The MMORPG MapleStory calls for blood donation. As rewards, there are in-game events and additional items when certain milestones are reached. With this action, they want to encourage players to help others, even though the rewards are only for people from Malaysia and Singapore.
What is this initiative about? The event is named “Be a Maple Hero today” and runs from May 6 to May 22. All players from Malaysia and Singapore who are over 18 years old can participate.
To participate, they must go donate blood and submit a form with their account details and a picture of their character. This picture will later be shown on a special page for “Maple Heroes”.
Moreover, players can earn rewards in the form of in-game items such as an exclusive outfit. Further rewards will be available if enough players participate in this initiative. If more than 800 players donate blood, there will be additional pets, mounts, and a Cosmic Cocktail Chair.
Nexon and MapleStory want to help because the number of donors is drastically decreasing
What is the background of this initiative? Blood donations are vital to supply people after an accident, during surgeries, or for long-term illnesses.
Especially in Singapore, blood donations among young people have drastically declined. In 2011, there were reportedly 21,793 donations from people under 26, whereas in 2021 there were only 13,967 (via The Straitstimes).
The developers of MapleStory and the publisher Nexon want to encourage people to go donate blood. That’s why they decided on this special initiative.
Is there something like this for us? No, the initiative in MapleStory is only for Malaysia and Singapore. Currently, there is no MMO in the West that offers a similar incentive. However, there is also less blood donation in Germany than is needed in many places, and the donors are on average getting older (via RND).
What do you think of this initiative? Are in-game rewards an incentive to encourage you to donate blood? Feel free to write it in the comments.
That MMORPGs can also be helpful in the field of medicine has already been shown in another context. For in EVE Online, players were able to assist in analyzing blood samples related to Corona through mini-games:
MMORPG EVE Online finds clever way for space pirates to fight against COVID-19
