Pop’Balloons: The First Serious Mixed-Reality Game for Autistic Children
Pop’Balloons: The First Serious Mixed-Reality Game for Autistic Children
Pop’Balloons: The First Serious Mixed-Reality Game for Autistic Children
By Neuroscience News
December 10, 2022
Summary
Researchers have developed a new mixed reality game that can help children on the autism spectrum to develop better motor skills.
One of the first is Pop'Balloons, a game designed to help autistic kids develop their motor skills and that is based on years of fundamental research.
A collaboration with the Canadian video game studio Eidos helped enhance the game.
IVADO's dedicated collaborative research team facilitated linkages between UdeM and the video game industry, which has the expertise to develop more engaging serious games.
Can a game be created that's accessible to all, including neurodiverse players? Could it be given to all autistic children without some ripping off their headsets? "The first step is to validate the accessibility parameters," said Romain Trachel, a machine-learning specialist at Eidos-Montréal, one of the few video game studios with an accessibility department.
Mariem Hafsia, a master's student at UdeM, added, "The first step is to make sure the game is comfortable for children with autism. Will they be at ease with the device? Will they have difficulty grasping the concept of the game? Will they find it engaging? Maybe playing with a balloon doesn't mean the same thing to children with atypical development."
"The patient wouldn't have to come back to the clinic every time. The game itself could direct them to the most appropriate levels of play to help them improve. It would be an adaptive video game that could serve as a psycho-educational intervention."
Reference
Neuroscience News. (2022, December 10). Pop'balloons: The first serious mixed-reality game for autistic children. Neuroscience News. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from https://neurosciencenews.com/asd-motor-skills-game-22048/