Deutsche Telekom Asks Customers to 'Game for Good' to Fight Dementia

Forget Candy Crush, Gamers Should Play Sea Hero Quest

Published On
May 03, 2016

Editor's Pick

Deutsche Telekom is taking its "Life's for Sharing" platform to a whole new level with the launch of a mobile game that encourages people all over the world to help in the fight against dementia.

"Sea Hero Quest" is an animated game aimed at all ages, in which a son helps his explorer father recover his memories by retracing the old man's seafaring adventures, battling incredible creatures and hostile weather along the way.

As players work their way through the levels of the game, data on their navigation techniques will be collected and used to create a global map of how the normal human brain works. One of the first signs of dementia is losing the ability to find your way around, so scientists will be able to use the information to help identify what goes wrong at the onset of dementia.

The idea came from Saatchi & Saatchi London, which previously created a Royal Wedding spoof and a dance flashmob -- as well as a real-life Angry Birds game -- for Deutsche Telekom. Saatchi worked with game developer Glitchers, University College London and Alzheimer's Research, to develop the Sea Hero Quest game.

Hans-Christian Schwingen, chief brand officer at Deutsche Telekom, said in a statement, "Scientists' lack of data is slowing down research. We thought maybe we could look at this problem from a different angle [Sea Quest] is a total reinvention of the way this kind of research data is collected, stored and accessed. It's not just engaging --it's scientifically valid and above all, secure."

All the data is anonymous, and players can choose whether or not to supply information on age, gender and location. If 100,000 people play for two minutes, with data gathered twice a second, they will generate the equivalent of 57 years' worth of traditional lab-based research, according to UCL. Deutsche Telekom has 200 million users worldwide.

Mr. Schwingen added in the statement, "We believe that it is our responsibility, as one of Europe's largest telecommunication companies, to consistently challenge ourselves to find new ways to harness the power of our network and our services for the greater good."

"Sea Hero Quest" is free on the App Store and Google Play.

Credits

Date
May 03, 2016
Agency :
Saatchi & Saatchi-London
Brand :
Deutsche Telekom
Client :
Deutsche Telekom
Executive Creative Director :
Jason Romeyko
Executive Creative Director :
Andy Jex
Executive Creative Director :
Rob Potts
Creative Director :
Franki Goodwin
Creative Director :
Will John
Writer :
Franki Goodwin
Writer :
Rob Watts
Writer :
Will John
Creative Planner :
Jimmy Elston
Creative Planner :
Charles Brenninkmeijer
Account Handler :
Clare Shaw
Account Handler :
Sam Grischotti
Account Handler :
Marta Jales
Account Handler :
Matilda Jones
Project Manager :
Amie Mills
Producer :
Laszlo Bederna
Media Planner :
Kari Jackson-Kloenther
Media Planner :
Evan Depko
Production Company :
BUF/Paris
Director :
Bibo Bergeron
Producer :
Sophie Raia
Producer :
Coline Six
Post Production Company :
Unit Media
Audio Post Production Company :
Grand Central Studios
Country :
London UK
Exposure :
Worldwide
Agency Contact :
Georgia Wright
Additional Credits :
Kate Stanners
Additional Credits :
Vasilije Corluka
Editor (The Project Story) :
Speade
Producer :
Kirsty Oldfield
Audio Post Production Company :
Strings and Tins
Game Project Lead :
Amie Mills
Executive Creative Director :
Jason Romeyko
Creative Director :
Franki Goodwin
Creative Director :
Will John
Developer, Game Design :
Andy Barnard
Creative Director, Game Design :
Matt Hyde
Technical Director, Game Design :
Hugo Scott Slade
Game Design Director :
Matt Scott Slade
Sound Design :
Tim Garrett
Creastive Design, 3D Modeling and Texturing :
Zhivko Terziivanov
Landscape Artwork :
Tristan Ménard
UI Design :
Patrick Schofield
Audio Post Production :
GCRS

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Project Type