Anti-drug game gets $1 million budget

Although some parents and pundits point to games as an addictive, corrupting vice aimed at children, one University of Missouri researcher wants to use them to fight a different addictive, corrupting vice aimed at children. As reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, associate professor of...

Although some parents and pundits point to games as an addictive, corrupting vice aimed at children, one University of Missouri researcher wants to use them to fight a different addictive, corrupting vice aimed at children. As reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, associate professor of psychiatry Joel Epstein has received a $1 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to make a game about addiction.

The game will be an educational endeavor, attempting to show players the effects that drugs have on a person's brain and body. The game should take about two years to develop, with another two years of testing at a small number of St. Louis-area schools.

The medium of gaming is a relatively new way to get the antidrug message across to kids, but Epstein is targeting kids in even more specific ways. For example, the game will include competitive aspects in an attempt to appeal more to boys, with socially engaging elements aimed at girls.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a government agency with an annual budget of just more than $1 billion. Epstein has conducted studies for NIDA previously, producing nontraditional educational aids for elementary-school children using DVDs and computer programs.

72 Comments

  • anodeyes

    Posted Oct 22, 2009 9:18 pm PT

    Back in April, you ran this article about my NIDA grant that is funding the development of a video game to teach fourth and fifth grade students about the science of addiction.

    Many individuals made comments on that article stating that either: a) the project was a horrible waste of money; or b) the game would really suck.

    In all actuality, I don’t necessarily disagree with either of those views. I think that both have a significant likelihood of being true. But it is my responsibility to try to avoid such a failure. Therefore, I am opening up this page to allow folks to view the constraints under which I am working and the proposed curriculum and creative approach for my game.

    Please take a few moments to review the following documents and post your comments below. I will definitely consider incorporating any suggestions for improvement.

    And to demonstrate my sincerity, on November 2, I will award a $100 iTunes gift card to the individual who posts a comment below with the best suggestion for how to improve my plans for the games (based on creativity, feasibility, and alignment with the grant’s objectives).

    Looking forward to reading your input.

    http://www.mimhtraining.com/webtrainings/2009/10/06/substance-abuse-educational-video-game

  • VirginBoy92

    Posted Apr 15, 2009 5:56 pm PT

    i liked fried eggs better than raw

  • majere613

    Posted Apr 15, 2009 8:20 am PT

    If there was a stealth patch to Fallout 3 that prevented the anti-addiction treatments from working, I suspect a few people would get schooled on the perils of addiction pretty quickly

  • Hedfix

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 6:56 pm PT

    Also I think the people giving out the grant must've been really high at the time.

  • Hedfix

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 6:56 pm PT

    Put it on XBLA for free and add achievos aha!

  • yatatabien

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 4:27 pm PT

    IT's gonna suck as a game, probably.

  • Masterdj1992

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 3:55 pm PT

    Ha Ha stay away from Dr. Mario!

  • CreatureRising

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 2:51 pm PT

    4 years Meh it will be dead before it hits. I am all against Drug useage but i mean really this completely strange

  • IAMTHEJOKER88

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 12:56 pm PT

    Yes I am sure everyone will be rushing to get this one. OMG I BETTER PREORDER LIKE RIGHT NOW THIS LOOKS SOOOO GOOD.

    Drugs are BAD. mmmmkay. :/

  • Cabal23

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 11:20 am PT

    Give me $1 million dollars and I can SHOW you the effects of drugs on your brain. Just one more failure on the war on drugs.

  • McDog3

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 10:39 am PT

    The pic at the side is the best thing about the article!

  • stealth89

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 8:40 am PT

    lol k

  • sieg6529

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 7:10 am PT

    Here are your hard-earned tax dollars at work, people!

  • ivan_the_one

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 6:50 am PT

    there better be violence.....

  • Cujo31

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 4:50 am PT

    Now I want some bacon...

  • scryren

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 8:22 pm PT

    Mmm, bacon.

  • solidine

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 8:22 pm PT

    This is a waste for so many reasons. There's no real point in arguing them though, I'd imagine they're pretty obvious.

