No doubt! Eating healthy food is one of the most difficult things for kids. Say we are serving salads and snacks in front of them. Indeed, they will directly choose the snacks instead of the salads.
Then, I played a game entitled Food Run by www.culinaryschools.org. Now, I want to share my comments and experience after playing this game. I also want to give an opinion on whether this game will be effective enough to affect kids to eat healthy food or not.
About Food Run Game
You are about to see a young man running once pushing the play button. Just like the title of the game, you are about to act as the young man in the game. Your job is to direct the man to run while catching fruits. At the same time, you also have to avoid junk food.
Be careful with the running track. Sometimes, you have to pass through gaps while running. Double-click to jump higher to prevent you from falling into the gap. Falling means the game is over. Click the try again button to start the Food Run over again.
The Unique Things I Found in This Game
I found several unique things after playing Food Run several times. This uniqueness can be something that attracts kids or even adults to play this game. They may even be addicted to this game. In the end, it may change their habit from eating junk foods to healthy meals.
The Player is Getting Fat When Catching Too Much Junk Food
The unique part of this game is the changing of the player anytime he catches junk food. He starts gaining weight anytime you catchs junk food. At the same time, it also affects the life of the player. The more you catch junk food, the lesser the health meter bar.
At a certain period, the game is over because the player is too fat. It is a brilliant idea since the game directly shows the negative impact of eating too much junk food. Kids or adults will understand that junk food causes overweight problems.
In the worse condition, this condition also threatens their life. The change of the character seems to have a great impact on our thoughts instead of reducing the stamina bar only.
The Player Get His Normal Weight Back When Catching Fruits and Vegetables
Another thing that I love about Food Run is that the game doesn’t only show the bad impact of eating too much junk food. This game also shows the positive impact of eating healthy food, such as fruits and vegetables. You may catch junk food sometimes in the game.
It makes the player gain weight. Yet, apples and cucumbers neutralize the condition and give the normal weight back. This effect also affects our thought that consuming healthy foods will keep our health and weight. Indeed, you can also keep running because you have good stamina!
The Player is Hard to Jump When Getting Fat
I think this game is so realistic to show the effect of eating too many unhealthy meals. For example, I try to catch French fries a few times. The man in the game starts gaining weight. Surprisingly, he runs slower than before.
I was even shocked because he also had difficulty jumping. The response is slower when I double-click my mouse to ask him to jump.
The running speed and sensitivity of the controller are different when he is in a normal condition. He runs faster, whereas the controller is more sensitive. He will directly jump once I click the mouse.
The Reasons Kids and Adults Will Love to Play Food Run
Believe it or not, I love to play this game and try it over again. Despite its simple display, Food Run can be an addictive game to play. Players will have an intention to win the game and collect higher points. I also get some reasons why kids and adults will love to play Food Run.
1. Easy to Control
It will be a great game for kids and adults to kill their time. One of the reasons is because of the easy controller. You only have to use your mouse to control the main character.
A click is for a small jump and a double-click is for a higher jump. That’s it! You must focus on gathering more fruits and vegetables compared to junk food.
2. Easy Task to Do
I love to play Food Run not only because of the simple controller but also the task to do. My job is only to control the main character to catch more fruits and vegetables than the French fries. The fruits and vegetables represent the healthy food, whereas the French fries represent the unhealthy meals.
Indeed, we can’t underestimate the simple task because it is also challenging. The position of the items is too close sometimes. As a result, I unintentionally take junk food and apples at the same time. The fun part is that we have to survive as long as we can to keep running and collect more points.
3. Simple Display
The display of the game is also simple. There is a man who runs at the top of the hills. The design of this game reminds us of the drawing style when we were 5 or 7 years old.
I think kids will be attracted to try this game once they see the display for the first time. At least, they are curious about the game because of see something familiar to them.
My Point of View After Playing Food Run
I think second and third-grade kids will love to play Food Run. This game is not only fun to play but also gives a great message about the importance of consuming the right foods. It will be great if the character is a kid since this game is designed for them.
I think that they will receive the message more if the character is a kid. Adding a variety of fruits, vegetables, and junk food is also great for preventing boredom while playing this game. Surprisingly, this game can also improve the focus of the player.
Imagine that I have to focus on the screen while tapping the mouse to survive. I suggest kids play Food Run with their parents or teachers. Parents or teachers can explain more about the message of the game to them. I’m sure that slowly but surely kids will think about eating fruits and vegetables.