Disaster preparedness project had gamers focused on results

A project in Pambula has shown great results in disaster preparedness and learning engagement.

It follows a similar project at Eden Marine High School in August.

A team of creators and designers have guided four youth members of the Pambula Beach Flexible Learning Centre as they built a game that could help save lives.

Not only were the four students focused and engaged in the project, they were under pressure to produce the games in a limited time.

In a test of will and reflexes Occy Schofield, Hunter Douglas, Zane McKeen and Israel Manton, students of Pambula Beach Flexible Learning Centre, teamed up with graphic designer Jake Dempsey and game developer William Sharples, with creative direction from Carol Ahern.

"They have made something to be truly proud of," Jake who is youth project coordintator at the Eden Community Access Centre, said.

With only a dozen hours to complete it, the team of local talent has created a real life video game that answers questions of what to do during a bushfire or a house fire, something that when it happens can be .

'Timmy's Burnt Burger Adventure' challenges the players to cook a burger in Timmy's house which inevitably catches on fire.

Surrounded by fire safety messaging, players use the fire extinguisher to put out all of the fires to win the game.

The trick is, there are 100 fires on the map and only 150 bullets (water balls) to shoot from the fire extinguisher. But the pressure is on as the game moves through Advice Level, to Watch and Act and onto Emergency Level in as little as two minutes.

It means players must act fast and not wait until it is too late.

"Every part of the game was designed and orchestrated by students of the Pambula Beach Flexible Learning Centre," Jake said.

Acting assistant principal at the Pambula Beach Flexible Learning Centre said he had never seen those students so focused on any other project.

"This is a youth led project, teaching resilience and defiance in the face of adversity," he said.

"Youth of today really connect with all things digital and the holy grail under this digital fountain of youth are video games.

"We have tapped into an endless level of focus and engagement that our youth have with technology and learnt that if we dangle the carrot of creating your own video game, we can get young people to engage subliminally in learning important other life skills like bushfire safety and disaster preparedness," Mr Card said.

"The project has enabled young people to build skills and knowledge in disaster preparedness whilst building their digital literacy skills in graphic design and coding.

"The finished game is targeted at youth, so when their peers play the game, it builds their knowledge in disaster preparedness and recovery too," Mr Card said.

Project leaders thanked the local RFS, the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR), Regional NSW, Eden Community Access Centre and Eden Game Development centre for their assistance.