A comprehensible interactive simulation of a pandemic in Germany

Introduction / Motivation

This simulation is based on the Covid-19 pandemic that started early 2020.

Covid-19 -- The disease

• Triggered by the pathogen SARS-CoV-2
• Contracts over droplets/aerosols
• Symptoms include coughing, fever and loss of taste/smell
• Causes respiratory infections, kidney infections, liver malfunctions and death by organ failure among other things
• Infections possible before symptoms begin to show, highest risk of infection shortly before and after breakout of symptoms

The Covid-19 pandemic

The disease was first identified at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, China. From there it quickly spread around the world. To date, there are over 500 million confirmed cases and more than 6.2 million deaths. But there are over 11 billion vaccine doses administered as well.

To slow the spread of the disease and minimalize death numbers, measures had to be taken:

• Masks in public spaces, filtering droplets and aerosols
• Lockdowns, e.g. closing restaurants and bars or even factories
• Curfews (mostly at night to counteract private parties)
• Meeting rules for every person
• Vaccinations to build up immunity and lower the spread

Simulating a pandemic

My Motivation

The available simulators are very informative and close to reality, but in my opinion they lack interactivity and the data is hard to understand or interpret. So my goal was to make a simulation/serious-game that is easier comprehensible, like in the game 'Plague Inc.', and interactive while simulating. Also the user should be able to feel the dynamics of the pandemic, even with measures in place, understanding how hard it is to choose the right measures at the right time.