This is a game about the realities of living with HIV

[Mrmojorisin]

Has anyone seen this?? I find it kinda odd. Now mind you, I am not a gamer in any way shape or form. My kids have had game consoles since they were little and I can count on one hand the number of times I have played. But I am having a difficult time believing that a video game can somehow put one person in the shoes of another.


http://www.engadget.com/2014/12/23/im-positive-hiv-game/?ncid=rss_truncated

[mecch]

It's the idea that, no, I haven't signed up for the Affordable Care Act yet because I've been too busy and I don't have a general practitioner as a result. It's me thinking, hey I'm a pretty smart guy, how in the hell would I use a condom incorrectly? It's not that I hate taking pills (well okay, I kind of do), it's that if I missed a day this time the consequences were dire. My risk of spreading HIV and possibly dying of AIDS could increase exponentially because the lack of drugs would cause the HIV bits in my body to increase instead of decrease.[/b]

Having a hard time sorting if the author of the article is ignorant, or if the author is saying his role-playing character is ignorant.  Or whatever.

I find the article annoying as hell.

The game is in very bad taste, in my personal opinion. I think it condescends to young people...  However, it says the CDC is going to research the games effectiveness and if it is effective then why not. Something for everyone. 

Hopefully the ignorance of the article is not reflected in the game's info. CDC eh... Why do I worry its going to say maybe your avatar got HIV from oral sex....   ugh.... 

[Jeff G]

We had a request to post the game on the forum and I went on the record as not wanting it online . I agree its completely inappropriate and insulting to people living with HIV .

Just my humble opinion .

[zach]

fuck no

[Mrmojorisin]

I also found the idea insulting. I think the premise that a video game can put one person in the shoes of another very very off putting.. To think that someone might believe that by playing a game can help them grasp what another person deals with and feels.

[BT65]

It's bullshit. 

[bocker3]

I don't know -- it doesn't do much for me, but it just possibly could get young people to talk about HIV.  I suspect that doesn't happen much at all, so if it can do that, and it is accurate in facts, I think it could serve a purpose for some.  Certainly no need for it on this site, but in some settings, it could actually do some good.

Mike

[leatherman]

besides being exceedingly boring (taking the daily meds by the date on the calendar was ... snooze!), I could see how this could be used educationally to get younger people acclimated to thinking about testing, what the testing procedures are, and HIV 101.

I wouldn't be surprised if the CDC suggested/funded the use of this "game" - especially since it seemed targeted to young men (who an age when playing basketball is the end-all be-all. Cynically, I could also see agencies using this. Rather than actual counseling/education, you could skip valuable DIS (Disease Intervention Specialist) time and just set a testing client, or person you are targeting via an outreach program, down in front of the "game" and hope they learn something.

It's not a very good "game"; but it is definitely an educational tool that could help someone to get a glimpse of some of the challenges HIV poses - testing stress, disclosure, taking daily meds.

Maybe it would be better if you got points  It's hard to be a winner at this game if you earn no points and you end up HIV poz. 

http://gamesforhealth.fi/2nd-games-for-health-finland-event/
ugh. I wonder how boring the nutrition game is? 

[pittman]

THAT'S IT!!!!

I have been wracking my brain trying to find that last minute Christmas gift for the nephew and he's always playing the Xbox.  He'll be so happy to have a new cartridge for his system to play with all his friends. And it's educational too!

It will be such a coup, and I will totally be the "sick" uncle as these kids say these days.

[wolfter]

I went to the game site and surprise, I couldn't figure out how to play it.  It wanted me to save it in my pics files.

[leatherman]

I went to the game site and surprise, I couldn't figure out how to play it.  It wanted me to save it in my pics files.

go to the site http://impositivegame.com/ and download the windows version. Unzip the file and put the folder on your desktop, then run it. The graphics suck, the text sucks (really? is this a 1985 RPG game on a coleco?), and the instructions are limited because the action is limited. "Enter" will speed the text up. (thank god!)

thinking about it a little more, I think their boast ("the realities of living with HIV") is a bit much. It's more about the realities of testing and perhaps the first month of living with HIV.

I'm curious as to what some of the more newbie members think of this. My experience, circa 1980-something, was definitely much different than someone testing poz 2014/15. I wonder how realistic this seems of the experience now.

[zach]

quote from the site leather just linked

"The CDC will be conducting a study on the efficacy of the game in 2015"

What a colossal waste of money. I get that the intent is to engage kids and educate them in some way. It fails to meet that mark. I have kids that play video games. This 2 bit game (multiple intended jokes there) is not something todays sophisticated gamers are going to play.

My 15 yr old can do better than this. It's a lousy execution. I'm not so much offended by it, I just think it sucks so badly that I don't want to be represented by it.

It does not speak to my experience at all.

Pong was more engaging.

Stephen Borden, Ilya Polyakov... FAIL. UGA has higher standards, you could have stretched more. 1.95 million from the NIH?!?! WOW, yall must be laughing straight to the bank over this one.

Yeah, I'm starting to get offended. Shouldn't have stalked them, know too much now. That this is getting national media attention is sad and somewhat laughable.

[humanbean]

Hi, I'm Ilya. I'm one of the creators of the game.

