Gaming for Good: Virtual Reality to help Phobias

[bapenguin]

Over at The Last Boss (http://thelastboss.com/) there's a great little writeup of a project they are currently undertaking. Using a virtual reality system they are going to create a game to help people overcome a fear of heights.Using the Unreal Engine we'll be making a level for their patients who have a height phobia - basically making a huge ass map that scares the crap out of them. Using the facility's habitual therapy sessions and facing there fears in a safer virtual environment several times a week, hopefully their brain can let them overcome their fear. The game team group I'm in is just four people, and we're not sure how detailed we can get with the level geometry and texture quality yet since this is supposed to be a BIG level, so we plan on making the simulation take place on the top floors of an unfinished skyscraper. Having them go from comfy cozy floors with windows to scaffolds and unfinished walls hanging dozens of floors up in the air should do the trick! The other project the class is working on is a racing simulator of sorts, but we're skeptic of how that will turn out. There's also a third group that is more or less designing a virtual shopping mall for other patients to explore for other fears. Shopping addicts maybe? Dunno.

Check out the page for the full setup, including the unique virtual reality system being employed.

I've got a fear of naked girls. Can they make a game for me?

[Goronmon]

I've got a fear of naked girls. Can they make a game for me?Liar. gdfgsdfg

[gojira]

I'm totally frightened of Playboy models and first person shooters. Plz help me.

[destoo]

That reminds me of the spider patches in Thief and System Shock games..
They had to make an "Arachnophobia" patch.

There's also a third group that is more or less designing a virtual shopping mall for other patients to explore for other fears.

I'm afraid of shopping malls with Zombies.

[Nighthold]

I am terrified of poor headset refresh rates giving me really severe nausia, as well as shitty graphics.

Maybe VR isn't for me.

[Johan]

There are a number of other ways gaming has emotionally, psychologically or medically positive effects.

Children who face surgical procedures or tests are shown to experience much less anxiety and pain when distracted by games, for example.

I believe games are also used in physical rehabilitation, though that may just be a thought in my brain, and not a fact I read somewhere??!!

This is great stuff. I love seeing something I enjoy so much for entertainment having positive real-world effects besides just being fun. :)

[kid cabelgo]

This is a great idea. I don't really have a fear of heights, but there have been quite a few times in video games where my heart skipped a beat when I realized how high up I was.

Especially those times you accidentally walk off the edge.

They should probably have the game pause or turn off if the subjects do slip off the edge though. You don't want your patients having heart attacks. ;)

[Fronz]

Thanks for the kind words bapenguin - I've posted stuff on TheLastBoss about VR medical treatments before (like with phantom limb pains), but it's awesome to actually get hands on involved with it for once. Hope you guys enjoy.

[gzsfrk]

I first read that title as "Virtual Boy to Help Phobias" and immediately thought, "Well--that's finally a good use for the headache inducing little buggers." All ridicule for the VB aside, I did actually think that the Tennis game on it was pretty cool to play.

As to whether or not people can effectively face and deal with their fears in a virtual setting, I think it would depend on the fear. For example, people who are scared of heights might could successfully therapize their phobia in a virtual setting where they constantly having to walk along the edge of the roof on a building. However, I can't imagine that it would do much for arachnophobes--unless they couple it with some feather randomly tickling up and down your arms. (Which, incidentally, would also be a good feature to include in bap's Playmate phobia simulator; unfortunately, I likely wouldn't "use as directed". :) )

[Saracen Pariah]

I've got a fear of naked girls. Can they make a game for me?

Yes, but unfortunately, they couldn't make it multi-player, so you can only play with yourself.

And, expect microtransactions to be very expensive.

[Lizard Dude]

Funny story from an hour ago:

I was playing Burning Crusade, running around that Dranei town that's really high up on that mushroom in Zangarmarsh. I wanted to get down and saw the elevator coming up and jumped for it, but this is impossible because the elevator specifically moves away from the jumpable-down-to area before it goes up or down, then slides horizontally into position at the top/bottom (I guess to purposely prevent jumping?).

Long story short I missed and noticed it was *very* far down and (here's the important part) you know that little tingley feeling in your penis when you look down a very far cliff in RL? I got that!

Awesome, eh?

[LikeTheRazor]

They should just have people play Mario Sunshine to get over their fear of heights.


you know that little tingley feeling in your penis when you look down a very far cliff in RL?
I think you should seek immediate medical attention.

[Predation]

I have to say that Dark Messiah helped me overcome my fear of spiders, by engaging several dozen of them in mortal combat each time I play through it (ending sucked btw. Why oh why make a generic movie ending, they could have at least made a controlled in-game cutscene to give it a semblence of personal choice). Though that could just be the wolf spider infestation in my basement, forcing me to kill at least a spider per day.

I do think this could help. Too bad that wouldn't help for Belonephobia, since it would probably be hard to make a fake hypodermic needle. Maybe it could be a Wii attachment... get some of the heroin addicts hooked (http://www.cad-comic.com/comic.php?d=20060419).

[Majster Wichajster]

I hope it will prove successful. It is better to treat phobias in virtual environments than in real ones since I think (and I know jack-shit about psychology and phobias) the fear is more about the concept than fact. Real or not, as long one feels it is real the phobia kicks in.

Still, I'm probably just pulling this out from my ass.