More plaudits for Katuku Island

A screenshot of a task in the educational video game Katuku Island, taken at Te Kura Mana Maori o Whangaparaoa. Picture supplied

A video game developed largely in Gisborne is up for yet another global award.

Katuku Island, a multi-player survival game with an indigenous overlay, has been nominated as a finalist in the American 2023 Gee Learning Game awards.

The award recognises excellence in educational game design, and is judged by international leaders in the field.

“It’s a huge win for Team Katuku Island,”  said co-founder Dr Phyllis Callaghan (Ngai Te Rakato), who lives in Gisborne.

“To be judged and critiqued by a panel of international leaders within education is a huge bonus for me and my team.”

Katuku, first launched in 2021, involves players taking on the role of survivors of the apocalypse. Players must find a waka and sail across the Pacific Ocean to find Katuku Island, the only uncontaminated place left on the planet.

During their journey, players create Maori warrior-inspired avatars, design weapons, build tribes and escape crumbling cities, while undertaking literacy and decision-making challenges.

“Initially, we wanted to create a game that could help to change literacy rates globally. To have that recognised from top educational leaders throughout the world gives our work and the education research behind it, huge credibility.

The nomination follows success for Katuku Island last year, when the game picked up two silvers, one for best innovation, at the NYX game awards in New York.

“Being named as a finalist in yet another American competition helps to generate a global platform for our work and create opportunity for future episodes of the Katuku Island series. I think we are just at the tip of the iceberg.,” Dr Callaghan said.

“America seems to love us, so we must be doing something right. We’ve had some great support from Gisborne and our team is locally based, so putting our city on the map in terms of video gaming and education is a great win for us all.

“For now, we have to produce a video, which will be shown at a finalists ceremony in the US on July  21. Hopefully we get to attend in person and show them  a slice of Kiwi ingenuity.”