Parliament's Education Service works with schools and Members of both Houses of Parliament to support young people in developing their understanding of Parliament and democracy. One of their key aims is to inform and engage young people about the relevance of Parliament and democracy in the modern day, and how it affects people's lives.
Specifically, they wanted to encourage 13-15 year olds to think about how their society is shaped and impacted by the laws that are made and changed in Parliament as well as challenge the notion that Parliament is a remote and dull institution that has no baring on the lives of young people.
MyUK puts you at the centre of British politics, by making you Britain's Prime Minister, with a fresh 5 year term to lead your government by choosing and passing new laws, customising your country and pursuing you personal vision of the UK.
In politics, dealing with serious matters often means making new laws to tackle them. Debate over, say, a new crime or education law can cause heated discussion across society. However, just behind the arguments over particular political issues, there’s another story to tell - that of the lawmaking process itself.
By enacting Britain's top job, you get to understand how the process of government works, providing a first-hand view of the UK legislative and parliamentary process. From choosing your cabinet to giving Britain a national makeover, you are in control. Or are you?
Decisions you make can affect things in ways you don't expect, and with two houses of parliament to convince, it isn't always plain sailing. Using minigames to encourage engagement, the flow of a bill through parliament can be tracked and pushed, using Whips at key times and getting the public on side for the popular vote. Weighing up pros and cons is the order of the day.
MyUK isn't strictly a game, rather a interactive activity which employs many existing and familiar game conventions. The activity wraps a series of tasks and mini-games in a coherent linear experience which is simple to understand and use.
Depth of play and engagement where the project's objectives. Based on the analytics the average play time is over 15 minutes, and perhaps more impressively 20% of players who completed the first year go on to complete the subsequent 4 years. The time of day MyUK is played skews earlier, reflecting its educational (vs. entertainment) positioning, and perhaps indicating its use within schools.