The game
“The Information Tower” is a video game in which the player learns to recognize fake news in a fun way, through a simple true-or-false test. The video game mechanics engage the user in active participation in which, first of all, they select the character to play with and then access the “Google and Altroconsumo building.” Each playable character is identified by one of the colors of the Google logo.
Upon entering the game, the player is shown a monitor where they can read short articles and obtain information and tools to determine whether it is a real article or fake news. Each game session includes analyzing three short articles; within each article, the player finds three clues, recognizable by a magnifying glass icon in Google colors. By carefully reading the points where the magnifying glass appears, the system explains the clue to the user and then asks whether the news is true or false. The player’s answer is followed by an explanation of how to distinguish reliable news from unverified news. The player can also access the power-up. At the end of the game, the player is shown a summary of correct and incorrect answers, and a final score is also given.
Objectives
“The Information Tower” is an advergame created for Google and Altroconsumo in collaboration with Skuola.net with the goal of teaching users to evaluate online information. The video game therefore has an educational purpose, in line with the content on the student-focused portal, using language recognizable to younger audiences, such as that of a video game, along with pixel art graphics.
