The purpose of the Swim Rehab project was to make the physical rehabilitation process more engaging for post-stroke clients using the Microsoft Kinect system, which allows users the ability to control on-screen, action with physical gestures.
We interviewed key stakeholders, post-stroke clients who dreaded going to their physical therapy sessions and the physical therapists that explained the typical exercises used and the most common problems the clients faced.
We used the Microsoft Kinect system, which allows users to use any part of their body to control on-screen actions. Our goal was to give the client the sense of physical freedom that they lost due to their stroke, while also making the physical therapy session fun and engaging.
The metaphor for the game mechanics is an underwater environment. During the gameplay, the screen advances slowly, with bubbles appearing in a three-dimensional space in front of the user. The user is able to turbo boost through the water if they're able to move their hands in a motion that matches the placement of the bubbles along with the corresponding speed of the screen. We made custom sounds for the game, including a water 'whooshing' sound for the turbo boost, and a water-inspired dub reggae soundtrack produced by Andrew Jordan.
Since strokes can affect people in different parts of their bodies, with varying levels of severity, we built in a settings screen for the physical therapist that allows them to select where the bubbles will appear on screen, and their size.
To prevent 'cheating' during gameplay, in which clients try to achieve intended physical goals by contorting themselves in a way not conducive to the intended goal of the therapy, we measured the location of their shoulders along a horizontal plane. If their shoulders dip below a certain threshold, their on-screen avatar turns red, and prevents them from being allowed to pop the bubbles.
Project partners: Alvin Chang, Christine Doempke
The gameplay settings screen for the physical therapist on duty. They are able to choose the size of the bubbles, how far from the client's body the bubbles will appear on screen, how many repetitions they are to accomplish, what section of the screen the bubbles will appear on and which hand they are to use during the game.
Sketch for gameplay during the brainstorming process using a road metaphor.
A concept drawing during the brainstorming stage where we envisioned the client playing through a field of stars.
