Ending hunger is serious fun with Heifer Village: Nepal

Heifer International, Beaconfire, and Forge FX have teamed up to launch Heifer Village: Nepal – an online game that takes players deep into the lives of Nepalese villagers who are striving to overcome poverty and hunger.

Heifer is a non-profit organization that uses an innovative and proven method to reduce poverty and hunger around the world: they give families living in poverty the gift of a goat, chicken, or other farm animal, along with training in sustainable farming practices. Heifer’s gift recipients use their animal’s milk, eggs, and other products to feed and clothe their families, and can sell the extra to support themselves financially. Our goal with this game is to educate players about Heifer’s unique approach to ending hunger and poverty.

But your goal is to stay alive! You’ll put yourself in the shoes of a 12 year old Nepalese girl whose village is struggling with poverty. You’ll go on a series of missions to seek out life’s necessities — starting with firewood in an area that has seen extensive deforestation. The challenges you’ll face mirror those that Heifer’s real-life partners in Nepal deal with every day.

The game is in beta – which means it’s fully playable but we’re still tweaking it and working out rough spots. We’d love your help in making this game the best it can be. We hope you’ll visit www.heifervillage.org/nepal and try it out. After you’ve played it, we’d love to know what you think. Please leave a comment on this blog post to let us know:

• Did you have any problems getting started?
• Did you know what to do?
• Did the controls make sense?
• Could you find your way around?
• Were you able to complete the missions you received? How difficult was it?
• Was it fun?

We’ll use your feedback to help us as we plan the final version of the game.

Thank you, and enjoy!

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