I'm sorry if the game offended you, that certainly wasn't the intent. I can understand why it might, especially with some of the editorial content written about the game.

I don't think the game is a depiction of what it's really like to live with HIV. I think any game of this nature could really only be superficial in the end. Perhaps we could put some sort of disclaimer at the start of the game.

The purpose of the game is to get information and awareness out to people who may not otherwise receive or seek it out.

If you've played the game and have constructive criticism, I would love to hear it. I'm willing to rewrite and add content.

Thanks,
Ilya 

[zach]

shoot some hoops

go get tested

oral swab, confirmation

90 days to produce antibodies

some feel good, somewhat educational stuff about the state of medical care

cheesecake

don't disclose to family until you're ready

take pills

some glossed over points about viral load and cd4 count

winning? (in my best sheen i guess)

go shoot hoops
---------------------

did i miss something? what was that supposed to teach or raise awareness about?

edited to add... i went to uga, and my children attend school in georgia. i sincerely hope that this game as it exists now is never part of their education.

[zach]

And to Jeff and Betty, as both of you have posted here...

This poster is not living with HIV, and is not here in support of a loved one that is.

That is all. I'm going to head back to the shadows, crap like this makes my skin crawl worse than a candida bloom.

Well intentioned maybe, and only the first iteration of work in progress probably. Nevertheless, this feels trivialized.

We're not here to beta-test someones homework project.

[Jeff G]

I never wanted this on the forum but since Mrmojorisin wanted to discuss it I can’t just take it down, I also know that no one has suggested that I do so  . I will move this thread to the Aids activism forum .

[leatherman]

did i miss something? what was that supposed to teach or raise awareness about?

edited to add... i went to uga, and my children attend school in georgia. i sincerely hope that this game as it exists now is never part of their education.

actually some of the CDC approved prevention/treatment interventions (Healthy Relationships; Many men, Many Voices; Focus on Youth https://www.effectiveinterventions.org/en/HighImpactPrevention/Interventions.aspx) have quite a bit of this same basic information as found in this game - just without any graphics and possibly delivered just a bit more boring depending on the facilitator. (I take that back. Healthy Relationships uses movie clips)

This poster is not living with HIV, and is not here in support of a loved one that is.

actually quite a lot of people who do HIV prevention and intervention work are not living with HIV. Matter of fact when I think of it, right now not a single person in my ASO's prevention dpt is HIV positive - but that doesn't mean they can't talk about HIV and the "realities of living with HIV" in their prevention programs at the local high schools and colleges.

We're not here to beta-test someones homework project.

with all the complaints in this thread (which I really don't understand), I wonder who then, if not us, should beta-test this project?

Of course, because of my business and marketing background, I'm a firm believer that every type of intervention/prevention program will produce some positive results. Whether it's a pamphlet, or scare ad, or peer counseling, or simply passing out condoms at a health fair. So while I sure don't expect a "game" like this to amazingly end the HIV epidemic, I don't think there's anything wrong with examining whether a game like this might not educate some younger people and get them to consider the consequences of ending up HIV poz instead of putting themselves at risk

[zach]

actually quite a lot of people who do HIV prevention and intervention work are not living with HIV. Matter of fact when I think of it, right now not a single person in my ASO's prevention dpt is HIV positive - but that doesn't mean they can't talk about HIV and the "realities of living with HIV" in their prevention programs at the local high schools and colleges.

they don't come here to post. this board is for people living with, or supporting a loved one living with

with all the complaints in this thread (which I really don't understand), I wonder who then, if not us, should beta-test this project?

i see your point, and i'll raise the bet... i did play it, a couple times. the game sucks, you said so yourself in more polite language. tested, failed.

my complaints, three of them

1. the incredible amount of money this group of coders has been awarded... i dug a little bit into who they are and what they are doing. i think that money would be much better spent in other ways. 2 million to develop education software to teach biology and this is the product they role?! gotta be kidding me.

2. this is my own little insecurity here leather, neggies coming in here poking around for their own gain, whatever that may be. thats a rant i need to keep contained though, things go south when i start to vent that one

3. i don't play basketball 

Of course, because of my business and marketing background, I'm a firm believer that every type of intervention/prevention program will produce some positive results.

i disagree, waste of time and resources

i'll let it go though, i've soap boxed long enough... i should have stopped at my first post, better yet, not even commented at all... i ignored the sticky note on my screen telling me to shut the hell up

happy holidays yall

[zach]

in the interest of not being a total ass on christmas... i did some further digging, whether or not this particular game was a product of cogent education, or simply that the developers were involved in both projects, is unclear to me. and cogent did develop other games, this wasn't the only one. can't help but notice the other games are much slicker looking.

mea culpa, maybe my indignation at the 2 million grant was misplaced.

i still feel this game trivializes hiv, and makes a mockery of living with it

[BT65]

Ilya, you were ask back in October, by Jeff (administrator) not to pursue this. I found this out by looking at your posting history. You need to stop posting in the forums. I'm just warning you as I'm the only mod up at this time, and I don't like giving someone a time out without talking to another mod.

So, please stop posting. Thanks for your cooperation.

Betty

Edited to add: I am going to lock this now for two reasons:1) to prevent Iilya from posting again, and 2) this is a recipe for disaster.