A mobile game created at Dalhousie University aims to educate youth in Africa about sexually transmitted diseases.
STD Pong is modelled after the legendary arcade game, but uses an African storyline and characters to teach youth about nine different sexually transmitted diseases and how people can practise safe sex.
The game is the brainchild of Rita Orji, a computer science professor originally from Nigeria. One of her research interests is how technology can be used to improve people’s health and wellness.
“I really like to design things that help to improve things in people’s lives,” she said. “And things like STDs, HIV and related diseases are a very big problem in Africa.”
According to a 2016 UNESCO document, upper secondary school completion rates in West and Central Africa are only 35 per cent for boys and 25 per cent for girls, which contributes to children and young people’s poor access to quality sex education.
Besides King Aids, there are eight evil henchmen — or eight sexually transmitted diseases — that must be defeated in STD Pong. (Submitted by Chinenye Ndulue)
“There are many reasons for this, including resistance from parents, teachers or decision makers resulting from misunderstandings about the nature, purpose and effects of sexuality education,” says the document.
It adds that “major barriers in the successful implementation of CSE [comprehensive sexuality education] programmes stem from shortcomings in sector-wide analysis and planning, teaching and learning, learning environments and coordination between sectors.”
Because of these issues, how youth learn about sexuality is framed often by what they learn from people around them, said Orji.
The use of African characters and an African storyline helps the target audience connect with the game, say its creators. (Richard Woodbury/CBC)
“Basically, people get to learn a lot about it by talking to their peers, friends and stuff like that,” she said. “And unfortunately, most times the information they get is not real.”
The game is like a traditional game of Pong, except the character in the game does battle with King Aids and his eight evil henchmen, which are all different sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV, syphilis, chlamydia and herpes.
As the player goes up against the diseases, “player power-ups” such as condom use, blood tests and abstinence from sex improve how they play the game. On the flip side, “STD bullets” that come in the form of unprotected sex and using unsterilized sharp objects have a negative impact on their health.
Each new level presents a more complex sexually transmitted disease to battle, culminating in a tilt against the final boss — King Aids.
During each level, players can get ‘power-ups’ like blood tests to improve their play, or worsen by taking an ‘STD bullet’ like unprotected sex. (Submitted by Chinenye Ndulue)
Once a level is completed, the user is presented with details about that specific sexually transmitted disease, such as symptoms and means of prevention.
Chinenye Ndulue, a Dalhousie master’s of computer science student, built the game.
Originally from Nigeria, Ndulue said the decision to use an Android platform was made because Android devices are more popular than Apple ones in Africa.
“What we did was to develop something that youth will be able to use on their phones and learn about STDs while enjoying themselves, so you play the game and also get to learn about those things the right way, instead of getting information the wrong way,” he said.
When players complete a level, they receive information about a sexually transmitted disease. (Submitted by Chinenye Ndulue)
He said it’s been a rewarding project to work on.
“Combining these two things, making games and also affecting people’s lives and the way they live their lives, it’s two things you want coming together,” said Ndulue.
The game is in the testing phase. The hope is to release it for free by the end of the year.
Orji said they’re looking for funding to do research to look at the impact the game has on users’ attitudes, beliefs and behaviours.