"IITM Covid Game" an online game developed by students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras to spread awareness among the general public, especially children, on the importance of following precautions set by the government to protect and save themselves against coronavirus. It is available in several Indian languages.
One can access the IITM Covid Game from the home page of www.letsplaytolearn.com, it is also available on the website of IIT Madras under https://dost.iitm.ac.in/iitmdost/pages/game-corner.
To play the IITM Covid Game one needs devices like personal computers, laptops, tablets and mobile phones as it is a browser-based game.
According to a statement issued by IIT Madras, this game has been created by the students of the institute who took a nine-credit elective course called ‘Let’s Play To Learn’ offered during the January-May 2020 semester. As part of the elective course -- Let’s Play To Learn -- students were taught game-based learning tools and techniques.
Professor Preeti Aghalayam, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Madras, and Mr Kartic Vaidyanathan, Founder, Let's Play To Learn and an IIT Madras Alumnus (BTech -- Mechanical Engineering, 1996), were the co-facilitators for this general elective course.
The popular and most loved game amongst the gamers - 'Super Mario' has been the inspiration behind this digital new-age game.
The game is available in languages like Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu, besides English. The developers of the game also plan to make the game available in more regional languages in the future so that it can reach as many people as possible.
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Underlining the unique elements of this game-based strategy to create awareness about the ongoing pandemic, professor Aghalayam said: “The full credit for this game goes to our students. It is a matter of great pride for me that they conceived this, at a time when the world was reeling under the pandemic. The IITM Covid game is a small but very meaningful and engaging contribution, and it clearly exhibits how thoughtful and aware our students are!”
The IIT Madras statement issued in this regard said, “The students who took the course ‘Let’s Play To Learn’ team felt the need to not only spread awareness but also convey the message in a fun-filled method, applying their learnings in this elective. The game takes inspiration from the famous ‘Super Mario’ game and consists of a character who encounters various right things – like masks, washing hands and also encounters things to be avoided – like hugs, handshakes. As the character does the right things, points keep getting added. If the character fails to avoid a wrong thing, points get deducted to highlight the consequence. The game goes on for 1 minute and the players should aim for maximum points.”