Gamification stuff we love: become an investigative journalist
Coming from a media family with my mum in advertising and my dad a journalist, I have often seen first hand how news and advertising is made, which I very much enjoyed and it also influenced some of my career and study choices. I did at one point consider journalism as a career, but then opted for marketing instead and the more varied life as a business transformation consultant. Saying that media has kept me interested.
If you ever wondered how news is made by investigative reporters then Al Jazeera created your way of experiencing first hand how it works in their Pirate Fishing mission. You basically start of as a junior reporter and you are given a mission to complete should you choose to accept it. By watching video’s and collecting evidence you build up your story. Along the way you move up the levels to senior reporter and collect specific badges for achievements.
I enjoyed playing it and learning about a very real issue that is still playing out today. I challenge you to play too and experience if you would be cut out to be an investigative journalist of note: www.aljazeera.com/piratefishing. The interactive experience is based on an original documentary made by Juliana Ruhfus and is aimed to encourage potential digital journalist to learn what it takes to develop a news story of this kind.
From a gamification perspective it has elements from a first person game, missions, levels, collectibles and badges. I found the whole combination of elements highly engaging and they kept me moving forward even if originally the topic if it was presented to me dry without challenge or mission I may have actually skipped it.
What have you experienced when you tried out your investigative reporting skills?
