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A screenshot from the RNLI’s Storm Force Rescue game. A lifeguard is on their rescue watercraft approaching the shore. Some children are paddling in the sea.

The making of Storm Force Rescue: the RNLI's first mobile game

Photo: RNLI/Amuzo Games

A fishing trawler with 10 people onboard is sinking. Fast. A Tamar class lifeboat launches into the sea and powers to the rescue. It’s down to your little lifesaver to get there before it’s too late! 

Racing against the clock to save those onboard a sinking trawler is just one of the action-packed rescue missions your little lifesaver must face in Storm Force Rescue – not forgetting dogs on rocks and pink flamingos! 

With today’s generation of children living in an ever-evolving digital world, the RNLI was keen to create a fun and educational mobile game where kids could play along as an RNLI lifesaver while learning important water safety advice – with the hope that it might even encourage them to become lifesavers themselves one day!

But making a video game was going to cost money. And as a charity, every penny counts – meaning finding additional funds to create the game was challenging.

In the lead-up to the RNLI’s 200th anniversary, the RNLI 200 Club was formed – a group of supporters determined to make sure our anniversary year commemorates our past, celebrates who we are today, and inspires a new generation of supporters. Thanks to their kind donations – and a supportive games studio waiting in the wings – the game could finally become a reality.

Want to know how Storm Force Rescue was made? We speak to the team behind the RNLI game to find out how they brought it to life.

The big idea

As well as creating Storm Force Rescue, Bournemouth-based games studio Amuzo Games have developed games for several well-known kids’ entertainment brands, from Playmobil to LEGO®. ‘It was actually a LEGO® City game we made that inspired the initial concept for Storm Force Rescue,’ says Nick Roberts, Head of Studio at Amuzo Games. ‘The player goes out to sea on a police boat to catch criminals that are trying to escape. We knew we had the initial concept for Storm Force Rescue right in front of us – a boat and a rescue mission.’

‘The player is able to collect LEGO® studs along the way to get bonus points and extra time, and so we used that concept to create collectible shells and letters R, N, L and I in Storm Force Rescue,’ explains Nick. 

Nick adds: ‘To get a feel for what the game could look like, our 2D Artist Martin Rawle used Photoshop to mock up some initial artwork. The team at the RNLI loved it!’

Lifesaving levels

‘Once we had the concept art nailed down, I worked with our programmer, Chris Rimington, and our 2D and 3D artists, to find out what was needed to create the game. Designer Theo Tsangaris worked with me to create wireframes to see how different stages of the game would look,’ explains Nick.

There are five levels in the beach rescue game, each of which has three action-packed rescue missions where children learn how to stay safe in different scenarios in and around the water – from knowing to always swim between the red and yellow flags, to floating like a starfish if they find themselves in trouble. 

‘Coming up with ideas for the rescue missions was great fun, and we got quite a lot of inspiration from watching Saving Lives at Sea,’ says Nick. ‘I watched an episode where a lifeboat crew rescued a dog that was stranded on a sandbank, which ended up being the inspiration behind the dogs on rocks rescue mission in the game.’

Nick adds: ‘We then created a demo of one of the levels, where you play as a lifeguard on a rescue watercraft to save children floating out to sea on pink flamingo inflatables. It was exciting to see and play some of the game for the first time, and I think that level is still my favourite!’ 

3D art and rescue craft

Storm Force Rescue has a lot of 3D animation, so the main bulk of the work during the game’s production was modelling and programming 3D artwork,’ says Nick. ‘Jess Couch, one of our 3D artists, worked on the environment artwork in the game, which includes everything from the sand and groynes to the beach huts.’

A screenshot of the beach from the RNLI’s rescue game.

Photo: RNLI/Amuzo Games

‘Creating the environment artwork involved a lot of attention to detail. Some parts of the game are based on Bournemouth Beach and Poole Lifeboat Station, and we took hundreds of photographs at lots of different angles to make sure the environment in the game looked as realistic as possible,’ explains Nick.

‘3D Artist Nick Sibbick modelled all the lifeboats and rescue craft, as well as the different characters you play as and meet in the game – which some children may recognise from Storm Force magazine,’ adds Nick.

‘Members of our kids’ club helped to create the characters for Storm Force magazine. It’s why they’re so relatable,’ explains Jon Jones, Editor of Storm Force magazine. ‘Stan, Sandy and their gang of teenagers and funny animals really come to life in the game. I think they are such a fun and powerful way of sharing safety messages with youngsters. Lifesaving tips should never be boring!’

With the game being funded by generous donations from RNLI 200 Club members, it was important to use the budget wisely.

‘Initially there wasn’t enough budget to create a slipway launch level because of the extent of animation involved,’ says Rory Stamp, Strategic Content Manager at the RNLI.

‘But while we were making the game, we were working with animation students at Bournemouth University, who had been creating animations for us to promote an episode of 200 Voices featuring Lifeboat Mary – the late, legendary fundraiser of Padstow.

‘One of their 3D animations featured a slipway launch at Padstow Lifeboat Station. The students very kindly let us use it to create the final level where a Tamar class lifeboat launches into the sea,’ explains Rory.

Nick says: ‘We really wanted to create an iconic, dramatic moment towards the end of the game, and it was great to have support from Bournemouth University to help us do that.’

Ready player, save every one

‘Nowadays, kids are playing games from a very young age. We wanted the game to be fun, while finding a way to turn education into something enjoyable and engaging,’ says Nick. ‘We linked the safety messages to the gameplay with the hope that children will subconsciously learn about water safety and the RNLI as they play. Then once they’ve completed a level, Sandy the lifeguard gives them safety advice about what’s just happened in the game.’

For example, after successfully rescuing swimmers from a rip current, a message pops up from Sandy with advice on how to avoid getting caught in a rip current.

‘Having Sandy deliver the safety tips makes them a lot more engaging for kids. Our aim was to help children learn about the RNLI’s lifesaving work and water safety without interrupting the flow of the game, and I think we did that well,’ says Nick.

A screenshot from the water safety game. Sandy the lifeguard is in the bottom right-hand corner and has her thumbs up to say well done to the player. On the screen is a safety tip about how to float to live.

Photo: RNLI/Amuzo Games

Thousands of children are already racing to save lives in Storm Force Rescue. As well as being able to download the app, children have loved trying out the game at RNLI 200th anniversary events and exhibitions – including the Lifeboat Festival at Poole in May 2024. 

‘Seeing kids flocking to our touchscreen installations and laptops to have a go has been fantastic,’ says Rory. ‘Although I felt a bit sorry for the parents who struggled to drag their daughters and sons away from the game so that they could enjoy the rest of the event!’

Two children and their parents playing Storm Force Rescue on the touchscreens at the Lifeboat Festival in Poole.

RNLI/Charis Walker

Nick says: ‘It really is wonderful to see the game out there being enjoyed by so many children. The next time they go to the beach, hopefully they’ll think of the game and remember what they learned. If we’ve educated just one child and it helps to save their life, then we’ve done our jobs.’

Are you ready to race to save lives? 

You can download our lifeboat rescue game for free on Google Play or Apple App Store, or play it on our website. 
Play Storm Force Rescue

Don’t forget to share our game with the young people in your life so they can enjoy playing along as a lifesaver – all while learning how to stay safe in and around the water.

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