Catch us up! What’s the current status of ATLAS?
Gale: The ATLAS team completed our first chapter of the game following the stories of three autistic high schoolers – Francis, Stevie, and Mel! We are so excited about this chapter because it has many new features, including new music/sound effects, art, interactive fidgets/features, and an exciting twist at the end of the story.
Jenny: Yes, it’s true! And we are so excited about it. With the help of our incredible game developers and visual artists, we really feel we have made so many of our playtesters’ interests and ideas come alive in this game. Currently, we are putting final artistic touches on this finished chapter and have plans to share the game at two upcoming conferences: State of the Art in October and also the Oklahoma Autism Conference in November.
What was the most helpful (and/or unexpected) thing you learned from Launch that you’ll be carrying forward as you continue to work on ATLAS?
Gale: For me, it was helpful to imagine what exists in the world of public health and sex education outside of the federally funded projects I had worked on up until this point. There are so many folks doing innovative work on their own terms, and being a part of Launch gave us the opportunity to envision what that could look like for our team.
Jenny: Being part of a Launch cohort was a real reminder about the important and creative work going into adolescent sexual and reproductive health across the country. Hearing from other teams about their visions and their future goals is something that I will continue to hold onto throughout our work with ATLAS. It’s so invigorating to see how such a once seemingly small idea can become a life’s work and all with the help of community who share similar interests and intentions.
Jaye: It was exciting to see teams at different stages of development so we could envision different possibilities for our own team. The value of being a part of a community of like-minded people who share similar goals can’t really be overstated.
Can you talk about how you engaged youth in the design and world-building process? How did their input inform your decision-making?
Gale: We engaged youth using a human-centered design process where we showed our participants demo versions of the ATLAS game and then had playtesting sessions with them to gather feedback, address bugs, and imagine new features and stories for the game together. We then immediately incorporated their feedback into the game, causing it to be an ever-changing creation.
Jenny: Autistic youth voice and engagement is central to the creation of ATLAS and its ongoing iterations. Participatory methods throughout our process have included what are called “playtester” sessions where interested autistic youth play the game on their own time and then are invited back to have conversations with us about their player experience. As a team, we worked through shared insight from playtesters and built in feedback and suggestions that were provided–for example, accessibility features like text size and audio control or fun design elements that make the game more appealing and interactive.
What is your team’s greatest strength, and how does this show up in ATLAS?
Gale: Our team is super creative, multitalented, and passionate about helping autistic youth get the information they need as they grow up. Our diverse skillsets complement each other’s, and we are very invested in designing ATLAS in partnership with autistic youth.
Jenny: I just love our team so much and am so proud of what we have accomplished, how much we have learned, and how much we continue to trust one another. We have so many strengths coming from such different backgrounds. I remember how hard it was to first learn the game-developer/coding lingo (not going to lie, it still is) but the patience and generosity that our team members Benji and Caleb provided for us was so amazing and helpful. The different ways that each of our team understands the world and thinks through complex life scenarios really helps build a strong foundation for what we also want to see happen in ATLAS for our playtesters.
Jaye: Our team is very curious. We’re not afraid to ask questions and learn from one another. I love that we’re able to navigate different perspectives and lean into complexity to find new, innovative ways to approach this work. We’ve learned to pivot when we need to and take with us what works and leave behind things that didn’t work for us.
What are your hopes for the future of ATLAS?
Gale: I hope to develop more chapters of ATLAS exploring new characters and scenarios. I am also very excited for when ATLAS becomes publicly available and is something we can advertise and celebrate.
Jenny: I’m always going to love a question about the future, because I just love to dream and think about the possibilities of what ATLAS can shapeshift into. For one, I know there is SO much more content to build out with ATLAS, but I also know that it has to come straight from continued engagement from autistic youth everywhere! We really hope to build out a community of autistic playtesters to continue to co-create with us. –This includes developing characters, storylines, new plot twists, and making sure that all audio and script are the true voices and ideas of autistic youth. Another big future dream is seeing the ATLAS fan club build, as more and more players are introduced to ATLAS and see it as a fun and engaging learning experience.
Jaye: I want youth to have a more active and sustained role in creating ATLAS. There are so many possibilities and ideas of where we could go and what ATLAS could look like. I would love for youth to be able to get in a room together and dream together about what kind of futures they want and what role ATLAS can play in making those futures one step closer.