Space Connection - A Multiplayer Collaborative Biofeedback Game To Promote Empathy In Teenagers

This is one of the games we developed at our Game design course at the University of Madeira, and that was a finalist of the Games 4 Health competition in the Mental Health domain. It was created by a team of informatics and interactive media design students in a period if 5 weeks. You can find all details and the game itself in their game studio site: http://www.cee.uma.pt/edu/gamedesign/parallactive/

The game goes like this: "While the rest of the crew aboard the colony ship is in cryogenic sleep, the two players are awaken by the interference of a cosmic anomaly that threatens the spaceship and all on board. The players quickly realize that the anomaly also empowered their ordinary tools allowing them to easily lift objects and alter time around them. In addition, players now share a deep bond.

Players will embark on a specially crafted level in Garry's Mod to solve challenging puzzles that will defy their creativity.  Using the NeuroSky BCI and the Bioplux Respiration Sensor players will have to focus on their attention level and breathing rate in order to empower their teammate. Together they will have to make a combined use of their skills to overcome the challenges and save the ship."

Biofeedback videogames are physiologically driven games that offer opportunities to individually improve emotional self-regulation and produce mental and physical health benefits. To investigate the feasibility of a novel collaborative multiplayer methodology, we created Space Connection, a videogame to promote empathy in teenagers. Space Connection depicts a futuristic adventure aboard a spaceship in which players have to jointly use their powers to solve a set of physics-based puzzles. The game relies on the use of physiological self-regulation to activate the playing partner powers. Using a low-cost brain computer interface and a respiration rate sensor we provided players with two game powers, namely telekinesis and time-manipulation which are mapped to changes in attention and relaxation. We performed a feasibility study with 10 users (aged 22.2 ± 5.6) to evaluate the game experience. Results revealed high scores in enjoyment and empathy but low scores on interface control. Our preliminary data supports the use of novel biofeedback strategies combined with videogames to promote positive emotions and incentive collaboration and teamwork.

Reference:

J.E. Muñoz, A. Gonçalves, T. Vieira, D. Cró, Y. Chisik, S. Bermúdez i Badia. (2016). Space Connection - A Multiplayer Collaborative Biofeedback Game To Promote Empathy In Teenagers: A Feasibility Study. Presented at the PhyCS 2016 - 3rd International Conference on Physiological Computing Syst, Lisbon. (Download) (Cite)