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| Screenshot of Game |
Objective:
• Raise awareness about HIV/AIDS amongst youth on the occasion of International Youth Day
• Break the hesitation & taboo surrounding the topic and establish condoms as an indispensable tool against HIV/AIDS
Strategy:
• Speak to the youth in their own language
• Avoid gyaan – excite, engage & educate
• Maximize ‘viral-ness’ in the communication
Taking into consideration the current media behavior of our target audience, Mobile phone is an instrument that is used by everybody. Today, a mobile phone isn’t just a rich man’s fashion accessory in India. Across the country people with low incomes are now using mobile phones as tools of communication and even entertainment in most cases. According to the Oxford English Dictionary one of the earliest uses of word ‘mobile’ was in association with the Latin phrase ‘mobile vulgus’, i.e excitable crowd. Today’s mobile phones live up to these origins. Cell phone technology introduces new senses of speed and connectivity to social life, which leads to effective and prompt communication. Especially, the youth have more craze about the mobile. More and more people under 30-age group are using Mobile application as an important device and for organizing their lives better, due to the various functions available such as cool ringtones, screen savers, photographs, videos, email and games.
Recognizing the heterogeneity of the youth, NACO III aims to promote HIV/AIDS awareness activities in youth. The number of adolescent and teenage pregnancies in India is mind boggling. Hence, there is an immediate need to address the problem of unprotected sex.
Correct and consistent use of condoms is the keyword and ‘Normalization of Condoms’ is the ultimate objective of NACO with respect to Condom Promotion.
Considering the vulnerability of youth, MDACS has planned such activities for youth, in which we can gain their interest and communicate to them. These activities give an opportunity to recognize the potential of youth, to celebrate their achievements, and plan for ways to better engage young people to successfully take action - most of all protect themselves and fellow youth.
Considering the large number of users and one of the most interactive media use by the youth i.e Mobile, it was proposed to create a ‘Mobile Condom Game’, through which the messages can be easily delivered to the youth.
The reason: Condoms have to be normalized as per NACO guidelines. If people can think of having sexual contact, they have to think of condoms. The shyness of going to a chemist should not be there. Hence what better way to normalize condom use than putting the concept in the minds of the youth with a mobile game!
We followed the following steps to create the mobile game:
Step 1: Building the basic architecture - basic backend framework had to be programmed and coded.
Step 2: The creative for the game was designed and mounted over the basic architecture.
Step 3: The above was done for every level and for four such levels.
This was designed for J2ME platform which can be supported by all Java and Symbian phones. These phones form 70 – 80% of the mobile market.
Once the backend architecture and creative were ready, the game needed to be ported:
• Ported for different versions of operating systems
• Ported for different handset types of different mobile manufacturers
• Also ported for different screen sizes amongst the handset manufacturers: there are 9 screen ratios that will cover the majority of the existing screen sizes.
It was then ported or re-programmed for touch screen phones in the screen ratio of 360 X 640 which is the most popular.
All in all, the game was ported for 10 different screen sizes including touch and non touch. We ensured that we covered maximum number of users – all keypad J2ME and touch screen J2ME phones, by which we reached out to 70 – 80% of the organized mobile market.
The Game:
A first-of-its-kind mobile game targeted at the youth called…
‘The Protector’
Core Thought: Educate the user about HIV and normalizes the idea of condoms through gameplay
Genre: Side Scrolling Action Game
Setting: Urban Indian Metro
Protagonist: Young Indian Male in his 20s
Plot: The Hero is trying to get from his office to his home. The walk is dangerous as he is constantly confronted by aggressive enemies. He must fight the enemies off successfully to advance to the next level. As he fights the enemies that put him at risk to HIV, he must constantly protect himself to make sure he is healthy and go on.
As he plays on, he is regularly exposed to tips that help him – both in the game’s virtual world and against HIV in the real world.
Enemies: Drug Dealers, infected syringes & the HIV Virus itself!
Levels: Designed to emulate an urban city and everyday areas where the youth might find themselves
1. Ghetto/Slum – Dark and dreary streets with lots of trash and broken down buildings.
2. Clubbing District - Neon signs, fancy buildings some trash in the street.
3. Park Area – A green park with playground equipment and benches.
4. Business District – Large modern buildings, clean streets.
The Protector (Power-up bonus):
As the hero combats enemies he loses health as he gets hurt. He must constantly look for and pick up condoms that protect him against the enemies and keep his health scores high.
Delivery Mechanism
Anyone can simply SMS “PROTECT” to 53636. They will receive a link from which they can then download the game for FREE.
Use Red Ribbon Clubs (RRCs) to distribute and popularize the game in their colleges and their communities.
Result
The end product is not just a highly addictive and engaging game. What we now have is a completely radical solution…
Impact of the Condom Game:
As per survey conducted by Mobile companies, India is the second largest mobile purchase country after china. Hence, it is possible to share information at mass level through mobiles. The impact of the Mobile Game was more due to the following reasons:
1. It can be downloaded free of cost by users
2. It can be downloaded by blue tooth
3. In this interactive media, when a person plays the game, the concept of consistent condom use gets submerged in his brain
4. It can be forward to unlimited users
5. MDACS has already formed RRC in the colleges like NSS colleges, Non-NSS colleges, Pharmacy colleges, Nursing School and more in Mumbai. Through them, the information was spread to millions of crowds.
The beauty of the concept is that it is a one-time cost. Once the mobile game is developed, the circulation and dissemination is free. Hence the number of people it can reach is unlimited. Unlike other media, this can be circulated for unlimited time. Sustainability is assured. Cost per contact is the lowest as compared to any other media.
Moreover, it is an innovative idea and has a longer lasting use as it is own creation of MDACS. The most advantageous thing is that it is fun activity for youth, which they would definitely like and our objective to give them proper information about HIV/AIDS can be achieved very successfully through this game.
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| A comprehensive new age communication tool in the fight against HIV/AIDS |
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