NEWS AND MILESTONES

Timeline of news on media, webinars and milestones

Resourceful.World Platform Started

We are developing backbone technology to consolidate our video-game platform 'KeepItHuman'. It consolidates our past three games and amalgametes our videogame aims and strategies by focusing on a more gamefied experience, customised for our new player target.
Stay tuned!
17/01/2024

iCure Discover programme accomplished!

Congratulations to Adriana. Interesting new findings that are already impacting on KeepItHuman strategic directions in development, commercial and creative development.
28/11/2023

KeepItHuman accepted to iCure Discover programme!

Innovate UK ICURe DISCOVER is an 8-week, part-time online market discovery programme designed to support researchers and technicians in exploring their potential market. The programme aims to enhance market awareness and deepen the understanding of potential technology applications. Attending (KeepitHuman /University of Manchester)
Leading Entrepreneur: Dr Adriana Ruiz (KeepItHuman)
Academic Support: Prof. Ricardo Climent (KeepItHuman)
Technology Transfer Officer (TTO): Sarwat Howe (Innovation Factory)
.https://www.icureprogramme.com/icure-discover/
12/10/2023

STEAM PAGE LAUNCH

22 August 2023, We just lauched our STEAM page at gamescom 2023 (Cologne).Store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2462560/ResourcefulWorld/  
The game: Resourceful.world. The survival of the Nimbies is under threat! The atmosphere of their planet Nimbylon is on the brink of collapse and the only hope lies with the brilliant scientist Nova, who has discovered the key to solving the Nimbies' problems.
Unfortunately, Nova has been kidnapped by a group of evil Nimbies who are determined to keep things on Nimbylon the way they are, whatever the cost!
As Healthy, the loyal best friend and sibling of Nova, you must bravely step up and journey across diverse planets to unlock secret powers and solve unique (renewable and non-renewable) energy puzzles to undo the damage done by the evil Nimbies and bring Nova home! But be careful, because the atmosphere's deterioration threatens not only your own well-being but also the lives of the inhabitants of each planet.
Travel the universe and help alien races along the way!

We are exhibiting at GAMESCOM2023 Cologne!!

23 August, 2023. What a golden opportunity was to showcase  our sustainability-focused video game Resourceful.World at gamescom 2023 (Cologne). We were part of the Ukie - The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment delegation. Such a great experience to meet so many industry professionals ranging from gamedev veterans, to indie devs, to pro gamers, to industry services. We learnt a lot via MeetToMatch and Biz meetups, talked to a few investors at gamescom Invest Circle (after invitation to Keep•It•Human). A record of more than 1,220 exhibitors from 63 countries registered to gamescom2023!!!

Cute business cards for Gamescom2023

Find us at UKIE B2B stand. Hall 3.2 Stand D20-F39

Gamescom, 2023 Cologne

 

At SensorLab, Universidad Javeriana Pontificia, Bogotá

Final stop in Bogotá, presenting two of our video games in Sustainability Research and bio-acoustic analysis at Sensorlab, University Javeriana Pontificia.  Invited by composer Ana María Romano, with additional talks by Ricardo Climent and Adriana Ruiz (KeepItHuman) and Diana Restrepo. Forum theme: 'Sound & the Environment: curious listening against the anthropocene.'

Game Trials at Café 18, Bogotá

July 2023
Second PLAYTEST session at Café 18 Bogotá. This time with a group of selected children with their parents! Tones of valuable feedback.We trialed Resourceful.World and Mangrove.World to collect very valuable feedback from game play and short discussions with the joung playuers and their parents about a number of related questions.

MMM6, Colombia - Paper and video game demo

Three takeaways after attending the MMM6 conference in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia: “Mangrove Ecosystems for Human Well-being in a Changing Planet”.
1- There was a common goal at MMM6 above research publications and novel technologies in remote sensing: 'Together for our planet'. 
2- Comfort zones are for academics to break through: Our video-games work as a transformative medium to engage the public in sustainability research and this is something that was very much welcome. 
3- A more diverse type of scholars and research centers: Publications were not US or Europe dominated, arguably due to the fact that Mangroves mostly grow in Equatorial climate. There was a strong presence from Latinamerican / Caribean and southeast Asia scholars (some African too) and many Australian. There were also private Foundations such as, the Charles Darwin Foundation in the Galapagos, NGOs worldwide and public independent agencies such as NASA.
So, looking forward to #MMM7 in Okinawa, Japan!

