Startacus tries Trylife

by Startacus Admin

Startacus has been keeping an eye on Trylife for the last while. Almost like a late night interactive Hollyoaks or Skins episode, Trylife is a hard hitting interactive online drama that has been launched in the last month or two , although has been years in Development.

Although ‘interactive’ TV has been all the talk for years, there have not been too many successful shows that have actually gone on to become really successful. However with Trylife, we reckon, this could be about to change.

The ideology behind Trylife, takes you back to early role-playing fiction books or computer games, where you make the decisions, and having played the ‘game’ so to speak, so far we like the cut of Trylife’s jib. In Episode 1 you get to make 20 decisions, and this then shapes the story. With episode 2, it is close to 30.

Yes, the Skins-like topics could be classified as ‘controversial’, but the reality is that Trylife makes you the decision maker on subjects such as drugs, sex, friends, and education - the kind of decisions that everyone of us have had to make.

However, Trylife is not necessarily trying to shock, but is instead trying to help young people make informed decisions and to give them a reality check, depending on the route they decide to take. At the end of each storyline you can access information and services on the issues the character faces. If this hands on approach can help reach and educate the young demographic the programme targets, then we say bring it on!

It is no surprise to find out that the Director and creator of TryLife, Paul Irwin, comes from a community youth and development background, and perhaps this is why the controversial subjects are not avoided.

Here at Startacus, we love people doing their own thing, and apart from the good interactive design, film making and overall production quality, this funded project seems to have the potential to work, as it’s not trying too hard to impress. And it seems others agree. Trylife has so far managed to build a Facebook following of over 100,000, and has an active fanbase.

Admittedly, some things still need a little work, however Trylife is one project that is trying to do something impressive, and for that reason alone we give Paul and the team, a big Startacus high-five!

• #interactive tv
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Published on: 24th September 2012