NuVu Game Title

NuVu TouchScreen Learning Studio

Arjun Bakshi

Silmar Bueno

Molly Hershkowitz

 

Summary:

Do you want to fight a battle that has been going on for thousands of years? Victory leads you to a healthy life and an endless amount of helpful tips. We wanted to create a game that will teach the children and adults in Kenya the importance of washing their hands. We came up with a tablet application that will remind people how to properly wash their hands for twenty seconds. The screen will have two giant hands that have germs on them. Using simple objects and tools like soap and water, students will have to thoroughly scrub the hands for twenty seconds and get rid of all the germs. We realized that generally people enjoy games with competition. This game makes the students want to have the best score, while at the same time learn an important lesson. We put a sidebar that had the different times of day the students should wash their hands to show them how many germs they can attain throughout the day.

 

The Problem: This is the Problem

The problem is many children and adults in Kenya and India do not properly wash their hands enough during the day. This causes many people to fall sick or develop diseases such as diarrhea. In addition, many germs can form on their hands like, E. Coli, Salmonella, and Rotavirus. These three bacterias are very common and can cause intense stomach pain. We are trying to inform children and adults the importance of washing hands. This game will also educate students on different diseases and bacteria that are common where they live. This is helpful because it warns them and teaches them to prevent getting bacteria.  

 

Game Description

This game will teach students the importance of washing your hands and how/when to do so. Students will learn that they should spend about 20 seconds washing their hands with soap and water. There will be music playing during that 20 seconds. They will also learn the important times to wash their hands: before eating, cooking, and after doing some type of chore like changing a diaper. It will teach them about how if they don’t wash their hands enough/correctly, they would probably get sick. There will be different kinds of germs on the hands that cause different diseases and things to happen if they aren’t washed off with soap and water.

 

How it Works

Players will start by reading brief instructions on how the game works. After, they will learn about the different types of germs and their effects. Then a message will pop up describing a

scenario that will cause you to wash your hands. You then start washing your hands. First tapping the water to turn on then touching the soap to  “load up on soap.”  You have 20 seconds to scrub all the germs off. All the leftover germs get added onto the hands for the next level. At the end of the rounds your score is added up and you win clean coins for how good of a job you did.You can then use the coins to buy better washing items in the store. These all have different power ups and cost different amount of coins.  

 

India or Kenya

This game tends to both India and Kenya. One difference would be the skin of it. The difference of the two games would mainly be the physical appearance like the water resource and the type of the sink. Also, the song playing in the background will be specific to the country and be a well known anthem.

 

Current Progress

At this point we are trying to improve and better our game with the feedback we received. Nivi brought up a point of how kids can learn during the game. The learning aspect seems hidden because of the set up. One example of that is how the timer is 20 seconds. The reason behind the 20 seconds is because that is the recommended time for a correct hand wash. Which is the length of the song Jambo which every kid knows. So our hope is that when kids are washing their hands they will sing the song and take the suggested time to properly clean their hands.  We also are trying to improve the little nuts and bolts that we come across with during the game.