KeepItHuman at Bluedot 2023 macro festival

First day at Bluedot festival 2023 Manchester, with Adriana Ruiz showcasing our games at Creative Manchester stall. We code video-games as a transformative medium to engage people in sustainability research

22/07/2023

Accepted at MMM6 conference!

The sixth Mangrove Macrobenthos and Management conference (MMM6) Organizing Committee informed us that reviewers from the Scientific Committee have accepted and recommended your abstract entitled “Mangrove.World video-game: A transformative medium to engage the public in sustainability” for oral presentation at the conference.

University of Manchester ranked #1 in the UK, #1 in Europe and #2 in the world for social & environmental impact

Exciting News — the University of Manchester that has been ranked #1 in the UK, #1 in Europe, and #2 in the world for social and environmental impact in this year's Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings!

This remarkable achievement  showcases UoM collective commitment to making a positive difference in society and addressing global challenges.

At Keep It Human, we are honoured to be part of an institution that leads the way in driving social and environmental progress. It inspires us to continue our mission of fostering positive change, engaging young generations, and contributing to a sustainable future.
 Article source here.

Resourceful.World:
90" video-fun launch!

April 2023: Delighted to present our first promo video. A puzzle video game on ENERGIES (renewable vs. non-renewable) exploring their impact on people’s HEALTH and the environment. You play as ‘Healthy’, our resourceful character. Save planet Nimbylon on which indigenous species like you depend upon.

Deadly Typhoon Rai strikes Philippines

Typhoon Haiyan (also known as Super Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines) during November 7-8 2013
According to The Guardian, ‘More than 3 million people have been directly affected by the devastation wreaked by Typhoon Rai, which caused widespread power outages and water shortages, and has left some areas completely cut off from relief teams even a week after the disaster.’
Full article here

Integer acam

Applied to MMM6, The 6th Mangrove conference

Our Proposal for Talk and recent games demos: Video-games as a transformative medium to engage the public in sustainability. We aims to create awareness about the importance of Mangrove Reforestation for preserving life and local livelihood and the use of Energy resources, creating awareness about their impact on Health (people's health and eenvironmental health)

A.I Beatboxer at Manchester Science Festival 2022

Delighted to be part of a record-breaking Festival in the UK. For ten days (mid-term!) we showcased our Artificial Intelligence Beatboxer to 22.000 attendees, mostly very young audiences! This is a project created by Ricardo Climent, with Giorgos Gargalas (Greece beatboxer champion), Hongshuo Fan (Machine Learning), Alena Mesarosova and Manu Ferrer (3D design).

Mangrove.World: We got new project at Itch.io

New project at itch.io !!! For a stand-alone version of the game

https://keepithuman.itch.io/mangroveworld

01/09/2022

Success on UMRI Funding Competition!

We are delighted to announce that last July we received generous funding from the University of Manchester Research Institute (UMRI). Watch this space for KeepItHuman/Imago upcoming videogame, hand by hand with Sustainable Futures.
 The institute has two principal aims:
1. To foster interdisciplinary research by ensuring that the necessary structures, resources  and incentives are in place; and 2. To provide a governance framework for research institutes and other interdisciplinary structures in the University to assist in maximising their performance.

Mangrove.World: We are building new levels!

Similar mechanics to our POC first level, although upgraded and extended for ca 17 min play (all going well!)
A couple of levels are coming up! after ‘Save the Filipino village’ we are building ‘Progagueles’ and ‘Roots/Routes to the Moon cycle’.
23/08/2022

Mangrove.World: POC videogame fleshed out with plenty of detail

Screenshot of the new aesthetics. We also added NPC Stewards which will become of greater importance as the videogame progresses.
We’ve been working over the summer to improve mangrove.world so, that it has a greater look and modes of interaction. Thanks for all the feedback we received from our testers during the trials at University Campus.
17/08/2022

Keep it Human talk with community leader Delilah Yaranon at La Union, Philippines

Intervie by Camille Rivera (Oceanus Conservation), video production KeepItHuman19/07/2022

Mangrove.World: Planting 400 mangrove seedlings in La Union, Philippines

Coordinated by Oceanus, we helped to plant 400 seedlings of Mangrove species in La Union in collaboration with local communities and community leader Delilah Yaranon at La Union, Philippines19/07/2022

Mangrove.World: Together for our Planet…

Art is in everything, and everything on this website has been created with that knowledge. Take a look at this portfolio to see the latest work, and find out what’s in progress. Watch Occeanus Conservaton video 'Mangrove World - Keep it Human' reflecting on the visit.
https://youtu.be/bGVoF_WeJnY?feature=shared
19/07/2022

