AJE ‘gamifies’ doc for online

Investigative reporter Juliana Ruhfus, who led the project, has breathed fresh life into a feature-length report about Sierra Leone she filed last year by adding interactive elements.

Visitors to the AJE site are cast as a junior researcher and directed to watch a series of video clips, which have been taken from Ruhfus’ original report, before filing the information gained in the correct section of a notebook.

The ‘evidence’ section of the notebook is to collect proof of illegal activity; ‘notes’ is to gather other relevant information; and ‘background’ is for contextual research. Users gain points and earn badges, which can be shared via social media, by progressing with the investigation and rising to the rank of senior investigative reporter.

An interactive map is also featured and this can be explored to unlock extra specialist badges, while useful emails and text messages are sent to a virtual mobile phone on the website.

Ruhfus said that the project was designed to teach people about the way in which an investigative report is put together, as well as educate them about the issues of illegal fishing in an entertaining way.

“The boundaries of the media are being pushed particularly by younger consumers. They increasingly want to become active consumers of content and we have responded with something immersive and exciting,” Ruhfus said.

“The primary aim of Pirate Fishing was to retain an audience,” she added. “We hope we have developed something people won’t have seen elsewhere and that will incentivise them to stay with the project.”

Ruhfus said that while the approach would not be suitable for all investigative reports, she was considering applying it to a forthcoming AJE film on war crimes.

The Pirate Fishing project was conceived after the documentary had been filmed, but Ruhfus said she would approach future gamified investigations differently – capturing 360-degree video footage that can be explored by users online, for example.

Pirate Fishing was originally filmed by UK indie Grain Media, which has produced a range of docs for AJE, including Leprosy Elimination and World’s First Bionic Eye. The interactive elements were developed by Italy’s Altera Productions.