A YORK digital agency has developed an online interactive game for a national charity to help raise awareness of the issue of poverty.

Plump Digital, based in Swinegate Court, has designed and built a game called Skint for children’s charity Barnardo’s.

Skint, which can be played by visiting barnardos.org.uk/skint, sees players facing conundrums along the way which gives a taste of what it’s like to be stuck in the poverty trap by stepping into the shoes of a parent experiencing poverty.

Developers at Plum say they created the game to challenge players to stay upright as they are knocked by real-life barriers, such as child-care costs and benefit cuts.

Rob Colley, client services director at Plump Digital, said: “We were absolutely delighted to be asked by Barnardo’s to design and build an interactive game for them. The issue of poverty is such a big problem and we hope Skint will help raise its profile and some much-needed money for Barnardo’s.

“The city of York is working hard to Stamp Out Poverty with a campaign that has seen The Press, City of York Council and Joseph Rowntree Foundation talking together about the issue, so it is even more fitting that Plump Digital have built a game for a national charity on the national issue of poverty from their base in York.”

Barnardo’s is a chosen charity of ITV’s fundraising programme Text Santa’s, which could lead to Plump’s Skint game profiled on national TV.