TL;DR
Core loop: Day = village building (Farmville-style), Night = Flappy Bird mosquito smacking. Player is a charity worker (NOT god) cleaning up environment. Real malaria education. $2.50–$5/net cost. ~200 ads = 1 net.
1. Impact Economics
Feb 22 Correction: Net cost was incorrectly listed as $7. Correct figures:
| Figure | Source | Confidence |
|---|
| $2.50/net (direct cost) | REG Charity | High |
| $4.85/net (GiveWell total) | GiveWell | High |
| ~$5/net (average) | Wikipedia | Medium |
How Many Ads = 1 Net?
At ~$0.01/ad (US rewarded video, after network cut):
- ~200 ads = 1 net funded
- Daily player (5 ads/day) → 1 net every ~40 days
- Heavy player (10 ads/day) → 1 net every ~20 days
Cause Points System
| Action | Cause Points |
|---|
| Drain 1 stagnant water source | 1 point |
| Clear debris from village | 1 point |
| Plant 1 tree | 1 point |
| Smack 10 mosquitoes (night) | 1 point |
| Complete daily challenge | 5 points |
| Streak bonus (7-day) | +50% points |
100 points = 1 net funded
2. MVP Scope
Welcome Message
"Welcome to [Village Name] village. These families need your help preventing malaria."
Day Phase (Village Building)
- Player = charity worker (NOT god)
- Actions: Drain water, clear debris, plant trees, distribute SMC, build
- Villagers build their own homes
- Player has small house for storyline anchor
Night Phase (Flappy Bird)
- Tap to smack mosquitoes
- Adrenaline gameplay
- Stakes: Player gets sick if they don't smack enough
- Sickness = reduced abilities next day
Village Location
Recommended: Kenya — AMF active, English-speaking, strong SMC, culturally rich but accessible
Educational Content (REAL)
- Mosquitos breed in stagnant water
- Mosquitos come out at night
- SMC = preventive medicine, NOT treatment
- Nets go over BEDS, not houses
- 1 net protects ~2 people for ~3 years
Realism Rules — Edutainment NOT Appropriation
DO:
- Research actual village layouts, building styles, clothing
- Show diverse character designs
- Portray villagers as capable, not helpless
- Ground all impact claims in real charity data
- Show charity worker as facilitator, not savior
DON'T:
- Use generic "African village" tropes
- Oversimplify or exoticize
- Make it about "Western savior"
- Show nets over houses instead of beds
- Mix up prevention with treatment
3. New Features (Feb 22)
Sponsored Play
Two models:
- Pay-to-Play: Watch ads → funds nets (existing)
- Marathon-Sponsor: Friend/family sponsors per net or per hour
Great for parents sponsoring kids, corporate sponsorships, school challenges.
Global Leaderboards
- Nets Funded (all-time)
- Nets Funded This Month
- Village Level
- Families Protected
- Community Rankings (countries, cities)
Seeds Currency
What: In-game currency from watching ads
Dual purpose:
- Seeds → Village Building (fast rewards)
- Seeds → Net Fund Progress (long-term impact)
Earn rate: 1 ad = 10 Seeds + streak bonuses
4. Founder Feedback (Feb 22)
Verbatim from Gin:
- "Welcome to [veil] village. These families need your help preventing malaria"
- Night = Flappy Bird style adrenaline gameplay (smacking mosquitos)
- Player gets sick if they don't smack enough mosquitos
- Player = charity worker, NOT god - they clean up environment, villagers build their own homes
- Player has their own small house in village for continuous storyline
- Village location: pick ONE country that AMF/SMC services (be culturally sensitive)
- All daytime actions ladder to charitable impact
- Educational content about malaria: mosquitos breed in stagnant water, come out at night, SMC provides preventive medicine NOT treatment
- Everything should be REAL - edutainment, not appropriation
- What do cause points translate to? How are they earned?
- Nets are for BEDS not houses - what's real usage?
5. MVP Feature Checklist
Must-Have (v1)
- Must Day phase: 5 action types
- Must Night phase: Flappy Bird mosquito smacking
- Must Player sickness mechanic
- Must One village location (Kenya)
- Must Welcome message flow
- Must Cause points system
- Must Net funding tracker (real impact)
- Must Player house with basic customization
- Must 3-5 named families
- Must Basic educational pop-ups
- Must Rewarded video integration
Nice-to-Have (v1.1+)
- Nice Global leaderboards
- Nice Sponsored play mode
- Nice Seasonal events
- Nice">Multi-village unlock
- Nice Photo album / story sequences
6. Decisions Needed
- Village location: Kenya approved? Or another country?
- Art style: Pixel art, low-poly, or illustrated?
- Sickness mechanic: Too dark? Need to soften?
- Real-time vs. time-gated: Can players play both phases back-to-back, or is there a wait?