Students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras have developed a digital game to create awareness, particularly among children, on the importance of following government-announced precautions to protect themselves against COVID-19.
The browser-based game can be played on any device, including personal computers, laptops, tablets and mobile phones. It can be played at www.letsplaytolearn.com for free. It is also available at https://dost.iitm.ac.in/iitmdost/pages/game-corner .
The inspiration for the game came from the popular game Super Mario. In the one-minute COVID-19 game, students must do the right things to earn maximum points.
The student team tested the prototype among different audiences and based on their feedback, has translated the game into 12 languages apart from English. The students plan to translate the game into more regional languages as well.
The students took a nine-credit elective course called ‘Let’s Play to Learn’ offered between January and May to create the game. The co-facilitators of the game were Preeti Aghalayam, a faculty in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Kartic Vaidyanathan, founder of LetsPlayToLearn and an alumnus of the B.Tech mechanical engineering batch of 1996.
Ms. Aghalayam credited the students with creating the game. She said the students had conceived the game while the pandemic was raging. “The IIT-M Covid game is a small but meaningful and engaging contribution and exhibits how thoughtful and aware our students are,” she said.
Mr. Kartic said the students applied concepts and created game design prototypes that are relevant for science and engineering courses. These include aircraft design, tissue engineering, circuits, buildings and structures.
