UK Government Encourages Social Distancing With In-Game Health Messages (cnet.com) 20
To help slow the spread of the coronavirus, the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is using advertisements in mobile games to encourage social distancing. CNET reports: The message "Stay Home. Save Lives" has begun to appear in popular games like Candy Crush Saga, Sniper Elite 4, Dirt Rally 2.0 and Farm Heroes. The DCMS teamed up with leading gaming companies in the UK like King Games, Rebellion and Codemasters to include the messages, with the help of geotargeting technology. "It is absolutely vital that we all follow the simple government advice to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives. I'm delighted to see the UK's brilliant video games industry stepping up to strongly reinforce this message to gamers across the UK," Cultural Secretary Oliver Dowden said in a release Monday.
Not enough! (Score:2)
Add geotagging so that leaving your house makes you lose all your in-game currency, gear, high scores or whatever.
Re: (Score:2)
Are there really THAT many people that haven't gotten the word yet to do this?
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There's a difference between getting the word and actually following it. Most people are idiots and only act with a carrot/stick system.
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Wow.
Around me...I've not seen really much risky behavior.
People stay apart when shopping for food, etc...
The roads are largely free of traffic, and about the only times I seem people are when they are out riding bikes, or walking/jogging for exercise and even then, folks stay safely apart from each other when they pass, etc.....
I find Unreal Tournament an effective reminder (Score:4, Funny)
KILL
DOUBLE KILL
MULTI KILL
MEGA KILL
ULTRA KILL
UNSTOPPABLE
On second thought, think I'll switch to SpellForce 3.
Hmm... that ended up being darker than intended.
Re: I find Unreal Tournament an effective reminder (Score:1)
My ingame name is Covid-19 now.
"Gotta catch em all! *KERBLAM* [gibs flying]"
If this epidemic is over, I'm switching back to BulbonicEbolaPlague.
P.S.: Missed opportunity: (Score:1)
* "Gotta ketchup all! ... [blood spraying] ... "
Big brother is watching (Score:2)
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Oh please, as if it's ever going to happen [youtube.com].
Re: Big brother is watching (Score:1)
It is already mostly the case.
Please stop (Score:2)
"Teamed up" = "spent taxpayer money that could have been used on actual public health on useless advertisements instead". Please stop.
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Experienced WOW players are already well aware of how fast an infection can race through a population [wikipedia.org].
I applaud the move but.. (Score:2, Troll)
If done in a way that effectively spreads awareness and isn't annoying (like many other ads), i think this is at least interesting if not an all good thing.
But depending on how aggressive or the content of the messages could also lead to anxiety and declining mental health to our youngsters (being mode of delivery is throu games)
I know we need a universal stance, but at what point should the responsibility lie with us parents in educating social responsibility and the safeguarding of our children?
Just a tho
Physical Distancing (Score:2)
I've been wondering why it's being called 'social distancing' when we are physically distancing ourselves from each other?
Surely our capacity to be social is needed more than ever.
You mean *physical* distancing! (Score:1)
Or do you want them to stop socializing in-game?
Humans need social interaction as essentially an sunlight and taking a walk and having some goal and something to do and almost as much as sleep.
Babies can literally die from it. (And they prove that some physical contact is necessary too.)
There is no reason to distance socially. Only physically. And only as much as necessary, to prevent it itself from causing health problems.
communication channels (Score:2)
what is interesting is the fact that games have now become just another communication channel, just as (news)papers, radio, tv and internet was before it.
There's lso at least one new Corona Virus game... (Score:1)