About The Transaid Challenge
What does it look like?
A 4x4 type vehicle, viewed from above, is controlled using the cursor keys on a computer keyboard. The player takes the role of an African health service worker, delivering health supplies and services to villages in their 4x4. They set off from a health centre and have to follow a blue arrow to reach their destination to make the delivery and pick up their next job. The terrain is dusty and rural, with some tarmac roads and some dirt tracks, with health centres (marked with a Transaid logo), huts and trees by the side of the road or track. Players can also choose to drive off road over the dusty ground but the rougher the terrain, the slower they travel. Players have to avoid obstacles in the road – rockfalls, abaondoned vehicles and lorries that have shed their loads. At the bottom of the screen players keep track of their fuel, via a fuel guage, speed and the condition of their vehicle through five engine, battery, water, electrics and oil warning lights. The fuel runs down as time goes by and, once the fuel runs out, the game ends. Each time a player crashes into something, one of their warning lights comes on and once all five have come on the game ends.
A rolling ticker at the bottom of the screen gives instructions on the job in hand. Jobs are to take a midwife to an emergency delivery, to pick up nurses from the village and take them to work, to take a seriously ill TB patient for emergency treatment, to take villagers to their weekly clinic and to deliver drugs and care to HIV & AIDS patients. The ticker also gives players information about the obstacles you face in the road.
A score counter is running up all the time, and players get bonus points when they make a delivery.
Once the player makes a delivery, they have to follow the arrow back to the health centre to pick up a fuel can which gives them more fuel and time.
What are we trying to show?
The game is designed to raise awareness about the everyday reality of delivering health services across great distances in rural areas of Africa. Driving from clinics to villages presents tough road conditions and so health workers are also required to be skilled drivers who plan their routes carefully and take care of their vehicles. When the player completes a delivery this represents people being reached with essential medical care which they would otherwise have no access to. Efficiency is the goal in the game, not speed. The vehicle must be kept in good condition to get a high score and the more villages reached, the more bonus points are earned. There is more than one route to the delivery site, emphasising the value of route planning. The challenge also demonstrates the many roles that a health service vehicle has to play, from delivering supllies to providing transport for nurses to get to work to acting as an ambulance.
Details of Prize: Signing up for the E-newsletter
At the end of the game your score is tallied and you can enter your name to be in the hi-score list. At this point you are given an option to sign up for the Transaid e-newsletter and, if you sign up before 30th September and are a UK resident, you are eligible for one of two fantastic prizes – a pair of Barclays Premiership tickets or a stay for two at the exclusive five star Waldorf Hilton Hotel in London.
It is not necessary to play The Transaid Challenge to enter the draw. You just need to fill in the form here, or call us on +44 (0) 20 7387 8136 with your details and we will sign you up.
