Empowering Youth Through Coding: A Conversation with BfB Labs

In conversation with Ludovic Riffiod and Sam Camac from BfB Labs, two dedicated volunteers from Better Space who have been generously teaching coding to young individuals at The Peel Institute. The Peel, a charity that has been fostering community connections in Clerkenwell for over a century, offers a variety of activities for adults and youth, along with mental health awareness projects. For more details on participating in these activities, click here.

What is your name, & what is your role title?

Ludovic Riffiod, Lead Developer and Sam Camac, Game Developer at BfB Labs.  

Could you tell us one interesting thing you have learnt whilst in your current role?

Ludo: How much impact can come from an amazing team and great leaders.

Sam: Narrowing it down to just one is tough so I will give two. For programming learning and creating template functions was a big step up and I’ve found multiple use cases. Then the big one was learning more about prototyping and testing, especially as a group. We’ve done a BfB Game Jam, prototyping concepts, and ideas, and having workshops on the topic, all while trying to tackle a problem as big and as complex as children’s anxiety and mental health, it’s been a great experience. 

What do you love most about being a Better Space member?

Ludo: Lovely people and a lot of things to do, I would like to have more time to participate!! 

Sam: Working alongside and talking with such a wide diversity of teams and professions. I’m a firm believer that sticking to one field or speciality can limit your growth and potential. Even though my main focus is to improve my programming and game development, I feel like I learn a lot creatively and functionally during random chats I have with fellow Better Space members.

What is your favourite thing about your office being based in Islington?

Ludo: The area is full of great places to eat or drink and the Spa Fields is a great place to eat/chill.

Sam: It’s very simple but honestly the food and spaces, I constantly find myself going to one of the street markets to grab lunch, so many of the choices are fantastic. Then having another extremely short walk to a park where I can sit and relax to eat good food feels amazing. It’s simple but I love it.

Describe one moment in your career you have felt your role has contributed to the Social Enterprise industry?

Sam: We at BfB are really lucky, as we constantly get feedback on how our game helped parents and children. So, although it’s not one specific moment, whenever I hear how we’ve helped a kid it makes me want to make something even better, improving it and wanting to do more for them.

Digital therapy for a new generation. Evidence-based . Highly engaging . Cost effective.

How has your experience been volunteering at The Peel Institute's Coding Club?

Sam: I’ve recently started volunteering at the Peel Institute, where I’m helping some kids there learn to program. It’s honestly an amazing experience I’d recommend to anyone, seeing a kid finally properly understand something and watching them use that knowledge is extremely satisfying. I’ve only gone 3 times split apart by just under a month but whenever I see how they’ve improved and continue to do so it’s awe-inspiring.

Ludo: Some of the children at the Peel Institute are in our game age group. It would be nice to let them play our game to do another activity and get interesting feedback from them! 

I would also like to show them the inside of the software that made this game possible to be able to see some practical examples and to motivate them even more!

Working on therapeutic games for children brings interesting challenges because you need to think about the player (the child) perspective but also the parents and practitioner perspective. This can make the development more complex, but it also means that your work will help other human beings, which is priceless!

What motivates you to support the Coding Club?

Ludo: I want to share more tools to learn coding and amazing projects to inspire those young people full of energy and keen to learn!  I can see a lot of exchange potential.

A big part of my time with BfB Labs is dedicated to coding therapeutic mobile games. Before that, I made serious games for museums, schools and VR games but it is so much more rewarding to have an impact on people's mental health using your passion!

To learn more about BfB Labs, read their 'Spotlight On' article here.

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