For Release: May 19, 1995
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS TEAMS WITH RAYA SYSTEMS TO LAUNCH HEALTH EDUCATION VIDEO GAMES SERIES
CHICAGO--The American Academy of Pediatrics(AAP) announced that it has endorsed two new interactive video games designed to teach school-aged children and adolescents how to manage chronic illnesses and improve health habits. Bronkie the BronchiasaurusÆ offers children a fun way to learn about asthma. Packy & MarlonTM helps children learn about diabetes self-care.
As a result of a recent agreement with Raya Systems, an educational software publisher based in Mountain View, California, the AAP will review games from the Health HeroTM series for medical accuracy and help distribute them to pediatricians and parents. AAP member physicians will help Rays Systems identify the pediatric health issues best suited for future educational video games and will provide medical information for the games.
"The key to improving health in America is teaching people how to live healthier lives. To be successful, we have to start with children and use the methods that they respond to," said AAP President George Comerci, MD, FAAP. "The idea of using popular video games to promote child and adolescent health is long overdue. We are pleased to work with Raya Systems in this important mission."
Norman Sherry, MD, FAAP, member of the AAP Committee on Communications helped review the video games for the AAP, He commented, "Every pediatrician knows how enthralled kids are with video games. Using them to promote health is one of the most exciting things I have seen in pediatrics in a long time."
Raya Systems is the first video game publisher to create interactive entertainment products designed to promote child and adolescent health. "The Health Hero video game series is our first step in creating an interactive television network dedicated to health improvement," said Steve Brown, President of Raya Systems. "As cable and phone companies introduce new interactive services for the home, we will be ready with health programming proven to make a difference in the lives of families."
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 48,000 pediatricians dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.
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Bronkie the Bronchiasaurus is the newest action-adventure video game in the Health HeroTM series of patient education and health promotion games for children and teens. With its appealing characters, graphics, and game play, Bronkie is an engaging game that teaches asthma self-management to kids ages 7 to 15. The game can be played in English or Spanish and includes a two-player option.
Story line
The main characters are Bronkie the Bronchiasaurus and Trakie the Tracheratops, two
dinosaurs with asthma who take players on 25 levels of role-playing and decision-making
fun.
The game is set in prehistoric San Saurian, where meteors struck, creating noxious clouds of dust. To survive the disaster, the inhabitants of San Saurian developed a mighty wind machine to clear the dust from the air. The story begins when the greedy Tyrantosaurus Rexo takes over San Saurian by stealing the core of the machine and orders his dinothugs to scatter the machine parts all over San Saurian. As dust clouds return, Bronkie and Trakie must hurry to find the parts, put them together, and make the wind machine work again.
Traveling throughout San Saurian's city, lake, jungle, sky, canyon, and caves, the two dinosaurs must fend off dinothugs, outsmart dinobosses, and manage their asthma carefully. They must avoid the many asthma triggers they encounter along the way and make sure their peak flow stays high. Only then can the heroes use their strongest defenseóthe powerful breath blast.
Learning experience
Bronkie the Bronchiasaurus challenges players to manage Bronkie's and Trakie's
asthma. On their asthma adventure players learn about:
Asthma questions pop up when Bronkie or Trakie bump into one of the Helper characters. Players who answer a question correctly receive assistance with navigation, such as a free ride over a deep chasm, or they receive a machine piece that is essential to win the game. Players who answer a question incorrectly must find the Knowallosaur, Hazel, who gives them the information they need to come up with the right answer next time.
The biggest challenge in the game is to stay away from the many asthma triggers that surprise the dinosaurs along the way. Players must make sure Bronkie and Trakie do not bump into anything that will lower their peak flow, including the ubiquitous Sneezers who spray virus-laden sneeze droplets that make the dinosaurs catch a cold.
Stoplights at the top of the screen show the current peak flow for each dinosaur. A green light signals that peak flow is fine, yellow indicates that peak flow has dropped a few notches and emergency medication is advised, and red means peak flow is so low that Bronkie or Trakie must use emergency medication or call for help. As peak flow goes down, the dinosaurs start to cough and the picture gradually darkens until it is impossible for players to see the game.
To manage the dinosaurs asthma, players can pull up the Asthma Management screen and choose among several options: test peak flow, use an emergency inhaler, follow the sick day plan, or call for help (a choice available only when peak flow is in the red zone). The game keeps track of all the choices the player has made and displays them in the Asthma Record that appears at the end of each adventure level.
