A game on Roblox for Child Focus. In a series of minigames, children learn to spot, block and report online groomers.
OK Groomer
- Client
- Child Focus
- Our role
- Helped think it up, made tests, and built the game: 3D models, interactivity, code and gamification.
- With
- VML Belgium, then Wunderman Thompson Benelux.
- Year
- 2023
The campaign
Grooming shot up during the lockdowns, and Child Focus kept getting more reports after that. A groomer is an adult who approaches and manipulates young people online.
Child Focus tackled the problem where it happens: in online games, and in Roblox in particular, where groomers had found their way too. OK Groomer went live on 1 February 2023, with Wunderman Thompson Benelux.
The game became part of the lessons in several schools. A social media campaign gave young parents the facts on online grooming, with practical tips.
The game
OK Groomer is a free game on Roblox, built from minigames.
In every minigame, a fake groomer comes at you. Each enemy stands for a typical groomer tactic. You learn to spot that tactic, then you block and report. That earns you skins to push groomers aside. In the last minigame, the Trickster is waiting.
The game was also used in Belgian schools, with a campaign for young parents alongside it.
Our part
Wunderman Thompson, now VML, made the campaign for Child Focus. We helped think through the minigames and what Roblox could do, and made the first tests.
Then we built the game: the 3D models, extra modelling, all the interactivity and code, and the gamification. The game was a Webby Honoree in 2024.
Mail your question or your brief to hello@hyperchicken.be.