MUS: Prisoner in My Homeland

The year is 1941. You are 16-year-old Henry Tanaka, a fictional Japanese American teen born and raised on a farm in Bainbridge, Island, Washington. When Japan declares war and the US government forces your family into a military prison camp in Manzanar, California, how will you react? Will you help your community? Support the war? Resist injustice? When your loyalty is questioned, how will you respond? Playing as Henry, you will learn about a lesser known chapter of American history, meeting other Japanese Americans with a variety of viewpoints and backgrounds. And as you grapple with challenges faced by more than 120,000 Japanese Americans unjustly incarcerated during World War II, the choices you make will help determine the outcome of Henry’s story.

“Prisoner in My Homeland” is the sixth installment of the acclaimed MISSION US interactive gaming series that immerses young people in transformational moments in American history. Winner of the Games for Change Award for “Most Significant Impact,” the MISSION US series has been called “one of the most captivating educational games online” and “a powerful game that all kids should experience.” Teachers have noted that the games are “a great way to make history real for 21st century learners” and “virtual learning at its finest.” Multiple research studies show that using MISSION US leads to measurable gains in historical knowledge and skills among students.

GAME FEATURES:
• Innovative choice-driven story with over 15 possible endings and a badge system
• Includes interactive prologue, 3 playable parts, and epilogue - approx. 1.5-2 hours of gameplay, segmented for flexible implementation
• Cast of characters features a diverse range of perspectives and experiences from the Japanese American community
• Primary source documents integrated into game design
• Includes text-to-speech, Smartwords, and glossary features to support struggling readers, as well as closed captioning, play/pause controls, and multi-track audio control.
• Collection of free classroom support resources available at mission-us.org includes document-based questions, primary sources, class activities, vocabulary builders, standards alignments, writing prompts, and visual aids.

ABOUT MISSION US:
• AWARDS include: Games for Change Award for Most Significant Impact, Japan Prize, multiple Parents’ Choice Gold, Common Sense Media ON for Learning, and International Serious Play Gold Medals, and Webby and Daytime Emmy nominations.
• CRITICAL ACCLAIM: USA Today: “a powerful game that all kids should experience”; Educational Freeware: “one of the most captivating educational games online”; Kotaku: “a slice of livable history that every American should play”; 5 out of 5 stars from Common Sense Media
• GROWING FAN BASE: 3 million registered users across the US and around the world to date.
• PROVEN IMPACT: Major study by Education Development Center (EDC) found students who used MISSION US significantly outperformed those who studied the same topics using typical materials (textbook and lecture) – showing a 14.9% knowledge gain versus less than 1% for the other group.
• TRUSTED TEAM: Produced by The WNET Group (New York’s flagship PBS station) in partnership with educational game development company Electric Funstuff and the American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, City University of New York.


“Prisoner in My Homeland” was developed in collaboration with advisors from the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community and Densho, and is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program, with additional support from the Page and Otto Marx., Jr. Foundation, Estate of Bhagwant Gill, and Helena Rubinstein Foundation.