    That said, if it turns out good (just pretend) and I end up actually wanting to try it (pretend), it'll be totally counterproductive, since I'd rent it and play it high.

  • mrklorox

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 7:21 pm PT

    Yay. More drivel for the automatons! Don't let those same ultra-programmable humans play GTA, for the love of cripes!

  • Saint_Rising

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 7:14 pm PT

    Marijuana is safer than alcohol. No hangover, no drunk period where you're gonna rape someone. Just feelin' good. Until you come down. Then you feel like sh*t.

  • suprsolider

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 7:14 pm PT

    Umm, there is already a drug game. It's called Wally Bear and the No gang.
    The game sucked ass royally, that even the world famous AVGN tore it a new ass (great episodes BTW)

  • gameking5000

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 6:42 pm PT

    Spending 1 million on an anti-drug games puts pressure for the developers to make it good.

  • hannify

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 6:20 pm PT

    phew - thought it was british grant.

  • Freezezzy

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 6:09 pm PT

    An article about an anti-drug game, with another one on the sidebar about GTA: Chinatown Wars, a game where you can sell drugs. Nice combo there, GameSpot! xD

  • aldrenar47

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 5:50 pm PT

    I'll play it if they let your character take drugs... that would be funny. I would make him take like 100 bong hits. "New mission added: Find Cheetos"

  • Dante2710

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 5:46 pm PT

    1 million budget for an anti-drug game? government sure is bias

  • CharlieFubar

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 5:38 pm PT

    they should totally make "heroin hero" from that one south park episode. "cmon... chase the dragon... you almost caught me..."

  • Ghetto_ninja

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 5:28 pm PT

    Wait I thought they said video games are addicting, but now they are making an anti-drug game? That's like a drug that makes you not want to do drugs. What kind of drugs are these people taking?

  • DDR_Midian

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 5:19 pm PT

    SIGH. Parents still avoiding their duties and expecting other people to teach their kids.

  • umbrae

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 4:55 pm PT

    Brainwashing is wrong no matter the cause.

  • simonsworld

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 4:49 pm PT

    yea totally pointless sh*t, i mean i wanna no about affects from drugs ill give that frank dude a call, the one who always on adverts, play games for fun not to be educated about things we already know, my brains ok no wait its a fried egg! now thats impressive intresting stuff, i feel educated to hell with frank

  • karnovrpg

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 4:24 pm PT

    Well then it better be the best damn anti-drug game ever made.

  • GreatDarkKnight

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 3:43 pm PT

    *Retarded paragraph about drugs not being bad or harmful in any way and drug use being good because "man, like, the man totally doesn't want you to, like, be enlightened, man."*

    *Further retarded opinions which are retarded*

    *Lame joke about getting high and playing an anti-drug game*

  • Generic_Dude

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 3:15 pm PT

    While I'm an ardent proponent of decriminalization of drugs, it's merely from the standpoint that I believe that adults should be free to make their own decisions -- even harmful ones -- provided that they don't infringe on the rights of others to do the same. I fully recognize that drugs can be harmful, sometimes even deadly and I'll agree that children -- as WELL as adults -- need access to unbiased information on the ramifications of using drugs.

    That being said, these endeavors usually end up merely contributing to the already insidious propaganda that convinces an ignorant populace that tobacco and alcohol are OK, but marijuana is an abomination and anyone who uses it should face jail or prison time. It's my hope that the information contained within this game will be sensible, unbiased straight-talk about the reality of drugs, and not these preposterous notions that marijuana turns normal human beings into sex-crazed killers.

    Who knows? Maybe the children of the world will appreciate not being lied to. Maybe the harsh realities of, say, methamphetamine addiction will be enough to discourage them from experimenting... or maybe people will realize that marijuana isn't as harmful as they had originally been told and make responsible steps to inform their legislature that Prohibition didn't work with alcohol, it's not working with drugs and at the very least a substance as benign as cannabis (which accounts for the vast majority of drug arrests) shouldn't be contributing to the US having the highest incarceration rate on Earth.

