My Child: Lebensborn

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
My Child: Lebensborn
Studio Elin Festøy, TeknopilotNorwayNorway
Publisher NorwayNorway Teknopilot
Senior Developer Catharina Due Bøhler, Sarepta Studio
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 May 8, 2018
platform iOS , Android
genre Life simulation
Game mode Single player
language German , English , Norwegian , Japanese
Age rating
USK released from 12

My Child: Lebensborn or My Child Lebensborn is a computer game by the Norwegian software development companies Teknopilot and Sarepta Studio from 2018. The game is a life and upbringing simulation that is thematically about being adoptive parents in Norway Raising a child from the Lebensborn project of the National Socialist German Reich after the end of the Second World War .

The game can be played on iOS devices (iPad and iPhone) as well as for all Android devices from version 2.3. Together with the games Through the Darkest of Times and Attentat 1942 , which also deal critically with the National Socialist German Reich, My Child: Lebensborn got into the discussion after it was published by the entertainment software self-control (USK), the official agency for age labeling of computer games in Germany, despite the use of anti-constitutional symbols such as the swastika and the Hitler salute, received a USK age rating and were thus released in Germany.

Game content

The educational simulation My Child: Lebensborn is about raising a seven-year-old child from the Lebensborn project of the National Socialist German Reich as foster parents after the end of the Second World War . The players are confronted with different situations and have to make decisions about upbringing and thus help the child through his childhood, which is characterized by mistrust, bullying and disadvantage. The game begins when the child starts school in 1951, the gender of the child can be freely chosen; the male child is named as Klaus, the female as Karin. The player is also informed about the historical background of the game at the beginning and end of each chapter.

The total playing time for the game is estimated to be around four to five hours.

Development and reception

The game was developed as a joint project between the Norwegian developer companies Teknopilot and Sarepta Studio. The developers were inspired for their game by the international Children Born of War project . The realization was financed by a Kickstarter campaign carried out by Elin Festøy from March to April 2017 , during which almost 130,000 Norwegian kroner were collected. The English version of the game was released on May 8, 2018, the anniversary of the end of World War II known as Liberation Day . At the end of August 2018, the game was also published in German and Norwegian and was presented at Gamescom in Cologne , the world's largest trade fair for computer games.

On June 9, the game My Child: Lebensborn was presented as "Game of the Month" in the British daily The Guardian .

“As a portrait of how any child's spirit can be flattened and damaged by repeated 'othering', My Child Lebensborn is fierce and unflinching. As a tool to bring to vivid life the emotional texture of history, away from the dry dates and military maneuvers laid out by so many male history writers, it is uniquely effective. As a video game, however, it's a difficult ride - oppressive, psychologically strict and repetitive. But not all video games need be fun to be effective, and My Child Lebensborn will leave any caring, persistent player with an indelible memory. "

“As a portrait of how a child's mind can be flattened and damaged by repeated 'otherness', My Child Lebensborn is wild and fearless. As a tool for bringing the emotional structure of history to life, away from the dry dates and military maneuvers laid out by so many male historians, it is uniquely effective. As a video game, however, it's a difficult ride - oppressive, mentally taxing, and repetitive. But not all video games have to be fun to be effective, and My Child Lebensborn will leave any caring, tenacious gamer with an indelible memory. "

In an interview by Deutschlandfunk with cultural scientist Christian Huberts, he describes the game and comments on it by comparing it with a variant of Tamagotchi (a comparison that the developers and the Guardian also name). In his opinion, it is a high-quality and clever serious game , and in his opinion one notices the game that "it has been worked very carefully, the subject is dealt with sensitively."

In mid-August 2018, the game received the age rating USK 12 from the entertainment software self-regulation (USK), the official agency for age rating of computer games in Germany. Together with the games Through the Darkest of Times and Attentat 1942 , which also deal critically with the National Socialist German Reich, My Child: Lebensborn got into the discussion after these games despite the use of anti-constitutional symbols such as the Nazi swastika of the NSDAP and the Hitler salute received a USK age plate and were thus released in Germany. This decision was justified by the USK on the grounds of social adequacy and should only be made possible on a case-by-case basis for games that critically deal with current events.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b Description of the game for My Child: Lebensborn on the official website; accessed on September 16, 2018 (English).
  2. ↑ a b c My Child: Lebensborn on kickstarter.com; accessed on September 16, 2018 (English).
  3. ↑ a b c d Simon Parkin: My Child Lebensborn review - could you raise a Nazi baby? The Guardian, June 9, 2018; accessed on September 16, 2018 (English).
  4. ↑ International Network for Interdisciplinary Research on Children Born of War (INIRC-CBOW). Retrieved April 11, 2019 .
  5. ^ "My Child: Lebensborn" from Norway, computer game on mobbing in a historical context - Christian Huberts in conversation with Max Oppels. Deutschlandfunk Kultur, July 4, 2018; accessed on September 16, 2018.
  6. ↑ USK gives 12y to game with Nazi symbolism. gamescom.de, August 9, 2018; accessed on September 16, 2018 (English).
  7. ↑ USK will in future consider social adequacy when it comes to age ratings of games. Press release of the entertainment software self-regulation (USK), August 9, 2018; accessed on September 16, 2018.
  8. ↑ Daniel Herbig: USK can allow swastikas in video games. heise online, August 9, 2018; accessed on September 16, 2018.

Web links