Students at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras have developed a digital game “IITM Covid Game” to create awareness among the general public, particularly children, on the importance of following COVID-19 protocols.

The game is browser-based and can be played on any device, including personal computers, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones, among others, as per the IIT Madras' official release.

The students have also translated the game to several Indian regional languages to push its reach, including Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, among others. The students intend to introduce more regional languages going forward.

This game was created by students who took a nine-credit elective course called ‘Let’s Play to Learn’ offered during the January-May 2020 semester, during which students were taught game-based learning tools and techniques.

Highlighting the unique aspects of this game-based approach to creating awareness, Preeti Aghalayam, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Madras, said in a statement: “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.”

She added: “The IIT-M Covid game is a small but very meaningful & engaging contribution, and it clearly exhibits how thoughtful and aware our students are!”

The game is inspired by the famous ‘Super Mario’ game and has a character who has to abide by the Covid-19 protocols, such as the use of masks and sanitizers, etc. to gain points.

If the character fails to follow the protocols, points will be deducted to highlight the consequence.

The game is available free of cost and can be played from the home page of www.letsplaytolearn.com . It is also available in the website of IIT Madras under https://dost.iitm.ac.in/iitmdost/pages/game-corner

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