Roswell Park Cancer Institute is a medical institute in Buffalo, New York, that specializes in developing new medicines and technologies for cancer treatment. In 2007, Roswell Park launched the Yroswell program to promote cancer awareness among millennials, and future professionals and supporters.

We are honored to have worked with Roswell Park in developing an HTML5 game to help raise cancer awareness using the Internet. The game is an excellent tool to educate people and share information.

Yroswell Program

The Yroswell program is made up of activities and events to inspire young people to help build a world without cancer. The program took its first big step with a musical-style TV commercial that is centered on the campaign’s theme song called, How Big is Your Heart. Designed to connect with millennials, the Yroswell production features cancer patients, dancing alongside nurses and trained dancers.

Yroswell was created to sponsor and support activities and events that represent three goals:

• Learning - motivate and support individuals who are interested in a career in oncology and healthcare
• Giving - encourage participation through volunteerism, fundraising, and other advocacy programs and events
• Coping - help Gen Y’ers who are affected by the disease

How Big is Your Heart Game

The How Big is Your Heart game is a casual game based on Yroswell’s theme song. It features programs and events from the cancer awareness campaign.

The objective of the game is simple. For 30 seconds, players must increase the size of their in-game heart by tapping only the logos and symbols from Yroswell.

Before the game begins, players are introduced to the different items that they must collect. During this presentation, tapping any Yroswell item will prompt a short description of its corresponding program or event to appear.

The next presentation displays items that represent the leading causes of cancer. Hitting these bad items, during the game, will reduce the size of the in-game heart.

After the game time is over, the size of the player’s heart is then compared to the average heart size of other players.

Below is a short demonstration of the game:

HTML5 Game Engine

We built the How Big is Your Heart game using an HTML5 framework. This technology is the modern standard for creating and displaying content on the World Wide Web. Anyone with a computer device and a modern web browser can access the game easily.

Furthermore, HTML5 not only allows highly engaging games to be developed but also integrates other functions, like registration forms and leaderboards, into a game.

Search for Donors and Volunteers

The game featured a raffle system where players can win tickets to the Buffalo Bison’s game. In order to join the raffle, interested players can fill in their name, email, and telephone number to the contact form found at the end of the HTML5 game.

Having a registration or contact form is another great way of generating potential supporters. By compiling registered players, an organization can search for aspiring donors and volunteers.

Summary

HTML5 games provide a great venue for sharing information and inspiring advocacy. Yroswell’s How Big is Your Heart game demonstrates to us of what can be achieved using HTML5 technology.

During gameplay, the game briefly informs its players about the different Roswell Park events and programs. It also implements a registration model to invite potential supporters to join the fight against cancer.

Developing this game for Roswell Park is another great milestone for us. This experience has given us an insight that HTML5 games, no matter how casual they may be, can make a difference to our community.

If you want to inspire others through HTML5 games, don’t hesitate to contact us.