Wooga’s Rupert, Sell ’em Don’t Break ’em part of new game HELP to support War Child
At Wooga we know how to create games. We know how to tell stories within and through games. Games are in the very core of the company. At the same time we thrive to be responsible members of the games community and take on social responsibility where it makes sense. Ideally, when our business core can support a great cause, it is just organic to support and improve the world around us.
So when recently being approached by our friends at War Child UK whether Wooga wanted to participate in their newest project we knew right away we wanted to be part of it. War Child UK, a charity with a long history of fundraising initiatives in the entertainment and gaming space was planning to release a collection of games called HELP.
Put simply, HELP brings together top developers and asks them to donate a little of their time and talent in creating a new game for people to purchase and play, and in doing so donate money to a great cause. War Child together with the companies approached held a game jam, giving Wooga and other developers six days to create a game which could then be featured in the app HELP. This echoes The Help Album from back in 1993, in which the likes of Blur, Oasis, Radiohead and the Stone Roses helped create an album that, from starting to write songs to reaching number 1 in the charts, took a total of six days.
This is the first time the project will be on mobile devices in the form of one downloadable app featuring five games. One of those is our own Rupert, Sell ’em Don’t Break ’em. Obviously, it was a whole team at Wooga that worked on “Rupert”.
We had some game jam veterans on the team, like Marijn (“I love game jams, and this one was even better because it supports Warchild”), but also people new to the concept. Thomas took part in his first game jam: “I took a totally different role in the creative process, discovering game making from a new angle. And I am glad it was for a good cause!”
Jasmin praises the different dimensions the game jam brought together: “Game jams are a great opportunity to learn new skills and have great fun at the same time. It’s always surprising what you can create in a short amount of time — and all that for a good cause! A perfect combination in my opinion!”
Hendrik summarizes it quite well by saying “HELP was a unique opportunity to apply my skills to make a real impact. I hope you’ll have as much fun playing our game as we had making it!”
Supporting a good cause and having fun at the same is an ideal combination. We feel honoured we were able to take part in bringing HELP to live, we are proud of our little elephant Rupert — and we hope that the five games will raise as much resources as possible to support the ongoing efforts of War Child UK.
HELP is available for now on Android, the game costs £2.99. For iOS, the app will follow in a few days. All net profits from both of these formats go straight to War Child UK and supports its mission to provide assistance to children and young people in areas experiencing conflict and the aftermath of conflict. You play, so every child can!
