CHILDREN'S GAME DESIGN
THE ASK:
In this brief students were tasked to build and develop an illustration-heavy mobile app that functions as a game for kids in response to a cause.
THE SOLUTION:
In light of the Black lives matter movement, this app is aimed at educating young Afrikaans children about white privilege and the systematic racism that is still present in post apartheid South Africa. Brak & Jan is training game for children to learn how to successfully stand up for P.O.C and how to actively fight against casual racism. It will provide numerous information regarding white privilege, racist terminology, the real SA history and more. It will act as a guide to teach Afrikaans kids about racism in oddly familiar scenarios. It will show kids how to act in real life discriminatory scenarios and what topics one should take inconsideration when one speaks about racism. This provides a fun and easy way to learn Afrikaans kids about white privilege and how one can use their privilege to P.O.C’s advantage.
THE GAME
GAME ILLUSTRATIONS
RATIONALE:
In this brief students were tasked to develop and build an illustration-heavy mobile app that functions as a game for kids in response to a cause. In light of the Black lives matter movement, I choose to develop an app that is aimed at educating young Afrikaans children about white privilege and the systematic racism that is still present in post-apartheid South Africa. Brak & Jan is a training game for 13+ children to learn how to successfully stand up for P.O.C and how to actively fight against casual racism. It will provide various information regarding white privilege, racist terminology, the real SA history and more. It will act as a guide to teach Afrikaans kids about racism in oddly familiar scenarios. It will show kids how to act in real life discriminatory scenarios and what topics one should take into consideration when one speaks about racism.This provides a fun and easy way to teach Afrikaans kids about white privilege and how one can use their privilege to P.O.C’s advantage.
Research has shown that 13 year olds already have the mental capability to decipher metaphors. At this age children may become less literal and more figurative. They may become concerned with moral issues as they are able to grasp abstract concepts. This has lead me to create an app filled with Afrikaans metaphors and multiple hidden meanings that discriminate against the Afrikaaner itself in order to poke fun at the irony found in parts of the Afrikaans culture.Through my research I discovered that there is a lack of information on racism in Afrikaans. I find this very problematic considering the history between apartheid and our society today, and how this effects the identity of the white Afrikaner. I believe that racism is a white problem and that it should be address at a young age. The old Afrikaaner mentality is fixated on the ideals of apartheid , and thus making it harder to shift their views on racial equality.
“White-centeredness is not the reality of [the white child's] world, but he is under the illusion that it is. It is thus impossible for him to deal accurately or adequately with the universe of human and social relationships. ...Children who develop in this way are robbed of opportunities for emotional and intellectual growth, stunted in the basic development of the self, so that they cannot experience or accept humanity. This is a personality outcome in which it is quite possible to build into children a great feeling and compassion for animals and an unconscious fear and rejection of differing human beings. Such persons are by no means prepared to live and move with either appreciation or effectiveness in today’s world.” (Sparks, Higa, Sparks 2012: Online)
My own personal childhood experience reflects the validity of the above statement. As a child I became fascinated by dogs and the origin of each breed, isolating myself from human contact and finding acceptance in animals. This quote was a big reason why I chose to use dogs to portray real life situations. The way we view dogs should set out an example on how we should treat people. It highlights how in todays world we treat dogs better that those around us, (to be treated “like a dog” has negative connotations behind it when in reality dogs are actually treated better than some people in our society). The name “Brak en jan” is an Afrikaans phrase and by deconstructing the word into two the meaning highlights the contrast between the oppressed and the oppressor. The word brak has a negative connotation that translates to mutt, which is a direct representation of a racial slur. Jan is a stereotypical white Afrikaans name, this ultimately represents the Afrikaner. The slogan reads in Afrikaans : Hou op kwaad raak en die hond skop, which is directly translated to ‘stop kicking the dog out of pure anger”.This is a well known Afrikaans idiom that means to stop taking your anger on unrelated things and take accountability for ones own actions. My visual inspiration is based on Kobus Galloway’s illustrations for his book, Idees vol vrees as he is known to redraw Afrikaans idioms in a literal, tongue in cheek way. This game highlights the way in which discrimination is only present in humans. By giving dogs the ability to speak, we then only see how racism is a learned trait. By showcasing these dogs in familiars scenarios, we can see how the qualities of the owner reflects in these dogs. The App plays a series of scenario based on Afrikaans stereotypes. In each scenario the player will encounter a dog breed that represents a stereotypical racist Afrikaaner. The player is then challenged to either practice their responses against a racist phrase, or to start the game. The first level is a lap dog (skoots hondjie) that reflects the typical white Afrikaans female ( a yappy bark with no bite). The second level shows a Jack Russel (a dog breed popular among Afrikaans South Africans ) that represents the stereotypical rugby boy, that hates losing ( barks along with every dog). The boss level is considered the hardest as it is a representation of the white Afrikaans Boer. A Boerboel is known to be a “farmers dog” and is popular for its aggression. When silence is chosen the app highlights how this can be problematic in society and how one ultimately contribute to racism. When the wrong action is chosen, one losses a health. In order to obtain health, one should be actively anti-racist.
Ultimately this brief has helped me unpack and understand my Afrikaner identity in South Africa today. The intensive research has lead me into reconstructing my views on life. I have learned more about my own history as a white Afrikaner now than what was taught in my own school. This brief opened my eyes to how prevalent racism is in the Afrikaans community and has made me conscious of my own surroundings and how to be actively anti-racist within my own language.
#BLM
THANK YOU