Players earn points for answering questions about asthma correctly. To receive a special bonus, players must manage Bronkie or Trakie's asthma perfectly by avoiding all asthma triggers, keeping peak flow constantly in the green zone, and answering asthma questions correctly the first time.
5/95
Packy & MarlonTM, a Super Nintendo video game for ages 8 to 15, features two elephant pals and their escapades at diabetes summer camp. It is the newest addition to the Health HeroTM series of health education video games from Raya Systems. With all the fun of an action-adventure entertainment game, Packy & Marlon helps players learn about diabetes self-care and how to deal with social situations that often confront young people with diabetes. The game can be played by one or two players and they can choose to play it in English, Spanish, or French.
Story line
Camp Wa-kee is the hottest diabetes summer camp ever. Determined to have a great time, Packy and Marlon head
out to camp. However, when they arrive there's no sign of the usual activities. No games. No sports. No
nothing!
Upon further exploration, they discover that bands of pesky rats and mice have attacked camp, scattered food all over the campground, and hidden the diabetes supplies. Left with no food and supplies there's only one thing the pals can do. They must find the food and diabetes supplies they need before things get even worse!
In their quest to save Camp Wa-kee, the elephant buddies walk, climb, swim, or duck their way through forests, lakes, rivers, mountains, playgrounds, and deserted buildings. Packy and Marlon must remember to manage their diabetes carefully along the way and fend off malicious attacking rodents with blasts of water and peanuts.
Learning experience
Packy and Marlon's adventure at Camp Wa-kee takes four game days, each day reflecting a typical diabetes meal
plan from breakfast to bedtime snack. Players must manage the elephants' diabetes so they stay healthy and are
able to save camp. On their mission players:
Players must check Packy and Marlon's blood glucose level seven times a day. Their blood glucose is affected by what they eat and how much insulin they take. Players earn points for keeping the elephants' blood glucose within a normal zone and the more times in a row they do, the bigger the bonus.
At the beginning of each adventure level is a menu of foods for Packy and Marlon's next meal or snack. Players must carefully review the menu to know what foods to select or food exchanges to substitute, in the upcoming adventure level. Players can choose foods from all food groups: bread, fruit, meat, milk, vegetable, and fat.
A color-coded information bar at the top of the screen tells players how many foods they have selected within each food group and whether they have eaten the right amount. A yellow number shows players that they can select more foods in that food group. A green number means they have selected just the right amount of food. A red number warns players that they have selected too many foods. To help players make smart food choices, players can pull up, at any time, a Food Chart listing the food groups for each food that appears in the game.
To find out how well players have managed Packy and Marlon's diabetes, they can review a Logbook whenever they wish during the game. For the current game day the Logbook shows a record of Packy and Marlon's blood glucose levels, amount of insulin taken, and the number of foods that were eaten from each food group. The Logbook presents the same kinds of information that children with diabetes are often asked to record each day in a notebook for their doctor to review during routine visits.
The game provides challenging questions about diabetes in each adventure level. The questions pop up when the elephants bump into friendly characters along their way. Players earn points for answering questions correctly and every time they answer three questions correctly they win extra time to complete the adventure level.
To win Packy & Marlon it's not enough for players to demonstrate superior game play such as finding the diabetes supplies; taking advantage of power-ups and pick-ups; being clever about finding their way in each adventure level; avoiding obstacles like a spike, crab, or cactus; and defeating the ultimate boss. Players must also carefully manage Packy and Marlon's diabetes by helping the heroes monitor their blood glucose, take the right amount of insulin, and eat a healthy and balanced diet along the way.
The primary objective of Rex Ronan--Experimental SurgeonTM is to deter young people from smoking by giving them vital information about the dangers of tobacco use in a format that they're so familiar withóvideo games.
The game story
Jake Westboro considered himself a lucky man. He had it all, a loving wife, a
fancy sports car, and a great sales career with Blackburn Tobacco Company. But
years of smoking have caught up with him. As Dr. Rex Ronan, players shrink to
microscopic size and travel Jake's body to hunt down his lung cancer and
impending heart attack with high-tech laser surgery. Players follow the path of
smoke and nicotine and blast away tar, plaque, phlegm and cancerous cells. The
most difficult complication of all awaits in the brainónicotine addiction.
Smartbombs ahead!
On their journey through Jake's body, players encounter Smart Bombs to test
their knowledge about tobacco use. Each time they activate a Smart Bomb, a true
or false statement regarding tobacco use is displayed . Players must make quick
decisions and correct responses are rewarded with the superior tools needed to
cure Jake of his nicotine addiction and win the game.