“Hunting the Hunter” by Berlin-based Greenwave Games won the top prize in Floodlight Gaming’s first investigative journalism game jam. The winner receives $5,000 and a spot in SpielFabrique’s Launchpad Program, which offers individualized mentoring and support.
The winner was announced at the inaugural Floodlight Investigative Journalism Gaming Summit, held in Amsterdam on September 24 and live-streamed online. The Summit featured highlights from the game jam finalists as well as discussions between game developers and investigative journalists about storytelling and the crossover between the two industries.
"We launched Floodlight Gaming to give game developers all over the world exclusive access to top-notch investigative journalism about global organized crime and corruption,” said Floodlight Gaming and OCCRP Co-Founder Paul Radu. “We want to generate a new wave of games that gives developers free reign to create in the public interest. The games that were submitted through the jam were incredible and really elevated the reporting.”
Floodlight Gaming was established by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), the Gabo Foundation, and Anima Interactive, with support from V-Ventures, SpielFabrique, Global Game Jam, Good Game Generation, and the International Game Developers Association.
The winning game is based on an investigation by Anas Aremeyaw Anas from Ghana, “Hunting the Hunter: Infiltrating the Cocoa Smuggling Underworld of Ghana’s Western Border.” Anas went undercover to expose a deep-rooted network that sabotaged Ghana’s economy, deprived farmers, and threatened national security.
“Hunting the Hunter winning this award is a powerful reminder that storytelling and innovation can join forces to inspire the next generation,” Anas said. “This recognition affirms that the fight against corruption can engage hearts and minds far beyond traditional journalism. Above all, I hope it challenges young people everywhere to believe that they too can use their creativity and courage to make a difference.”
A jury selected five finalists from the fictionalized games submitted to the world’s first investigative journalism game jam. The four other finalists were:
Dark Money by Polyvale Studios, based on reporting by hundreds of journalists in the OCCRP network for the Laundromat series
Echoes: El Salvador by Stijn Verstraete, based on reporting by Juan José Martínez d’Aubuisson
Rise of Viktor Orbán by Pol Grasland-Mongrain and Dylhan ‘Zhanko’ Phong, based on reporting by András Petho
Cocoa Capture by Leto du Plessis, Damian Grobler, Matthew Carlton, Kairan Moorlach, and Cale Adamson, based on reporting by Anas Aremeyaw Anas
“In an era of rampant misinformation, our roles as storytellers, developers, and journalists have never been more critical,” said Anima Interactive Founder Karla Reyes. “Video games are one of the most powerful mediums of our time for building empathy, bearing witness, and telling nuanced and complex truths that do not often dominate public discourse. We are grateful to all of the jam participants and our developer community for being an essential part of the Floodlight Investigative Journalism Game Jam.”
Developed by Bernard Lis and Chris Vogel, “Hunting the Hunter” puts the player into the role of an investigative journalist who uncovers a smuggling ring. The Floodlight Gaming jury called the game an “impressive prototype for an open world-game that delivers a great overall experience and good visuals.”
“I really enjoyed that we were able to ask our questions to the journalist,” said Vogel during the event. “It made our game so much deeper than it would have been otherwise.”
For more information, contact [email protected].
ABOUT FLOODLIGHT GAMING
Floodlight Gaming is an arm of Floodlight: Fiction in the Public Interest, which connects investigative reporting with the film and television industries for adaptations into rich stories. Created by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and the Gabo Foundation, Floodlight is a new approach to storytelling. Floodlight sources the best investigations from across OCCRP’s global network of journalists and the world to deliver to the film and gaming industries to create entertainment that brings these stories to light for mass audiences. Floodlight Gaming’s partner is Anima Interactive, a socially conscious games and immersive media studio that blends art and technology to ignite positive cultural impact.
Top photo caption: Mea Nilimaa (Kokku Games), Navid Khonsari (iNK Stories), Rami Ismail (independent video game developer), and Natxo Armenter (Good Game Generation) on a panel at the inaugural Floodlight Investigative Journalism Gaming Summit.