Winning a Battle

“ I wish to create a cancer-fighting video game.” Ben , age 9
The objective of Ben's game is to destroy all mutated cells and to collect the seven shields that provide protection from common side effects of chemotherapy. Each shield is also guarded by a monster who generated mutated cells.
• Colds - Iceman Monster
• Barf – Robarf Monster
• Chicken Pox –Big Chicken Monster
• Fever - Firemonster
• Bleeding – Vamp Monster
• Hair Loss – Qball Monster
• Rash – Tornado Monster
Three health levels serve as ammunition in the game:
• Health you get from the hospital
• Ammo you get from the pharmacy
• Attitude you get from home

When first playing this game I was really confused and had no idea how to get started. I kept on escaping the game and going back and reading the directions. After I got a basic understanding on how to play the game, and all I wanted to do was kill the monsters and get the shields. I made my cousin come play the game, and she kept screaming in anger that she couldn't kill the monsters. We both found it astonishing, how such a young kid like Ben could create a game about cancer and the effects it has on your body into one animated game. Ben was able to create a video game to help other kids endure their cancer treatments.By creating this computer game, it helped Ben think about something positive to help others kids as well as himself battle their illnesses. Ben's game has helped thousands of children across the world, and has been translated into nine different languages. When doing some research on Ben's game I came across a really intriguing article about the effects of video games on children in the Washington Post.