Drain Hopper | Graduate Thesis

An average of 1200 manhole covers are stolen on a monthly basis in Alexandria, one of the major cities in Egypt, reported Osama Al-Fouly, former governor of Alexandria in 2011.

Drain Hopper is an interactive game concept designed to act as a catalyst for change. The game aims to increase the awareness of the public about Manhole covers and the aftermath of public commodities theft in Egypt. The game focuses on unconscious learning, and teaches the players about the types, purpose and problems of manhole covers.  

After carrying out a research, considering the sociopolitical influences in Egypt and behavioral change models, it was concluded that the most fitting solution for manhole covers theft is a community based system that aims to communicate the people's needs for better infrastructure and pushes the government to act and efficiently solve such problems. 

Research has shown that there are 6 phases for behavior change; the first is to realize and acknowledge the existence of the problem. The game concept addresses this first step by making the public more aware about the crucial problems related to manhole covers and the safety and financial impact it has on the community and the nation as a whole.

The game aims to get the public to the next phase of behavioral change and prepare them for taking action when the community-based system is presented.

This project is my bachelor degree project, we spent the first semester choosing and analysing a safety problem and coming up with a basic solution concept which would be developed into a product during the final semester.

Here is the full research report:

The game consists of a ball character that is navigated by the players' jumping motion; when the player jumps over the designed manhole cover installation, the ball would jump as well. The main aim of the game is not to let the ball fall inside an open manhole and collect coins for rewards. 

A prototype was made to show how the interaction works.

The game concept is presented as an interactive installation to be placed in the most common place for manhole covers thefts, public parks. And the game is designed to be played on any portable tablet or smart phone.

The interactive system was designed using arduino and flash.

Research showed that the majority of people in Egypt did not know the crucial purpose and function of manholes. The game depicts the underground scene showing different types and functions of manholes and its covers. In more progressive levels bigger problems and issues are portrayed like manhole cover rise- up process, details of maintenance procedures and manhole cover thefts causes and effects.