Mangrove.World: Mission accomplished. Deploying and collecting IoTs audiologgers

We planted IoT bio-acoustics devices on low tide in Bais, Negros Oriental, the Philippines and collected them the day after with 64Gb of data (each). Recordings were at 384kHz so that we could even record the presence of bats in the mangrove reservoir.
14/07/2022

Mangrove.World: Turtles and coral reef in Apo Island

Organised by Oceanus Conservation, our partner NGO in the Philippines, we went to explore the coral reef and to swim with marine turtles in Apo Island, Negros oriental. This will be downplay time in the game for sure! 
The experience was totally transformative. It is hard to explain what is hard to digest that these turtle species will be one day close to extintion.
(photo: KeepItHuman founder close to a giant turtle)
13/07/2022

New Twitter account for Keep•It•Human!!

We just stated a new twitter account at https://twitter.com/keepitHumanUK
Hoping to gather feedback and insights from the amazing Twitter community of indiedevs and other parties.

Mangrove.World: Planting bio-acoustic sensors at a mangrove reservoir in Bais, Negros Oriental, Philippines

Keep•It•Human join forces with Oceanus Conservation and local environmental authorities at Bais, Negros Oriental, The Philippines.
Planting bioacoustics sensors (audiomoths) which will provide data for the digital twin island in the videogame (Virtual-2-Real and back), as well as helping Oceanus to understand the acoustic health of the mangrove ecosystem through the analysis of species in the area.
12/07/2022

Ready to take off and record the mangrove ecosystem in the Philippines!

We got a nice collection of recording equipment to intervine in mangrove areas. From an NT5 cannon, to a couple of highly sensitive DPAs, to a hydrophone mic and an electromagnetic microphone. For deployment we’ve got the micro-moth, the smaller version of the audiomoth with sealed cases, battery packs and kaleidoscope Pro for further analysis and identification of species. Carrying also the MixPre 10 by SoundDevices, a robust 8-track recorder. Thanks to Guillaume Dujat for providing the kit!
04/07/2022

Field work in the Philippines!

In July 2022, Keep•It•Human travelled to Manila to meet NGO Oceanus conservation. For two weeks, the visited three contrasting Mangrove areas where they deployed audio data loggers to understand the health of the natural ecosystem.
01/07/2022

New website: Mangrove.World

Check our website for the new video-game Mangrove.World

Mangrove.World: Video-game tests and questionnaires pilot programme in Campus

Mangrove.World aims to create awareness about the importance of mangrove reforestation in the Philippines and convert virtual achievements into real ones for the benefit of the ecosystem and local communities. To evaluate whether the game could achieve these aims, as well as to assess the overall game experience, we ran several game tests across Campus at the University of Manchester, collecting feedback from student players and staff. 94% of respondents stated that playing the game increased their awareness of the importance of mangrove forests for their local ecosystems.
29/05/2022

Portfolio Review at Game Developers Conference 2022

We were thrilled to have a portfolio review of Keep•It•Human games at GDC 2022. Many thanks to Leslie Harwood, Cinematic Design Lead at ZeniMax Online Studios for her feedback!

Mangrove World: character 3-stage personality shaped!

We just received from our designer Team our first sketches about how our mangrove heroe would look like and now it is time to build them in Blender and the Unreal Engine.
23/02/2022

Mangrove World: Main music tune by Benoit André received!

Mangrove.World has now music! Check it out on Bandcamp (a small selection).
This sticky theme has been commissioned by Keep•It•Human to music composer Benoît André (former postgraduate at NOVARS Research Centre and professional singer). Benoît is also a Manchester postgraduate in Music  and Interactive media, where he acquired practice-led knowledge of gamelan music and ethnomusicology studies with Prof. Caroline Bithell.
09/02/2022

Mangrove.World Devs meet to pre-design the game in cardboard fashion!

Today is Mangrove.World formal development kick-off!! Keep•It•Human and Imago team meet to start with the “Wizard of Oz” dev technique. 3 teams of 3 are asked to design a working first level and routes to other levels to restore mangroves!!




Our videogames celebrate emotional game-play and the traits of being human for our planet. Music, fun and YOU can address environmental and social challenges. 
02/01/2022

Announcing the Team Up with OCEANUS Conservation

January 2022
We at Keep•It•Human are delighted to team up with OCEANUS Conservation, a science-based non-profit environmental organisation focusing on the conservation and restoration of blue carbon habitats in the Philippines. From the University of Manchester side,  the project is supported by Imago Software, Innovation Factory, the Faculty Recovery Awards 2022, EASTN-DC and the NOVARS Research Centre.
Watch out this space in 2022!

