Fat kids battle bad food in "Obeez City"

by Kaitlin | February 21, 2007 at 12:00 pm | 645 views | 1 comment

To me this sounds like another attempt at tackling a problem in the most indirect, hands off, entertainment-based way possible. Remember TV shows like The Raccoons (perhaps only for you Canadian kids out there...)? What about The Smoggies? Captain Planet? All of these were supposed to stop us from wrecking the planet, but at their best they succeeded in entertaining us. I never turned a light off in my house because Captain Planet told me to, nor would I stop eating trans fats just because a video game tells me I may die.

Is it that these problems are too abstract to make tangible in the form of a video game or television show? Is it that we don't really care? What would really change things?

I do know that it seems fairly counterintuitive (ironic, even) to create a video game, which will render fat kids less active, in order to teach them about being healthier.

Come to think of it, those shows which urged us to save the planet were played on our TV sets, which use a lot of energy...

ORLANDO, FLA. — Obesity may be a growing epidemic, but it's Obeez City that is spreading out of control in a new DVD game.

The game, "Body Mechanics," teaches youngsters how to avoid the ravages of being overweight.

Gamers join a team of superheroes called Body Mechanics and war against the Evil Coalition of Harm and Disease, battling villains with names like Col Estorol and Betes II. The fighting takes place inside the body of Jack Decayd. If Obeez City is not contained, "Jack will die soon," says Neuro, the Yoda-like wise one who narrates the action.

"I remember how it started. A few snacks here, a soft drink there," Neuro says in an ominous tone during the opening. "And before we knew it, the Evil Coalition of Harm and Disease was threatening us all."

Neuro then makes his plea: "You must join the team of heroic Body Mechanics. They need your help in order to gain the knowledge necessary to save Jack's life. Only you can change how this story ends."