Professors and graduate students at the University of Utah have developed a video game with a most noble purpose: To help children cope with their cancer treatments by empowering them physically and mentally.
And it just might let them have a little fun too.
Created with Microsoft XNA and played with the Move controllers on Sony’s PlayStation 3, the game is called PE Interactive (Patient Empowerment Interactive) .
The backstory is pretty simple: Despite being exhausted from fighting his arch-nemesis, a superhero continues to soldier on, and who thus "grows bigger and more vibrant as the game progresses."
According to the game's designer Roger Altizer, “It is our goal that the patient will relate to the superhero, as they play more, he gets stronger ... Something subtle, yet extremely important to the game is the use of metaphor and imagery."
It's crucial to note that the hero only hurts or kills robotic creatures in the game--and not anything living (living in the organic, relatable sense, that is).
Inspiration for the game came from associate professor of medicinal chemistry Grzegorz Bulaj after seeing a cancer patient blowing into a incentive spirometer, and saw a correlation between that and playing a game.
The University’s Entertainment Arts and Engineering program took it from there, overcoming issues such as avoiding any hint of violence or death, along with making sure it didn't cause frequency problems with the many machines in the hospital setting.
Grad students in the University of Utah’s Pierre Lassonde Entrepreneur Center are now tasked with raising awareness of the game among caregivers and pediatric medical centers.
Sources
-- Story at Piki Geek
-- Coverage from the university's news Center (includes appropriate media contacts)
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