The Invasion Begins: truth(R) Releases New Mobile Game Flavor Monsters

GAME SPECS:

The game is available for free download on iOS 4+ and most Android 2.2+ devices. Usersmust  connect to wifi to download the game.

• For iOS 4+: iPhone 4+, iTouch 4TH Generation, iPad 2+ or better.
• For Android: Version 2.2 & 4 and devices with higher level chipset (Snapdragon 2 and/or Tegra 2 or similar quality chips).
• The game engine was built on Unity 3D platform.

The game was developed by Sabertooth Interactive of Venice, CA.

Fending off monsters, upgrading your hunting tools and saving civilization are just some of the challenges gamers will find through playing a new mobile game title, Flavor Monsters.truth^®, the nation’s largest youth smoking prevention campaign, is launching Flavor Monsters as another way for the campaign to reach teens and young people. Flavor Monsters will be available for free download on select Apple and Android devices, as part of a comprehensive campaign encompassing touring, media integrations, gear and products.

truth has offered games on the campaign website (www.thetruth.com) since 2006 as a way to highlight tobacco-related information to teens in a fun and engaging way. With the launch of its second mobile game title, truth is continuing to evolve and connect with teens through their ‘passions’ – using entertainment channels like gaming, music and sports to continue a conversation with teens around the issue of tobacco use.

Teens are increasingly looking to games for fun and entertainment. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s January 2010 report – GENERATION M²: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds – young people spend 17 minutes per day playing video games on the computer.

“truth has always been on the cutting edge, connecting with teens where they naturally gather and through activities they enjoy and common experiences they share with their friends and peers,” said Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, president and CEO of Legacy^®, the national public health foundation that directs and funds the truth campaign. “With the launch of Flavor Monsters, truth‘sfun and educational message can be carried with teens wherever they go through their mobile devices.”

The game builds on the recent “Unsweetened truth” campaign. That campaign, launched in March 2011, highlighted the many different flavorings – more than 45 – found in tobacco products. Although most flavors are banned for use in cigarettes, tobacco companies still use them in many other tobacco products, some of which closely resemble cigarettes or mints.

The game will transport users into a not-too-distant future where “Flavor Monsters” are attacking Earth. The “Flavor Monsters” are creatures that represent the added flavorings in tobacco. Players will work to defeat these monsters, thereby stopping the monster invasion. The game will feature multiple skill levels, each of which will feature a different series of colorful, flavored monsters to be defeated. An accompanying field manual contains data on all the monsters, along with relevant tobacco-related facts, and details on the tools that can be used to defeat the monsters.

 To round out the user experience, truth embarked on its first ever gaming tour this August, in an effort to connect the Flavor Monsters game experience to gamers in a tangible, interactive way. At each stop, truth‘s crew of young adult “tour riders” will speak directly with teens and young adults – educating them about the marketing tactics of the tobacco industry and the health effects, addictiveness and social consequences of tobacco. At gaming conventions, an interactive booth called “45 Flavors” will allow attendees to play the game onsite, get their picture taken with a Flavor Monster, both sample and buy truth-related gear and products, and take part in a special video virtual simulation that will give attendees the experience of being part of the actual Flavor Monsters game. All of the activities around the booth experience are geared toward ‘recruiting’ future monster hunters, and educating people about flavor monsters, as a way to reinforce messaging about the tobacco industry’s use of flavorings in tobacco products.

“The launch of the mobile game and the corresponding gaming tour is just part of a comprehensive ‘Flavor Monsters‘ experience where we will be connecting with teens and young people through a number of communications ‘touch points” said Eric Asche, Chief Marketing Officer of Legacy. “Branded entertainment, new gear and a ‘real-life’ game experience are all tools we are using to bring the game to life for users and to reach teens in as many ways possible with our important information about tobacco use.”