Love in the Dumpster

Love in the Dumpster: A Serious Game about Teen Dating Violence

Love in the Dumpster, an award winning video game from the Life.Love. Game Design Challenge, was developed by Jean HEHN of Another Kind in Brussels, Belgium. This ambitious game presents teen dating violence in seven acts, providing players the opportunity to experience dating violence from the perspective of both Lily and Tomas. The developer explains, "I tried to write an engaging story and dialogue and included two main characters (of both genders) to try and have people relate to them, and also show that both genders can be victims."

Tomas Rawlings, writing for the Huffington Post in “Call of Moral Duty – Making Games for Change” calls the game “a quirky narrative driven experience that has the player dealing with the ups and down of high school dating” and Stephanie Duchenne of GameZone writes in “Love in the Dumpster: a game about toxic relationships” that the game “provides a rather eloquent method of outlining significant phrases and behaviours that will help one to identify an abusive relationship.”

Video games are an ideal tool for confronting and preventing teen dating violence. Through a video game adolescents are able to explore specific aspects of dating abuse at their own pace and in the privacy of their home without feeling “preached to” by parents, teachers, or counselors.