When you think “educational software” what comes to your mind?  If you’re a parent like me you might think of the amazing Reader Rabbit series.  Maybe you think of language education software like Rosetta Stone or the supplemental DVD-Rom that came with one of your college text books.

I’m fairly certain you wouldn’t think of a an adventure game with a diabetic main character.

Well, the folks over at Game Equals Life have decided to try and change that particular perspective with The Magi and the Sleeping Star.

In the words of the publishers, “MSS is a 3rd person action adventure game that sends players on a quest during which healthy blood sugar must be maintained in order to achieve success.”  From the looks of the trailer the game follows a fairly standard third person RPG format with the addition of mechanics that will force the player to count carbohydrates, test their blood sugar, and take their insulin shots.  The key factor in in this is that while managing your diabetes is an important part of the game, the primary focus is the actual adventure.  The point is to teach diabetics that life “doesn’t have to center around the disease and that good blood sugar management is the key to living a free and healthy life.”

Which I can tell you, as the parent of a diabetic teenager, is a very important thing for them to learn.  The question is whether or not it will actually be appealing to the kids who have diabetes and need to learn it.  It sounds like a fantastic idea, but I’m personally not sure how well it will sell beyond the Young Adult market.  I sent a link to the site to my son (13) and asked for his response, and what he wrote back was fairly telling.

Diabetes.  Really.  These guys are running out of ideas.  Thanks, but NOOOO.

I think that might be the initial reaction from many potential players, but if the game itself is good enough I’m fairly certain that objection could be overcome.  Time will tell.  If the trailer is indicative of the quality of the game (which is not always the case) this could really make some waves in the Educational Games community.