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Playing computer games and helping others: how can the two possibly intersect? Thanks to the internet they have; several games exist online now that by playing, users can donate funds to various worthy causes. The most famous is freerice.com, a site that offers various educational games in subjects such as vocabulary, geography, literature, math, and chemistry. For every correct answer, 10 grains of rice are donated to the World Food Program, to help feed the hungry.
Now Disney’s getting in on the game. Disney Friends for Change, the company’s arm that tries to get kids involved in volunteer work, has hooked up with the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund and independent group Conservation International to teach others about and get them involved in restoring clean water to the Earth.
They’re doing this with a game on the Disney Go site called “Where’s My Water?” In it users must help Swampy the Alligator take a clean shower. He’s in an underground bathroom, and players must dig a path through the dirt leading an underground deposit of water to his pipes. On the way they must try to free ducks caught in the mud.
Sounds simple enough, right? It is at first. The initial one or two levels are easy; basic pointing, clicking, and dragging in obvious directions to accomplish the task. By the third level, however, I was stymied. I got the clean water to Swampy all right, but I couldn’t figure out how to free the final duck.
“Where’s My Water?” isn’t directly educational like the trivia games on Free Rice, but that might mean it will have wider appeal to younger kids. The site also takes advantage of the fact that users are already there and provides information on the importance of fresh, clean water and what we can do to preserve it (easy things like turning off the water when we brush our teeth and wash dishes). It also has videos of alligators, teaching about one species that relies on fresh water.
Of course because this is a Disney Go site it’s even more interactive than that. Aside from the game most of its features are passive – watch the video, read about the game’s characters, learn how to preserve water – but it also has a “create” feature.
In it we’re prompted to compose a picture of Swampy in the bath with his ducks, but we’re given a blank canvas. Various images of Swampy are provided, but we’re also given paint tools to fill in the world around him.
The DCF is directing this effort to providing fresh water for the environment and the animals that use it, rather than helping to get clean water to people without it, like I first thought. It’s still a worthy cause, one that I’m not surprised Disney is supporting, considering its track record in conservation efforts.
It’s not entirely clear whether or not playing the game directly helps conserve fresh water, like playing on Free Rice directly donates rice. The site says that, “By helping Swampy connect water to his shower, you can connect water to animals in real life,” but it doesn’t specify how. Even if the site does nothing but raise awareness and give kids tips on how to conserve water around the house, it’s performing a good service. You can play the game online here, or follow that link to download the game for mobile devices.
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*(This image by Idea go is licensed by the terms of use on FreeDigitalPhotos.net).