[GUEST POST] First Responders

Linus Lee

TJC Student

Introduction

First Responders is a fun and informative game where players can test their knowledge on certain life-saving skills and prove themselves to be a true first responder!

Brainstorming

We were given a list of topics to choose from such as healthcare, retail and travel. I chose healthcare as it seemed like a very interesting and important topic to work on. I could also really see the difficulty that comes with this topic. However, after researching, I realised that it was quite simple once you understand it. So, I wanted to give players an easy way to understand the topic with a simplified version of the concepts I researched on.

I was inspired by a video that was made by SCDF in collaboration with SGAG, a Singaporean Youtube group, to create a game called “Emergency or Not” which is also one of the topics that I have created for my game.

After further research, I realised that this skill is very important to save a life. In a SCDF article, it is stated that, each year, about 10% of 995 calls are non-emergencies, an average of 50 calls a day. These calls could have delayed SCDF’s response to life-threatening emergencies, where every second counts. And you do not have to be certified or have professional training to use this skill which shows that everybody can be a first responder.

Desired outcome and Target Audience

Through this game, I aim to test players on the skill of telling the difference between an emergency and a non-emergency. I also wish to test players on their knowledge of the procedures required in certain life-threatening situations.

This game can also act as an educational platform to inform those who are not as educated on the topic.

My target audience are those who are interested in learning about such life-saving skills. This game can also be used to create a more informed society on life-saving skills in a fun and engaging way.

Game Features

Emergency or Not is the first section of the game where players are quizzed on whether they can tell the difference between an emergency and a non-emergency. This is the focus of my game. This is a very important skill one should have as it can help save a life by preventing delay in SCDF’s response to life threatening emergencies. However, it does require professional training for someone to properly execute this skill, they just need to know how to differentiate between an emergency and a non-emergency. And that is where this challenge comes in.

Whether you get the right answer or not, a short and bite-sized paragraph is shown to players, telling them why the situation is an emergency or not. This will educate players on examples on what an emergency or a non-emergency is. With this knowledge, players can properly gauge whether a situation is an emergency or not if they were placed in a similar situation in real life.

First Aid is the next section of the game where players are tested on their knowledge of the procedures required to be executed in certain life-threatening situations. Players are placed in different scenarios and questions are asked based on the life-threatening situation that is given to the player.

Interesting and educational bits of information are also shown to players after they answer the questions, just like for Emergency or Not. As the information given is summarised and bite-sized, players are able to easily grasp and internalise the information given.

The First Responders Trivia is the last section of the game. It is used as the final trial to see if players have learnt from the first two sections and have become Ace First Responders. This is just a fun challenge for players to test out their skills and knowledge and to see if they have really internalised and understood the information learnt before.

Game Features

I have added a confirmation challenge at the start of Emergency or Not to act as a How to Play screen. This is an optional challenge that players have to complete as it is more for those who are not as familiar with games and may have trouble finding their way through the platform. As I felt this section is more difficult to understand than the other two sections, I only added this to Emergency or Not.

I have also added a flashcard at the end of the Emergency or Not section to inform players on why the skill of differentiating between an emergency and a non-emergency is very important.

As my game is mainly question based, the main challenge I implemented into my game is the quiz challenge. As most of the sections act like quizzes or trivia games, the quiz challenge was perfect in implementing my ideas and concepts into the game.

I have also added websites from my research into certain parts of the game. As most of the information given to the players after attempting the different challenges is summarised and watered down versions of the original source, if players are interested in finding out more or just wanted to refer to a more elaborated version of the information in the websites embedded into the game, which is one of the interesting features available on the gametize platform.

Achievements and Rewards

The achievements given help to encourage players to complete the challenges or get all the answers correct. As most achievements are only obtained once the player completes a certain section or obtains a certain number of points, they act as milestones that players can see to track their progress.

I have also added a reward that players can claim once they complete the game, which is a CPR certification lesson. This allows players who are very interested in the topic to further their passion and interest.

In addition to this, I have added a flashcard at the end of the First Responders Trivia to encourage players to claim the reward in the rewards tab. Disclaimer: The reward is only a placeholder and cannot be claimed as this is a demo game.

A Challenge and a Learning Experience

One of the challenges was that some of the websites that I tried to embed into the challenges and flashcards were not responding and could not be embedded. This initially hindered my progress in the game.

However, this problem was quickly resolved as I found a work around by placing the URLs in the flashcard or challenge descriptions so that players are still able to access the websites.

Even though this project came with its challenges, it also gave me a fruitful learning experience. As I personally was not well-informed about the topic of healthcare, I had to do a lot of research about the topic for this particular project. So, after the whole experience, I became more informed about such life-saving skills, which I would also like to do the same for the players in this fun and engaging way.

Conclusion

Therefore, I hope that through this game, players are able to become more informed and educated about such valuable life-saving skills through fun and engaging means such as this game.

So, do you think you can save a life? Test your skills and learn a bit or two in the First Responders!
https://gametize.com/firstresponders