Introducing Brush it Off

Kids and Hygiene: A match made by parents

Hygiene may not come naturally, but it’s a crucial part of growing up. Parents are the ones who teach little ones to scrub, to wipe away their stink and even comb the hair that makes them scream “NOOO!” But with a little bit of gamification and fun, hygiene can be a thrilling adventure! Let’s make cleanliness a positive habit that sticks.

Taking the above ‘situation’, the team of 3, Sidhvi Gandikota, Zoha Azmi and I, Madhura Pathare came up with an idea for a casual game for kids which makes learning about hygiene fun!

Brushing up the concept

Brush It Off is a 2D desktop game that follows the concept of teaching young children the importance of dental hygiene. The main character is a 7-year-old school kid who is shown brushing his teeth as part of his daily routine, for which the tooth fairy serves as a guide throughout the game, helping the kid learn and improve his hygiene habits.

I came up with the title of the game ‘Brush it Off’ as a play on literally brushing off your teeth to get rid or ‘shake’ off the germs from it.

Game Aesthetics

It sets the environment in the bathroom, where of course the majority of hygiene tasks takes place. It begins with the kid, who’s the main character of our game. His character design is cartoonish as we wanted to keep it kid friendly. The pastel shades of cool and vivid colors used in the game are sure to tickle the fancy of young players and make brushing their teeth a delightful experience.

Introducing characters

The Boy: I did the character design for the boy, what can I say? I can do best of both worlds, doing character design and game design. The boy and the brush were designed keeping the target audience in mind. Used Adobe illustrator to bring the character to life

The goodest boy you have ever seen, (of course after a cute dog)! Dressed up in comfy pajamas and a cute face, the players would be playing as him as the learning hygiene takes place. As the game begins, his moth will be zoomed in to show his teeth with germs on it, while the player gets the brush to brush it off his teeth and clear them off germs completely.

Outline of the character created in Adobe Illustrator

Character Movements

The Fairy

The Tooth Fairy, the magic master of hygiene! With her glittering wand and pretty pastel hues, she’ll sprinkle some sparkle into the brushing experience and make it a lot more exciting. As the kid’s guide in the game, she’ll help him become the ultimate hygiene hero. From taking players through the game, to teaching them the basics, she’s got the hygiene magic covered.

Ew, Germs

They are evil, they are clingy and they are oh so nasty! They would be the nasty enemy in the game in which players have to eliminate them from the teeth. This will be done with the help of the toothbrush. They would make the teeth yellow as their clingy self has been on it or too long.

In conclusion, Brush It Off is a fun take on hygeine! No longer will hygiene education be a snooze fest, additionally kids can easily learn about dental hygiene in a fun and interactive way. With its charming colors, friendly characters and simple gameplay, Brush It Off will make brushing teeth an encouraging experience for kids. So, grab that toothbrush and let’s see if you have what it takes to become the ultimate hygiene hero!

If you would like to know how we further developed this game, check out ‘Diving into brush it off gameplay’ blog of mine.