SuperMe

www.playsuperme.com

It’s never easy, this life thing and for today’s teens there are emotional hurdles and challenges seemingly around every corner, looking to knock the confidence out of even the most self-assured.

Could a game help you to understand happiness, make you more resilient and better at dealing with the hard knocks? After extensive research into teen lifestyle and wellbeing by Channel 4 Education, and based on positive psychology practices, SuperMe was born, a system of games and videos – with syndication across multiple web properties, from Facebook and YouTube, Miniclip and E4.com, to users’ own sites – all designed to help teens understand the control they have over their lives and how they can positively shape their future success and happiness, in short, be better at life.

Produced by Somethin’ Else working in close collaboration with Preloaded, SuperMe takes users on a journey of self-belief and discovery as they move through the site, watching videos, reading factoids and quotes and playing immersive games whilst answering questions about themselves, their strengths and weaknesses.

The videos include candid stories from celebrities including presenter Richard Bacon, whose personal life choices made the headlines in 1998, pop sensation and darling of the festival circuit, Pixie Lott, Mercury Prize-winning rapper Speech Debelle and England footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips.

A naturally-gifted player and the son of England international hero Ian Wright, Shaun was destined to be fast-tracked to fame and fortune, but at the age of 17 he was released by his first club Nottingham Forest, for being too small and not good enough.

Shaun says, “Being booed by the fans was a massive blow to me, and I could have let it get to me and tried to do something else – that would have been the easy thing to do. But I just put my head down and believed in what I had – the stuff I have that the ‘big and tough’ people haven’t got.”

Richard Bacon, Radio Five Live presenter, with over 1.3million followers on Twitter says, “You can feel completely defeated by something and you might give up. Or, you can say, ‘this has happened, I can’t change it but what can I do to repair the damage?’ And that’s the view I took.”

The games and quizzes allow single and multiplayer action and score individual players – or teams of players - depending how resilient they are. Points are awarded for learned ‘wisdom’, ‘ability’, ‘influence’ and ‘connection’. Players who learn how to ‘fail better’, think more accurately about past experiences and understand the need to persist at the hardest tasks, will be the ones with the biggest score.

Games and quizzes are loaded with ‘cheat codes’ for life – tips to help teens be more resilient – and include:

LINKEM – “Make loads of connections to score big…”

THE MARSHMALLOW TEST – “You're up against a four-year-old and a bag of sweets.”

THE METTLE DETECTOR – “Take the test, and find out your real life grit score”

THE INFLUENCE QUIZ – “How much influence and control do you have over your future?”

These games and videos will be available on a number of platforms, but users will be encouraged to visit a central hub, where all the games and videos can be found, and where many of the games have higher-level functions.

The winning strategies for SuperMe are the winning strategies for life. As with life, it just takes a little practice...

Alice Taylor, Commissioning Editor, Channel 4 Education says, “For most teenagers – and adults too – the so-called ‘School Of Hard Knocks’ can be a painful education. SuperMe is a Multiplatform Pick-Me-Up that will reach young people wherever they’re online, and offer them inspiration and interactivity to help them get back on their feet after life’s little setbacks.”

Comm. Ed: Alice Taylor

Prod. Co: Somethin’ Else and Preloaded

Press contact: Rebecca Ladbury / 07941 224 975 / rebecca@ladburypr.com

Picture Publicist: Charles Fearn / 020 7306 8516 / cfearn@channel4.co.uk

Note to editors

About the SuperMe games produced by Preloaded

FloMo

The aim of the game is to practice flow. Flow is a mental state in which a person is completely focused and motivated within an activity. In a state of flow there's a feeling of spontaneous joy, and rapture, according to psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihaly. Once 'in the zone' players are rewarded with beautiful visuals and sound, but if they lose focus and drop out the game goes back to monotone and low-grade sounds. Players collect ability points by reaching a target score in Flomo.

Proximity

Proximity is a multiplayer game. The aim of the game is to fly in as close formation as possible with your teammates, hitting all of the gates. The better the team plays together, the higher the score. If a player breaks formation, or races ahead the team will score less points. The game is designed to reward collaborative play. Players collect connection points by reaching a target score in Proximity.

Linkem

Players are given beads and rings to shoot into the canvas. The aim is to make lines of positive connections with the rings, and to try and make the negative beads drop out of play. It’s a tactical game and an abstract way of getting players to think about positive and negative connections in life, and how lots of positive connections make us richer in life, in the same way of we score more points within the game. Players collect connection points by reaching a target score in Linkem.

Swerveball

Gameplay involves shooting a bead through an environment where there may be magnets, or other pushing and pulling forces, which affect the bead as it travels towards its goal. The player has to direct the angle and the force of the bead through the levels. Between levels players are asked to recall how they’ve played, and where they’ve done well and not so well. The game is designed to get players thinking about the past more accurately. Scores are based on the players’ ability to complete the levels and accurately reflect. Players collect wisdom points by reaching a target score in Swerveball.

About Channel 4 Education

Channel 4 Education delivers interactive digital projects aimed at 14-19 year olds in the UK, helping them to understand the world they live in, achieve their personal potential and make the decisions that affect their lives. Channel 4 Education’s projects recognise how teenagers use media and technology to discover, share and learn from their families, friends and social networks. Today’s 14-19 year olds are the first generation to have grown up with the web as part of their life. They expect to engage and control their media experiences, and to share experiences with friends across platforms and technologies.

About Somethin’Else

SuperMe was designed and built by Somethin’ Else, a London-based cross-platform production company active in games, television, video-for-web, web design, mobile and radio, winning international awards in all these areas.

www.somethinelse.com

About Preloaded

The SuperMe games where developed by Preloaded, an award winning creative studio, focusing on arts, entertainment and education. They create playful, interactive and educational products, which engage, surprise and excite. With a sharp eye for quality and a passion for engaging audiences, they are at the forefront of digital multi-platform content creation and delivery. Preloaded work with a range of clients, from broadcasters and production companies to galleries, museums, educators and enlightened brands. Their client list includes, amongst others, the BBC, Channel 4, Science Museum, Tate, Parliament Education and Arts Council England.

Award wins include gongs from BAFTA, Cannes Lions, Royal Television Society, SXSW (Best of Show) and most recently another BIMA award in the games category for Channel 4's 1066 game. Based in London's Shoreditch area, Preloaded is still independent and has just celebrated its 10th birthday.