a buddhist game to help teach ethics

Bangkok, Thailand -- Concerned about a news report of a boy attacking his mother because she refused to give him money to play online games, a senior officer at the Religious Affairs Department decided to create a game himself.

Ethics Game", created by Pakorn Tancharoen, director of the Moral and Ethical Development Office works by using a principled game to overcome decadent games.

.... He spent his after-work time at online-game arcades to observe what kinds of games attract children.

"Most of them were about killing," he said.

He then devised a game plot that includes four main characters: Dharmmahapanyo, an old respected monk; Charn, an orphaned boy who is mischievous but clever; Nu Na, a girl who is clever and kind-hearted; and Paloe, a big half-Chinese boy who was born into a rich family and likes to tease others, especially animals.

Pakorn said he had initially asked children to participate in designing physical images of the four characters because he wanted them to win kids' hearts.

The three kids have to follow the monk on a pilgrimage. There are many barriers they have to face during the journey. Only intelligence, goodness and morals help get them past the barriers.

Killing might be the aim in most popular games, but in "Ethics Game", hurting even an animal means you lose points.

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