Flying Starter award

Over the summer of 2021 Keep•It•Human was awarded the Flying starter award by the Masood Enterprise Centre which resulted in hiring Strategic Innovation Support services from GreenOak Innovation, a Manchester based firm run by Dr Richard Watson. 

Aspect Fellowship Journey (July 2021) 

Excited to announce the publication of the Aspect Fellow Report by Keep•It•Human. It consists of a 3-part video including highlights of three months of frantic activitity in the Social Space and a 'cherry on the cake' on financial advice by Anchored In, for funding early-stage academic spin-outs. 

SOCIAL INNOVATION TOOLS WORKSHOP
23rd June 2021

KiH Journey

From Academia to Entrepreneurship. 
To celebrate our ASPECT Fellowship 2021, we are launching two new videos.
This one is our kick-off video explaining our transition to date and the final one will be launched in July, at the end of the Fellow programe. We hope you enjoy! 
Video produced and edited by Adriana Ruiz.

Adriana Ruiz - Marketing Executive. Keep it Human

Welcome Adriana!

We are delighted to welcome Dr Adriana Ruiz to our team at Keep•It•Human, thanks to ASPECT Innovation Fellowship. Her areas of responsibility are: 
  • Overseeing and developing marketing campaigns
  • Conducting research and analysing data to identify and define audiences
  • Devising and presenting ideas and strategies
  • Promotional activities
  • Writing and proofreading creative copy
  • Maintaining websites and looking at data analytics
  • Organising events and product exhibitions
  • Managing campaigns on social media.

Aspect Innovation Fellow event in Madrid

Following an invitation from Ágora-Lab, Keep•It•Human founder, Ricardo Climent, alongside new team member Adriana Ruiz presented the seminar "Music and Social Responsibility" at the Real Conservatorio of Madrid. The focus of the presentation was to discuss what it takes to convert Academic Research in Music and Media into a Social Enterprise to make a better and fairer world. The presentation was followed by a discussion with students and staff. Watch Video (in Spanish)

KiH Awarded ASPECT Innovation Fellowship 2021!!

We were delighted to humbly accept this award! Founder at Keep•It•Human Ricardo Climent has just become Aspect Innovation Fellow 2021. The programe recruit researchers across UK to act as academic champions for innovation and help develop an inclusive, supportive culture of innovation among social sciences researchers. The Innovation Fellowship programme runs from March to June 2021.



KiH will be at AVART 2021 Ionian University, Corfu on May 26-29

Stay tuned for our videogame workshop on May 26 at the DCAC Digital Creativity conference in Greece and some other contributions to other parts of this festival. We will reveal some insights of the social-affective mechanics of timbi.world and plans for modularisation of the videogame. 

ARC Alumni Ambassadors 2021

We are delighted to give back to the SUCCESS Accelerator programme by becoming Alumni Ambassadors. In 2021 we have been invited to a series of meetings with the new ARC Accelerator cohort  (a rebrand of the SUCCESS Programme). In our first meeting last January, we were highly impressed to learn about the exciting propositions by the new academic and social entrepreneurs. We will watch this space closely!
For more information visit ARC Accelerator.
ASPECT/ARC is a first-of-its-kind opportunity specifically designed to propel social science academics and researchers to develop ideas based on their research into businesses or ventures to help people, society and the economy.

We are on Twitter!

You can now follow our twitter feed! https://twitter.com/timbiworld
Timbi World ㋡: @timbiworldlinktr.ee/timbiworld
Multiplayer open-world adventure game ➳ Fancy being a musical calabash? はじめまして!
Nominated for best videogame award 2020 by Avav.
indiedev ❀ Virtual2Real
Manchester • Valencia • Berlin
Se unió en diciembre de 2020


We are on bandcamp!!

We just uploaded a couple of music tracks from the game onto Bandcamp! Listen...
https://keepithuman.bandcamp.com/releases

Timbi Workshop (Free) @ AVARTS Festival, Greece

26/05/2021 (16:00-17:00 EEST) | BST (UK) 14.00 | JST (Japan) 22.00
Details: https://bit.ly/3oL96Sn
Registration: https://bit.ly/3oOfrfH

Interview by Boston Games

" You may be familiar with current methods of philanthropy through gaming, such as fundraisers through streaming services like Twitch where players can make donations as they watch a game stream, or websites like Humble Bundle that donate a portion of their game sales and subscriptions. These methods are fantastic and have helped to fund a lot of good causes, but what if there was a way to integrate gaming and giving in a way we have not really seen in the gaming industry yet?

