Federal Government Spends $10 Million on Health Games

There are a lot of games that tell a story and create a message for the world to understand. You have PETA's "Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals" which I assume is trying to tell us that killing turkeys is inhumane. You have "Always Sometimes Monsters," which questions human morality. You also have "Spec Ops: The Line," which, unlike other games that glorify war, tells the gritty, disturbing side of the effects of battle.

Well, the federal government has invested $10 million on the development and promotion of two Archimage, Inc. created video games, which are currently not released to the public. These are not your typical recreational video games, however. These games act as a method of fighting obesity by expanding awareness to the dangers of eating poorly and being inactive. The first game, "Escape from Diab," takes place in a nightmare fictional city, where a youth, Deejay, accidentally stumbles upon. The city is full of obese citizens, who do not exercise and eat only junk food. The goal of the game is to escape the clutches of the evil King Etes and the city Diab, using knowledge of nutrition and exercise gained from Deejay's track coach. Along the way, Deejay must also teach his obese friends about healthy eating and exercise, so the team can overcome obstacles and resist tempting foods such as Lard Chips, Creamy Cakes, Butter Breads, and Etes Burgers.

Archimage, Inc. has also developed a second game, "Nanoswarm: Invasion from Inner Space," set in the year 2030. The United States has a female president and, according to the story, life in the US is "almost perfect." However, to make life absolutely "perfect," kids will have to save the world from obesity and type II diabetes. These games have already been tested on 100 children ages 10 - 12. The results are disappointing, but not unexpected: the children tested have increased the amount of vegetables and fruits they consume by 0.67 servings, but physical activity have not increased.

I feel that this is a step in the right direction, but I also feel that health-based games need less narrative and more "vigorous" interaction. Dance Dance Revolution is a great example of a being a game that helped children lose weight. Archimage should definitely consider ideas like DDR when given $10 million to create effective games that aid in the weight loss of overweight children.