Publish at October 19 2014 Updated April 17 2025
10 %. That's the number of French schoolchildren who suffer harassment in educational establishments and on the Internet. As a result, these distressing situations cause absenteeism, stress, depression and other harmful effects on young people in France. To raise awareness of this grim reality, and to provide tools for teachers wishing to tackle this theme, a serious online game is available, in French and English:"Stop la violence!"
In this game, the player becomes a student investigating 3 mysteries concerning fellow students. There's Leïla, who never shows her nose in class, Enzo, who flees the school grounds as soon as the bell rings, and Antoine, who skirts the walls as if he's trying to avoid someone. But what's going on? You'll have to figure it out using the 8 clues in each case, which you can discover by talking to fellow players, observing their activities on the Internet or collecting objects that reveal a lot. Once the player has solved a case, he or she can then watch the video that concludes each story, take a quiz on the theme and read appropriate advice on how to combat this type of harassment.
Production company Tralalere is no stranger to the genre. The excellent"2025 Ex Machina" dealt intelligently with traces on the Internet, and the very interesting"L'Isoloir" gave teenagers lessons on how to debate societal issues. In line with their previous achievements, "Stop à la violence!" is very good, putting the player directly into the context of each case, which facilitates empathy. On the other hand, the game isn't complex enough, and youngsters will most likely finish it in a maximum of 35 to 45 minutes. That's why, like most of the games made by the aforementioned developer, it's recommended to use this one as a case study and follow it up with a class discussion on harassment and what to do to avoid it. In fact, like "2025 Ex Machina", the site includes a section for teachers to prepare workshops surrounding a game session.
This game may not be Tralalere's greatest achievement - it's a little too short and easy - but it's certainly a must-have for middle schools to reduce the proportion of students who are harassed.
Reference:
Stop the violence! Accessed October 15, 2014. http://www.stoplaviolence.net/.
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