EscapeVR

About the Game

This is a demonstration tool for people with anxiety and claustrophobia to experience in a safe and supporting environment. The maze-like structure, confined space and low-light environment simulates anxiety-inducing state for the player.

• The game uses exposure therapy, to motivate users who deal with stress & anxiety.
• Using "Gamification of VR treatment"  to engage and stimulate participation in exposure therapy by providing levels and positive rewards.
• The levels determines the difficulty of the maze, the simulated experience vary from level to level. The "orbs" or the "positive rewards" in the game enables the user to keep the light on and with low visual perception, it elevates users reward expectancy and deviates users anxious thoughts.
• Allow the user to relax and embrace mindfulness by interacting with a virtual environment which rewards you with a calming effect which triggers the relaxation response of your body.

The NPC that follows you in the game, communicates with you all the way through the game. Looking at the NPC triggers its voice. The NPC is there to relax the user as they explore the maze.

Made for Mental Well-being

Gamification has made a considerable growth in development of games for healthcare industry. With gamification and Virtual Reality has started its fascinating take-over of healthcare for the greatest pleasure of patients and doctors alike. Aiming to provide a way for them to achieve that balanced state-of-mind through a game in Virtual Reality and over time help the users to deal with stress and anxiety, so that they can improve their psychological as well as physical self.

• 5 percent of adults (18 or older) experience a mental illness in any one year, equivalent to 43.8 million people.
• Virtual reality (VR) has recently emerged as a potentially effective way to provide general and specialty health care services and appears poised to enter mainstream psychotherapy delivery.

How to play

The player control their own movement, while a NPC, with a deep soothing voice communicates with us while showing us the light through the maze.

• The trigger button on Google Cardboard is used for the player to move.
• Double-clicking on the trigger button enables the light from the NPC.
• Collect the orbs to restore the light.
• Follow the sound of water to escape the maze.

Install instructions

• Download the .apk file onto your Android phone. (Link for steps to install .apk files https://www.maketecheasier.com/install-applications-without-the-market )
• Install the file.
• Mount the phone in a Google Cardboard VR viewer.
• Play the game.

References

• Garone, Sarah. (2012, May 7). “How Virtual Reality Meditation Helps Me Control My Anxiety.” Healthline, Healthline Media. Retrieved from  www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/meditation-virtual-reality#4
• Michael P Craven & Lucy Simons (2015, February). Games to engage increasing mental health awareness. The Ergonomist. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a923/592eeb0ea4b5bab7b9d9ed4314765720d15c.pdf
• Papalini, S., Lange, I., Bakker, J., Michielse, S., Marcelis, M., Wichers, M., . . . Schruers, K. (2019, February 11). The predictive value of neural reward processing on exposure therapy outcome: Results from a randomized controlled trial. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278584618308017   

• Weir K. (2018, February). Virtual reality expands its reach. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/02/virtual-reality

• Improvements in mental health care for women. (2019, April 1). Retrieved from https://www.womenshealth.gov/30-achievements/06
• Wei M. (2019, March 04). “Research Finds Virtual Reality Can Help Treat Anxiety”. Psychology today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/urban-survival/201903/research-finds-virtual-reality-can-help-treat-anxiety
• https://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/genderwomen/en/