Two game studios, Keep•It•Human and Manusamo & Bzika, have put together a gaming architecture that has successfully implemented a new gaming philanthropy method. Their new title, Timbi World, does this by linking progress during gameplay to real world rewards; for instance, if you unlock an in-game skateboard you are helping Timbi World donate an educational skate pack to Maputo Skate in Mozambique, Africa. Through Timbi World's efforts with the Maputo Skate Project hundreds of children are now able to access a skate sporting program that will make a positive difference in their lives - pretty cool! This is just one way this title is making a difference."

Full article at Linkedin

Good Grant Guide Workshop 2021

 Very thankful to Ian Tracey and Nicola Musgrove for the invitation to attend their “Good Grant Guide” workshop on Tuesday 26th of January 2021. Very excited about the prospects and potential partnerships emerging

Timbi WORLD at Insonic 2020, ZKM

The ZKM | Hertz-Lab host year's edition of the »inSonic« Festival, examining the shifts, transitions and expansions in the field of music and sound art. Exploring to the use of disruptive technologies, like »Machine Learning« or concepts such as »Extended Reality« in videogaming.


Timbila Live Aid nomination

We are very excited to see Timbila Live Aid game among the three finalists. Results to be announced on November 21st, 2020. More details about the candidates for other categories (films, documentaries etc) For more click here

Time to celebrate!

November 1st, 2020 - Gofundme campaign 100% completed!

We have now reached 100% of our target and raised 10 skate & educational packs for Maputo Skate, after our first ever live concert in the Timbila Live Aid game. Funds have now arrived at Maputo thanks to our 63 amazing donors. We are very proud of them.

MANTIS FESTIVAL 2020

1st November 2020
Our first ever in-game multiplayer concert at Timbi world Arena Island (first expansion), with guest performer and long-time collaborator Thought Universe (live synthesizers) . It was absolute madness!! Thank you all the attendees and congratulations to  our invited guest Thought Universe (aka Mark Pilkington) and his Manchester Sound.


Album Cover on Bandcamp- Timbi.world

We are on bandcamp!!

We just uploaded a couple of music tracks from the game onto Bandcamp! Listen...
https://timbiworld.bandcamp.com/releases

Photographic session with 3D-printed models

We are thrilled to disclose some of the first images of our photographic session by the Mediterranean sea, capturing the same light and seashore which inspired the creation of the game. All real! No filters!

October 8th, 2020 - Timbila Live Aid nominated for Best Videogame award!!

Thrilled to announce that our game TimbilaLiveAid has been shortlisted for the Best Video Game Award by the Acadèmia Valenciana Audiovisual!!
Check the list of candidates here 

Sept 26th, 2020 - Opened Company Profile on Linkedin

We just started our profile on Linkedin with this impactful logo! 

Sept 19th, 2020 - 60% collected!
Message from Francisco Vinho, founder of Maputo Skate to our donors.

5 September 2020: First day of fundraising. Thank you!!!!

August 31st, 2020 - WEB LAUNCH!

People have been asking for further information concerning our Timbila Live Aid game for Sound Campus (Ars Electronica) so we finally have some news for you! Here is our new website.


July 8th, 2020 - ASPECT INTERVIEW

The SUCCESS programme is helping social scientists transform innovative and marketable ideas into a business or social enterprise.
We spoke to Ricardo Climent – Professor of Interactive Music, University of Manchester, and Founder of Keep•It•Human – about his ambitious project and what he’s hoping to get out of the SUCCESS programme. Read more below.
LIST OF ORGANISATIONS

May 1st, 2020 -  Masood Internship started: Julio Martinez Ferrer, a Business Development Intern at The Masood Enterprise Centre and 4th year Law and Business Student at University of Navarra has joined the team!!!!

March 4th, 2020 - Our SUCCESS 2020 Venture Idea accepted!

TITLE: Keep it Human – a gamified live musical battle. So, we are now committed to Success 2020, a 9-month programme run by ASPECT, for social science researchers developed through collaboration between LSE, University of Manchester, University of Sussex, University of Oxford, University of Sheffield, University of Glasgow and Cardiff University. So we are asked to develop a social sciences venture idea to be presented at a VC Pitch investment day in early November.

Keep•It•Human

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