Ravalgames

Ravalgames was a videogame project developed by 25 young people in the Raval neighbourhood of Barcelona, an interdisciplinary initiative working across different groups, community settings and media (radio, video, graphic design, web 2.0, videogame design) and cultural practices such as music, hip-hop, maps and interviews.

The project aimed to improve the social skills, self-confidence and autonomy of participants by stimulating intercultural dialogue with the different agents contributing to the project.

Youths carried out interviews and social interaction with local agents and places in the neighbourhood. The videogame's design and development was based on participatory workshops covering mapping social actors and issues, developing dialogues and characters, composing music and video, and presenting the work. The game was set in the 'Rambla del Raval' and followed Patel, a young Indian woman looking for a job and a better life, who had to interact with different characters to transform her life over five years. Three community centres collaborated to add new characters, images, posters, videos and dialogues.

The participatory process was structured into workshops where decisions were discussed and negotiated with the youths and the group involved, all as part of a digital and social literacy process (dialogue, brainstorming, final presentations and evaluations). Project weblogs served as an external, reflexive tool, and professionals were consulted for group evaluations.

The deep involvement of youth in decision-making, including democratic frameworks such as general assemblies, was identified as a positive factor for their social inclusion and engagement. The model has since been replicated in other places with similar characteristics, including Berlin and Rio de Janeiro.