Phone game to lessen Brit culture shock

BOFFINS AT the University of Portsmouth are developing a mobile phone game which will reduce the cultural shock for foreign students coming to study in Britain.

Top of the list are cultural awakenings such as going to the pub and seeing people necking in public. The author, Nipan Maniar, says the game will teach players how to react or behave appropriately, presumably by explaining when it's their turn to 'buy a round' - ie pay for the drinks.

The author expects the game will teach players that it is acceptable for students to drink alcohol. Usefully the games includes important information such as police and emergency telephone numbers.

That's presumably intended to cope with the consequences of drinking - such as fighting and ending up in police cells and/or ending up having your stomach pumped in hospital.

Maniar hopes to customise the game so that it will be location specific and include such data as how to find the nearest bank and an ATM (cash) machine.

"Using mobile phone games to communicate with people and educate in this way is a new concept," says Maniar. The INQ looks forward to the game actually being finished so that we can review it. µ

L'INQ
Game Press release