treating and preventing diarrhea. A lot of people in the Sub-Sahara and Asia regions do not know enough about hygiene or do not have the means to exercise that knowledge which creates a lot of unhealthy situations.The game places the player in the shoes of the Red Cross in a fictional region where child mortality caused by diarrhea is a structural problem. From a birds-eye-view the player has the task to raise the standard of living of certain villages by improving the facilities and educating the population.

At some villages the player has to fight an epidemic while at others the player is required the raise the average health level. At the arrival of a village, or level, the player gets assigned a budget which comprises different donations from companies, fictive and real companies. Subsequently the player sees a Red Cross truck drive into the village letting out volunteers. These volunteers wait on the player for assignments to execute. There are different assignments like building toilets or offer education and it is up to the player to assess the situation and act accordingly. The amount of volunteers determines the amount of assignments that can be executed simultaneously while the players budget determines the amount of assignments.

People can support Serious Request by donating at least 1 euro/dollar through seriousrequest.sassybot.com and we will name a volunteer in the game after you. We will also give you a 2 hour DJ-set mixed exclusively for project “Elimu” by the Spatial Collective.

For companies we have several options:

1. “Good Guy Greg”: The player will receive several donations from companies while playing a level, for every 50 euro/dollar your companies name will be shown more often.
2. “Generous Giver”: For every donation of at least 150,- euro/dollar your companies will be one of the few companies whose name will be in the budget assignment phase, players will be shown your companies name without distractions and actually require interaction with it.
3. “The Biggest Heart”: The company that donates more than 500 euro or dollar and also is the company that has donated the most by 21:00(CET) on 24th of December will have exclusive right to host the game on their website till the end of January.

There is a reason for everyone to support this initative through seriousrequest.sassybot.com and participate in creating a better world. On Facebook you can get updates of our progress and there is also a stream on the website where you can watch the developers and participate in developer talks.

Check out our event pictures and more detailed updates on Facebook