Week 5 Post: “Chocolate Covered Broccoli”
Brenda Laurel coined the term “chocolate covered broccoli” in her 2001 book, Utopian Entrepreneur. It’s a phrase that gets thrown around so much in educational research that it’s starting to lose its meaning. But I really thought it was the perfect term for Granic, Lobel, and Engels’ approach to exploring the possibilities for serious health education in games. The broccoli, or information that medical professionals would like to share, is good for players’ health. The chocolate is a fun but unrelated distraction. The final product feels disjointed (if not downright disgusting) leading to little user engagement.
The researchers identify two important factors that might block a success health-related game: first, few of these games are scientifically evaluated. The second is that the experts in the healthcare field are not focused on the fun.
One of the more interesting games that I’ve heard about which deals with mental health in a conceptual way is Minority Media’s Papo & Yo. The active role is that of a young boy in a Brazilian slum who escapes his abusive alcoholic father. He meets a character called Monster, who is at first helpful and friendly, but he hides an addiction. If he eats a frog, Monster turns into an uncontrollable creature and the boy is forced to find a rotten fruit that will temporarily cure Monster. The gameplay is sparse, devoid of puzzles and the usual stream of villains to be defeated. Perhaps this game is not fun in the traditional sense, but it’s an engaging experience about the feeling of love and loss. There is no clear solution. The young boy must deal with this split personality and eventually leaves his friend when he realizes he cannot help Monster.
Papo & Yo received a great deal of praise upon its release in 2012. The creator of the game, Vander Caballero, was inspired by experiences from his own childhood. This personal element is the missing piece to creating a game that effectively teaches a lesson about mental health. In this case, that the player is not alone in his or her struggle. The game must have a place in reality, drawn from the actual stories of those who’ve dealt with mental illness. By leveraging the skills of a talented designer with life experiences, mental health professionals may be able to create a game that accomplishes their lofty goals of both educating and entertaining.
