â??Political engagementâ?? in new Channel 4 title

Develop Award-winning publisher Channel 4 is to release a Flash game aimed at inspiring Britain’s youth to be more politically sensitive.

Political thriller The Curfew will launch on the station’s website on July 28 in the form of four Flash game episodes.

The episodes will intertwine the destinies of four characters, each embodying unrepresented and disillusioned members of British society.

As a narrative-focused title, The Curfew aims to explore themes of trust, politics and identity in modern Britain.

The game was commissioned by Channel 4 as part of the company’s Education initiative – delivering games that seek to engage and inform 14-19 year olds.

The game has been developed by Littleloud Studios and has been scripted by game-journalist-cum-script-writer Kieron Gillen.

“Fully operating curfews actually do exist in over a thousand towns and cities across Britain today, where anyone under the age of 16-years-old found outside after 9pm can be removed from the streets and sent home by police,” says Channel 4 Education commissioning editor Alice Taylor.

“The Curfew was commissioned in response to this. So many civil liberties and freedoms have been outlawed, piece by piece, in recent years: it’s no wonder we’re told so many young people are disaffected by politics and politicians. We hope The Curfew will help inspire young people to become more involved in society and politics, and we’re fantastically proud and pleased to see that Kieron Gillen, Simon Parkin and the team at Littleloud have produced a web game of such ground-breaking power and beauty.”

Channel 4 last week won a coveted Develop Award for Publishing Hero.