D5.3 Prototype Report: Games, Heritage, Arts, & Sport

The GAMEHEARTS D5.3 Prototype Report presents an early-stage, player-centred video game prototype designed to support youth social inclusion. Grounded in the Positive Youth Development framework and its "5 C's" (competence, confidence, connection, character, and caring), the work argues that hybrid digital and real-life gamified tools can foster belonging and practical skills among young people. Its central thesis is that connection can serve as the core gameplay mechanic, requiring moderator-supervised collaboration among youth to advance the narrative.

The prototype was developed through a structured design process. A needs assessment with a Helsinki youth work centre serving people aged 15 to 25 identified challenges including uneven gaming proficiency, limited basic technical skills, and language barriers, alongside goals of reducing loneliness and bridging marginalised and non-marginalised youth. Two ideation stages followed in October 2024: a designer workshop and a four-hour session with the Gamification Group. These converged on a space-themed narrative in which an alien must connect with a newly discovered human to progress through an abandoned research station.

The report is qualitative throughout and reports no quantitative findings. Its conclusions are forward-looking, and it acknowledges that the prototype addresses only a subset of the broader needs identified, such as bureaucracy navigation and income. Subsequent co-design workshops with youth, youth workers, game designers, and researchers are planned to refine the narrative and mechanics. Later sessions developed a three-act narrative arc around a morphous alien seeking a resource to save its species, who must choose between its mission and forming social bonds. The work reflects a partnership spanning several European institutions, though specific details in the extracted text should be verified against the original document.