GAME ON: THAI MOBILE PHONE APP MAKES FLOOD SAFETY CHILD"S PLAY

Mobile gaming tiện ích teaches children what to vị when floods strike, as they follow cartoon nhân vật battling his way khổng lồ safety

From grappling with runaway crocodiles to avoiding electrocution, a new điện thoại phone phầm mềm aims lớn teach children across the Asia-Pacific region how to stay safe when floods strike.

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Following the deluge in đất nước thái lan in 2011, which killed more than 800 people, the UN agency Unesco"s thủ đô bangkok thái lan office has teamed up with software developers OpenDream to create sai Fah: The Flood Fighter. Players can follow the cartoon nhân vật Sai Fah as he battles a flood on his way khổng lồ meet his mother, with each cấp độ of the trò chơi offering a lesson in flood safety.

Gaming is hugely popular among thai youth. A recent study found that 72% of youngsters own a di động phone & 49% use their device for gaming. "In Thailand, people love mobiles, particularly iPhones và Android, so this was the target audience," explains Ichiro Miyazawa, the Unesco thủ đô bangkok programme specialist for literacy & lifelong learning. "We wanted to make characters in the game dễ thương so people feel an attachment to lớn them."

Sai Fah: The Flood Fighter was launched in bầu 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 trò chơi was balancing entertainment with education: "To integrate learning lessons in a fun interactive way with the player – this is what makes the game interesting."

Unesco hopes sai Fah will be rolled out in thai schoolsThe 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 và 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 khổng lồ limit indoor hazards, such as preventing toilets & pipes from bringing dirty floodwater into homes.

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There are several apps designed to lớn alert phone users of impending natural disasters, but Miyazawa believes sai Fah: The Flood Fighter is the first of its kind lớn educate young people through "gamification" – applying typical elements of trò chơi playing such as scoring points và earning rewards khổng lồ make the experience fun & 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 khổng lồ cope during a natural disaster, but it"s an interactive video rather than a điện thoại app.

The bầu language version of không nên Fah: Flood Fighter has been downloaded more than 11,000 times, and there are plans to lớn promote the English version in flood-prone areas across the Asia-Pacific region.

Sai Fah has been downloaded more than 11,000 timesYoungsters who sampled the trò chơi at an event held by the thai education ministry last month gave the tiện ích the thumbs-up. "It"s a very fun game và the lessons I learned can be applied lớn daily life," said nine-year-old Thamphitak Rakwiratham. The first player lớn 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 trò chơi 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 lớn provide Thailand"s 9 million pupils with a tablet computer is implemented. "That"s something we want khổng lồ push the ministry of education," he says.

"We understand the tablet computer has not been used effectively at school, & we wonder if we can install this type of app in tablets – a good opportunity for kids to play, have discussions & acquire more knowledge . It can create a good opportunity lớn think & talk about . If children can use it that way in the classroom, that would be wonderful."