Turning Gaming into Action: How one site is educating the public on COVID-19

Several of the games created for Koji’s COVID-19 Campaign

Koji, an app-developing website that encourages people of all technological levels to get creative with coding and game development, has recently launched a campaign to help spread awareness of COVID-19 safety measures. After the UN’s brief to all creatives, Koji’s site called for amateur developers to use the available app templates to design games that strive to promote vital information regarding the current pandemic, with at least one of the following key messages being expressed in the game:

• Personal Hygiene
• Physical Distancing
• Symptoms
• Kindness Contagion
• Myth Busting
• Donations

Once a designer completes their Koji game title, they can instantly share the game to social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, allowing anyone in the world to engage with and learn from their creation. Since its launch, the site has received over 100 socially-interactive games created by community members towards the cause, with game titles ranging from “Sanitizer Slide” to “The COVID-19 Table Wipe-Down.” Some games have already generated well over 200,000 plays to date.

Koji relates its effect on the public to that of Youtube’s; where Youtube gives anyone and everyone access to engage in videography, Koji democratizes the field of coding so that those interested can engage in app development. The idea of applying this platform to aid a greater cause like COVID-19, a virus that is affecting everyone across the globe, is an extraordinary example of how we can utilize social media to spread awareness and help one another. At a time when social media use is at an all-time high, but speculations about its validation and motive are also soaring, a campaign like Koji’s reminds us that the bettering of people always comes out on top.