National Citizen Service Cooks Up Financial Confidence in ‘Neohaven Noodles’

NCS (National Citizen Service Trust) has teamed up with immersive games studio, PRELOADED and youth marketing agency, Livity to create a compelling gaming experience. Launching today, the game titled ‘Neohaven Noodles’ aims to teach young people how to budget, save and ask for loans via the concept of running a shop.

NCS offers a range of experiences to young people that support them to grow their strengths and realise their potential - through boosting their confidence, getting involved in social action, making new friends from different backgrounds, and learning skills to become world and work ready. In order to target its audience of 15–17-year-olds, PRELOADED and Livity were tasked with taking the NCS mission and delivering it in a format that is increasingly native to them - gaming. To ensure the game would reach the correct audience, youth expertise and marketing insights supported the collaborative co-design process from the beginning.

‘Neohaven Noodles’ is a narrative-driven cooking game about good food and bad debt. Set up your own noodle shop in the near-future city of Neohaven and strive to survive the first 10 days. In the game, you’ll serve noodles, solve problems, and manage your finances - all the while meeting a host of interesting characters, each with their own story to tell. Through a unique and compelling art style, it’s an experience that is designed to be played and replayed so young people can learn specific skills to improve their financial literacy.

The game launches today on the NCS website.

Chris Brown, director of service delivery, National Citizen Service Trust comments, “We are delighted to partner with PRELOADED and Livity to launch NCS’ first gaming experience. Through this research-backed experience, we can facilitate young people learning more about managing their finances in an environment that suits them. It has been a pleasure to work with partners that are not only experts in their field, but share our young person focused values.” 

Phil Stuart, executive creative director, PRELOADED adds, “We were delighted to collaborate with the NCS audience to create a game that was both engaging and meaningful for them. The co-design process, supported by Livity ensured that young people’s voices were heard throughout development, resulting in an authentic and deeply relevant experience. This collaborative approach showcases the innovative potential of audience-driven game development alongside the power of games to deliver informal learning to young people at scale”

Alex Goat, CEO Livity, said: “This work is a best-in-class example of our long-standing partnership with PRELOADED. Bringing co-creation into game development allows us to ensure audience-centricity and authenticity at every level. We’re extremely proud to be part of this flagship piece of work for and with the NCS Trust”.