Game on: Thai mobile phone app makes flood safety child's play
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Version 0 of 1. From grappling with runaway crocodiles to avoiding electrocution, a new mobile phone app aims to teach children across the Asia-Pacific region how to stay safe when floods strike. Following the deluge in Thailand in 2011, which killed more than 800 people, the UN agency Unesco's Bangkok office has teamed up with software developers OpenDream to create Sai Fah: The Flood Fighter. Players can follow the cartoon hero Sai Fah as he battles a flood on his way to meet his mother, with each level of the game offering a lesson in flood safety. Gaming is hugely popular among Thai youth. A recent study found that 72% of youngsters own a mobile phone and 49% use their device for gaming. "In Thailand, people love mobiles, particularly iPhones and Android, so this was the target audience," explains Ichiro Miyazawa, the Unesco Bangkok programme specialist for literacy and lifelong learning. "We wanted to make characters in the game cute so people feel an attachment to them." Sai Fah: The Flood Fighter was launched in Thai language last month; this week the game was released in English on iOS and Android platforms. OpenDream's project manager, Nathalie Sajda, says the biggest challenge while designing the game was balancing entertainment with education: "To integrate learning lessons in a fun interactive way with the player – this is what makes the game interesting." The game has 22 lessons, many of which are based on real-life scenarios. "There's a moment in the game where Sai Fah receives information that the city is safe as it is surrounded by a dam. But he later sees that something hits the dam and breaks it – this is based on a real-life story," Sajda explains. "It is important to have real-life understanding of what kind of situations a child or adult can encounter during a flood." Players are also briefed on how to limit indoor hazards, such as preventing toilets and pipes from bringing dirty floodwater into homes. There are several apps designed to alert phone users of impending natural disasters, but Miyazawa believes Sai Fah: The Flood Fighter is the first of its kind to educate young people through "gamification" – applying typical elements of game playing such as scoring points and earning rewards to make the experience fun and engaging. Other organisations involved in disaster relief have also got in on the act. Save the Children has an app that allows users to step into the shoes of aid workers – but it is aimed at educating children about the relief effort, not crisis management. Games such as Disaster Island, launched this week by the British Red Cross, teaches users how to cope during a natural disaster, but it's an interactive video rather than a mobile app. The Thai language version of Sai Fah: Flood Fighter has been downloaded more than 11,000 times, and there are plans to promote the English version in flood-prone areas across the Asia-Pacific region. Youngsters who sampled the game at an event held by the Thai education ministry last month gave the app the thumbs-up. "It's a very fun game and the lessons I learned can be applied to daily life," said nine-year-old Thamphitak Rakwiratham. The first player to complete all levels, Natchalita Nilkeaw, 10, said: "This is so much fun! I learned flood survival skills by doing the challenges. It's different from other internet games because this game teaches kids practical lessons. Will recommend to my friends." Miyazawa hopes Sai Fah will be rolled out in schools nationwide, once the government's policy to provide Thailand's 9 million pupils with a tablet computer is implemented. "That's something we want to push [and have discussed with] the ministry of education," he says. "We understand the tablet computer has not been used effectively at school, and we wonder if we can install this type of app in tablets – [which will provide] a good opportunity for kids to play, have discussions and acquire more knowledge [on flood management]. It can create a good opportunity to think and talk about [flood dangers]. If children can use it that way in the classroom, that would be wonderful." |