    Not to get political or anything.

  • InfectX

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 3:08 pm PT

    Yay government spending.

  • BloodMist

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 2:50 pm PT

    If it shows what happens when you take acid, it just might make more kids get high.I'm so sick of this crap, drugs are NOT evil, and in fact can expand your mind if you use them correctly.

  • strayfies

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 2:44 pm PT

    Next time they can make a game about what to do with a million dollars.

  • Hot-Tamale

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 2:32 pm PT

    If it's fun to play, then I'll play it. Isn't that what games are for?

  • JJnyg24

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 2:30 pm PT

    i'm gonna take about 70 oxycottons and a hit of meth while trying to get all 1000 achievement points for this game

  • esh_man

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 2:24 pm PT

    haha yea honestly the only way this game could probably be entertaining is after taking many huge bong rips

  • a_mop265

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 2:17 pm PT

    umm idk
    very intresting idea but i don't know just seems a little weird
    hope they give this out as a free game cause i don't want to pay money to get the messages i'm told by my parents every day

  • johnman05

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 2:04 pm PT

    This is fun to read when I'm on Oxymorphone lmao!

  • crix3

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 1:43 pm PT

    lol its like this game gets game of the year and 10/10. how would this be fun at all?

  • SWfreak16

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 1:43 pm PT

    They should just tell their kids to buy World of Warcraft, or some other addicting game. Then the parents won't have to worry about their kids doing, or buying drugs, because they don't have the time, nor money to do so.

  • Jalem01

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 1:41 pm PT

    lol stoners getting defensive.

  • zarum_666

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 1:41 pm PT

    I find it interesting that they use eggs, which is one of the healthiest things for you as a way to show drugs being bad for you.. Wonder if theres going to be a part about prescription drugs... hmm

  • jarhead7meu0311

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 1:40 pm PT

    First, to Mike1978Smith, are you saying that the "raging stoner" opinion is somewhat lesser than your high and mighty, and I assume alcohol free, opinion? "stoners" are people who use a different recreational drug than, say, people who drink alcohol. Should i dismiss the opinions of drinkers on this matter also? Of course not, why not engaging their opinions instead of outright dismissing it. And not all people who see the hypocrisy of continued marijuana prohibition use marijuana or are "stoners".

    But about this game, I could care less, unless, I or anyone else would be forced to play it, and from this article, that will not be the case. Luckily I'm out of high school and no respectable university, mine included, would dare force this form of morality on its students. And this is what it is, morality. The makers of this game have an idea of how we should all behave, through prohibition, they have tried to enforce this morality on many unwitting people. Luckily we realized what a farce alcohol prohibition was and the criminality it funded, but we have yet to see that with marijuana prohibition. And this game will only seek to enforce this idea. All this sounds like is the propaganda campaigns of PETA. Whereas their bs fails to reach younger people they try and hijack the forms of entertainment that younger people enjoy, in a hope to brainwash them into their dogmatic mindset. I understand that the National Institute of Drug Policy does have a shred of common sense in realizing that alcohol is right up there with the other drugs in forms of intoxication potential and harm to a persons body. But what is ridiculous and blatantly hypocritical is that they do not favor a return to alcohol prohibition while gleefully maintaining a policy of marijuana prohibition that costs us billions and worse of all, imprisons nonviolent users. That if a person decides to use a substance that is harmful to them, it is their decision alone, not this Institute, not the governments and surely not the religious fascists who always seem to support these prohibition movements.

  • jsmoke03

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 1:40 pm PT

    have you guys ever heard of oregon trail? that was semi educational about the goldrush and their hardships....don't think they are aiming it like high schoolers, more like little kids....

  • moshxpit91

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 1:33 pm PT

    wow...thats dumb. i think i'll stick to doing drug deals in gta thanks. lol

  • Unit_1004

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 1:24 pm PT

    Drug Addiction: Natural selection at work.

  • tupac-makaveli

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 1:19 pm PT

    "The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a government agency with an annual budget of just over $1 billion."

    who's the real drug-dealer here?

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