Swab! Test!
Jab! (2021)
Description: Play as a healthcare professional who will administer COVID-19 tests and vaccines to their patients!
Organization/School: Murdoch University
Project Team Size: 3 people.
Duration: 3 months.
Roles I worked: Lead Level Designer, Lead Game Designer, Lead Programmer, Gameplay Programmer, Video Editor
Programs Used: Unity 3D, Adobe Photoshop, Maya LT
How did Swab! Test! Jab! come about?
Swab! Test! Jab! is a school project at Murdoch University which was part of the ICT288 unit group assignment requirement, we are given a theme of "Serious Games" and among our group,
so we thought of a medical simulation game that simulates a COVID-19 testing and vaccination room in the eyes and hands of a healthcare professional and to be played in first-person perspective, and inspired by games such as Surgeon Simulator, and Full Code: Medical Simulation.
Due to the current global situation when facing the pandemic that is COVID-19 during this game’s development timeline, there will be a lot of people who will be in training for either professional healthcare work or volunteering to aid in this line of work. As such, this game was conceptualized and developed. It also has to be on WebXR ready to be available online.
As there is a disparity in technical skills in game development among my group as my unit has students that came from other degree majors and also it suppose to be an entry-level unit, I took the opportunities in multiple roles as Lead Level Designer, Lead Game Designer, 3D Modeler, and Lead Programmer to keep the project on track within the skill level we have in the group.
Swab! Test! Jab! Promotional Video
Swab! Test! Jab! Snapshot of game scene
What I did for level design:
As for the level design, I used royalty-free assets which is a ready-made medical room model to block out the level in Unity 3D to come out how the player is going to traverse the game level.
The flow of the gameplay goes like this:
1. Player will start off playing a minigame related to personal hygiene like donning the mask, gloves, face mask and medical gown like a healthcare professional.
2. In the first room, players will need to perform a nasal swab test on a dummy patient.
3. In the second room, players will need to perform a COVID-19 test using the rapid test kit.
4. In the third room, players will need to administer a COVID-19 vaccine, following steps to prepare for the vaccination.
5. Follow by injecting the vaccine onto the dummy patient.
To conclude:
As a game which is based on the theme "Serious Games", our group intention is to allow the player to know/understand being a healthcare professional, understanding the process of personal hygiene to administering a vaccine. During the current global situation when facing the pandemic, healthcare professionals often have to repeat the same process over and over again portrayed by the game, in order to let non-healthcare professionals know what is going on behind the scenes and respect them for what they did for us.