HackShield

6 February 2020

Why this project?
HackShield wants to make children aware of online dangers and cyber crime and teach them how to protect themselves against this. Tim Murck, Chief Product Officer of Flavor: “I think it's important that children feel they know what they are doing online. It is good that they become aware of the dangers and risks at a young age, so that they can benefit from this for the rest of their lives. And if you do that in a playful way that arouses their curiosity, that will only help. In primary education, little attention is paid to cyber security, which is why we have stepped into this gap.”

What does the project entail?
HackShield is a free-to-play digital game that allows children from eight to twelve years old to playfully learn more about digital security and learn to arm themselves against cyber crime. In the game, children talk to fictional hackers and experts who provide insight into online privacy issues. These fictional characters also play the leading role in the videos that can be seen in the game. Children determine the course of the game themselves. Along the way, they learn more about the dangers of cyber crime and how they can protect themselves online through knowledge questions. More than 70,000 children have now played the game.

HackShield applies gamification and storytelling methods from the creative industry, to achieve the goals

What is the contribution from and to the Creative Industry?
HackShield applies gamification (applying game principles and techniques to steer behavior) and storytelling (telling stories to ensure more impact and involvement) methods from the creative industry, to achieve the goals. Partly based on these methods, Flavor developed its own method, Hero Centered Design. Tim Murck: “We actually design behavior. We know what the user likes and we use that knowledge to reward certain behavior, which causes dopamine to be produced in the brain. In our method, the user is the center, the hero, and the one who brings about change. Moreover, the player himself is in control. We combine these and other mechanisms from games with the aim of strengthening the motivation of children to continue playing, and thus to learn more.”

The project started with the HackStevie pilot. This reached 20,000 children, 8,000 of whom played the entire game. Before and after, they were asked whether they would connect to public Wi-Fi networks without problems and whether they would update their phone via public Wi-Fi networks without problems. The percentage that answered in the affirmative, had dropped significantly after playing the game. Tim: “This demonstrated the necessity and effectiveness of the game. But of course we continue to improve the game through an iterative process. We let children play the game and filmed this. We also interviewed many children and asked them for feedback."

In the development of HackShield, Flavor cooperates with specialized knowledge partners such as Rabobank, Interpolis and companies with a great deal of knowledge about the cyber world. They also receive advice from TNO on, among other things, finding supporting literature, drawing up learning objectives and measuring the impact of the game.

What now?
Tim: “Our goal is to have the game ready by mid-2020. We are currently working on improving the learning objectives in the game and translating it into mobile using an app. In addition, I would really like to develop a multiplayer variant, which actually fits better with the theme. Because how do you create a "security mindset" for children? By thinking like the opponent - that comes from the theory of adversarial thinking. You can better develop that concept in a game with two players. In addition, we will continue to develop more episodes and involve more partners to increase the impact.”