University of Southern California – a team of 35 students has developed a game called Social Clues,to help autistic children. The game aims to teach children how to make eye contact, listen to others, and recognize emotions.
Children play as one of two characters: ParticiPETE or communiKATE and have to try and find their lost toys.
USC Marshall School of Business MBA student Jeremy Bernstein said:
“What we’re trying to do is break down everyday interactions into something very understandable, very manageable,”
He worked on the game as its project lead with his wife, Karen Okrent, who is a speech pathologist.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control states that around 1 in 68 children have autism spectrum disorder.
USC developers met with more than a dozen autistic children and gained feedback from these working sessions.
Social Clues came out of USC’s Advanced Games course, where a game is initially an idea and then realised over the course of two semesters.
The original article on the gamespot website by Eddie Makuch can be read here