Poverty Is Not A Game

Poverty Is Not A Game is an educational game that aims to teach teenagers about poverty and what to do if you want to make a life for yourself when you are young and on your own. At the start of the game players choose between Jim and Sophie, each with their own story. Jim is eighteen and cannot stand to live with his parents anymore. He leaves abruptly and finds himself on the streets, looking for a way to get a regular life. Sophia is sixteen and lives with her grandmother. When gran becomes too old and needs to go to a nursing home, Sophia is all by herself and cannot afford to live at her grandmother's place.

In both scenarios the characters need to figure out a way to work and live at a young age to earn their own living. The game is set in a small city that can be explored freely. The characters can phone friends and meet up with them. The quests in the game have the characters look for affordable housing and decent work. This requires them to visit various offices and services that explain their options to them. That way players also learn about the available services in real life. To survive in the game it is also necessary to look after you health and cut back on expenses where needed, while still maintaining a life with friends. All interaction is done with the mouse to initiate conversations, move around and rotate the camera. Green and yellow markers provide help to move around and the path to the next location is shown in the mini-map. During conversations there are often different options that lead to different outcomes.