I believe games can empower young people to engage with tough questions. Questions which are cloaked in fear and we're taught are too complex for us to answer, such as How does our economy work? or What can we do to avoid running out of natural resources?
I want to create a safe space for kids to explore different actions and their consequences, learning about trade-offs and balancing for the greater good. For them to feel empowered to form their own opinions, because it's young people who are going to be the problem-solvers of the next 50 years!
I am Matteo.
Over the last 10 years, I've developed digital products for clients like the BBC, and lectured at universities around the UK. I love teaching people of all ages how to use technology to express their ideas.
I've had the privilege of teaching hundreds of people, but there was always a nagging question at the back of my mind. How can I reach even more people? How can I facilitate a learning experience that doesn't require a teacher?
I’ve been flirting with the idea of making games since I was 11. I believe games can teach anything, and they’re especially good at making complex systems understandable. So I prototyped a game about the system of our times: capitalism.
Beesness is a competitive / cooperative game for 2+ players that simulates a capitalist market economy.
A beesness is a business for bees.
Not your usual bees. In this game, bees have learned how to do business from us humans: they can trade flowers for honey and honey for more bees, they can extort honey from other beesnesses and even employ cheap labour.
You play the director of one beesness. You compete against other players over flowers (resources) and honey (money).
Your beesness operates in the garden of Commons. If all flowers are taken from the garden, at any point during the game, everybody loses immediately! To avoid this tragedy, you can cooperate with the other players to replant flowers.
Will you manage to maximise your honey profits while avoiding drone strikes and a collective beesaster?
Yas!
Please get in touch matteo@beesness.games and I'll send you a free print&play!
After you play it, I may ask you a few questions. Imagine, one of your ideas may end up in the final game :)
I've been co-creating Beesness with primary and secondary school pupils. Many of the game features have been suggested, or even designed, by them!