00.01 September 29
For further information please contact
Mark South
telephone: +44 (0)207 877 7042, email: MSouth@redcross.org.uk
Joseph is sixteen-years-old. Caught up in the Ugandan civil war, separated from his family, hungry and alone in a camp overflowing with thousands forced to flee, Joseph is desperately seeking his mother. But he needs your help…
Timed to coincide with its Civilians and Conflict month, the British Red Cross is launching ‘Traces of Hope’, the first ever charity online Alternate Reality Game (ARG) - an experience in which on-screen characters reach out into the players’ real world.
Set in Northern Uganda, Traces of Hope combines storytelling, detective work, technology and treasure-hunt style gameplay in a compelling 21st century narrative, as players seek to reunite Joseph with his mother.
“We’ve pulled out all the stops to create an experience where players will feel they are really interacting with Joseph’s world – by communicating directly with Joseph, players find themselves caught up in a hunt across the internet to reunite him with his mother,” said Dorothea Arndt, British Red Cross, New Media Manager.
“While it is involving and exciting, Traces of Hope also has a serious point; there are thousands of people like Joseph all around the world whose lives are shattered by conflict. But all around the world, wherever you find people like Joseph, you’ll also find the Red Cross, reconnecting families and rebuilding lives.”
To join in the game, players can visit www.tracesofhope.com any time from September 29 to register. Once signed up players will need to wait for Joseph to contact them with news of his situation, and the adventure will begin.
Scripted by one of the creators of KateModern, the UK's biggest online interactive drama series, and working together with a number of partners including Reuters Alertnet and Penguin Books, the game, developed with digital design company Enable Interactive, has been made to look as realistic and authentic as possible.
“In developing the game we’ve gone to a lot of trouble to place clues, teasers and solutions around the internet, so the boundaries between the game-world and the real world become very blurred,“ explained Matt Connolly, Strategy Director of Enable.
“Players will be going to real websites and drawing on genuine lifesaving information to help Joseph on his journey. ARGs are at the cutting edge so it’s fantastic to be working on such an innovative project alongside the Red Cross and to be spreading a very positive message as well as making a great game.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW:
Dorothea Arndt, British Red Cross, New Media Manager
Jessica Mullen, British Red Cross, Head of Tracing and Messaging Services
Matt Connolly, Enable, Strategy Director
Contact: Mark South 020 787 77042, msouth@redcross.org.uk
OTHER MATERIALS:
Images, Refugee tracing case studies
British Red Cross helps people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are. We are part of a global voluntary network, responding to conflicts, natural disasters and individual emergencies.
We enable vulnerable people in the UK and abroad to prepare for and withstand emergencies in their own communities. And when the crisis is over, we help them to recover and move on with their lives. www.redcross.org.uk | 
