Durex Dash
Sex education can be really awkward or even downright terrifying. I know when I was in high school they basically just showed us a slideshow of all the STIs you could get but didn’t really do much to tell us how to have safe sex and avoid those STIs. Education via terror is not really a great idea. So my AD partner and I decided to gamify sex ed.
Durex Dash is an educational game that teaches young people about condoms and STIs in a way that speaks to them. And yeah, it’s student work. But it’s also my favorite manifesto I’ve ever written, a window into the puns that lie within just yearning to be free, and an idea I genuinely wish could live in the real world, so it’s staying right here until a real client lets me top it.
Manifesto. (To get you in the mood.)
Batten down your snatches and hoist up your balls, everyone!
Those pesky STIs are at it again, waiting to slide into our sex lives and infect us over and over and over again. But we don’t have to take it lying down.
I’m calling on you, defenders of the dick, vanguards of the vag, to stop them in their evil plot!
They’re going to look for every hole in our defenses. They’ll try to catch us with our pants down, and they’ll take many unexpected forms. Cowgirls. Missionaries. Pizza delivery men. Girls next door. Trust no one.
You’re going to need protection if you want to last, and the only protection I’ve seen dominate these STIs is a condom.
We’ve got a long, hard battle ahead of us — and behind us, for that matter.
So stand tall, don your Durex shield, and come with me.
And now, the game.
With a condom as your shield and antibiotics as your weapons, characters fight off a barrage of STIs. Actions in the endless runner game mimic real life to teach proper condom application in a fun, interactive way.
In-Game Education
It’s not just about running around gathering condoms. After each round, players will receive their “test results” of every STI they managed to block with Durex, and every one they didn’t. Players can then click through to learn actual information about these STIs, including symptoms and treatments. From there, they can also find information on local free testing clinics or where to purchase Durex.
The Characters
Did I name the STIs after exes? Perhaps.
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CW: Lauren Weiss
AD: Nicolina Angervall
CD: Daniel Sumbang