Royal hero to the young

Due to his age and unsure health, His Majesty the King is unlikely to be making more of the personal visits upcountry that so endeared him to the citizenry when he was still relatively little known. There are concerns that the public’s fond memories of those occasions might be lost to the younger generation apart from the remarkable photo record.
But the Defence Ministry’s “Creative Media” project in honour of the King’s birthday has produced a 3D animated movie that’s intended to show youngsters why His Majesty is so revered.
“Phra Raja Phu Yingyai” (“The Great King”) – entirely Thaimade but with dialogue in English as well – is a “fantasy” presentation of real events. It’s hero king, who wields a great sword and rides a giant bird, assumes the throne at an early age, studies abroad and then returns to find his country facing a severe drought.
The monarch conducts experiments in his laboratory and develops a magical substance to create rain, only to learn that another part of the kingdom is regularly flooded. His further research provides answers for that too.
The next threat comes from “brandname evils” which obsess people and make them yearn for costly merchandise. The king’s response is a theory of “sufficiency economy” that restores contentment and happiness in the land.
The 24minute animation made by a firm called Symbol Nice Solution is theatrestandard and requires 3D glasses to view, but there is also a DVD version.
Group Captain Thanapant Raicharoen of the ministry’s Defence Information and Space Technology Department says the cinema version will be shown only at events with related themes.
Any interested organisation can also request a screening by calling (02) 980 5800, extension 5519, at the ministry. The ministry is online at www.MOD.go.th.
The Creative Media project has also produced a “smart book” using “augmented reality” technology. Designed for reading on a computer screen, it features 3D images that seem to pop out at the viewer.
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will be presented with a special copy on March 8 at the Office of the Royal Development Projects Board, and the other 840 copies will be distributed to schools and other agencies and displayed at relevant exhibitions.
Information about both the film and the book is available in Thai and English at five websites, all of which also feature a virtual exhibition hall:
www.Jomthupthai.net
www.ThaisLoveKing.net
www.KingRama9.net
www.WhyWeLoveOurKing.net
www.ThaiGreatKing.net
The exhibition hall has nine rooms that are devoted in turn to different aspects of the life and achievements of King Rama IX.
“Putting on an actual exhibition costs a lot and it lasts only a short time,” Thanapant notes, “but this virtual exhibition can continue indefinitely, and people can access it anywhere in the world.”
Visitors adopt avatars and move through the virtual rooms and zoom into details using keyboard commands. Thanapant has no doubt that today’s young generation will swiftly figure out how it works.
Even the youngest among them will be fascinated by the online Flash 3D animation, which resembles a storybook. There are 10 different stories at KingRama9.net. Children turn the pages with the keyboard, hear the narration in Thai or English, and move the images around with the mouse.
Surapong Kongsawat of Symbol Nice Solution says the book, film and online exhibition are also intended to foster discussion between parents and their children.
Coming up still later is an online learning curriculum, complete with test questions, related to the King’s life and accomplishments.

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‘New FarmVille’

The same project will see a new game offered to kids on Facebook too, during their spring school break.
Knight Farmers will be familiar to anyone who plays FarmVille on Facebook. In this case, though, His Majesty’s “New Theory” of agricultural management is utilised in building virtual farms, and you don’t need the biggest farm to earn the most points.