Whether it's movies, television, or video games, politicians love to point a finger at media as the cause for all of society's ills. Having watched the ESRB be shat into existence after the Parental Advisory Label paved the way (this was a long time ago when people actually used to buy these odd bits of tangible plastic called "albums"), I always like to call attention to developing projects that do the exact opposite of what so many people unfairly and simplistically do, labeling video games as the cause célèbre "plaguing" the youth these days.
So today, I'd like to introduce you to something called The Forest Project, a game that the Alzheimer's Australia Vic and Opaque Media plan on using as a form of therapy for people living down under with dementia.
Dementia (and its red headed step child alzheimer's) is easily one of the most debilitating things that can happen to a person as they get older, getting progressively worse and worse as time marches on.
While the cause remains unknown, and there's no cure for the condition as of yet, an article published in the The American Journal of Psychiatry in 2006 cited sensory therapy as one "useful" method of treatment, and that's exactly what The Forest Project does, using "virtual reality as a form of sensory therapy for people living with dementia by allowing them to enter a more visually stimulating and interactive environment," according to a press release.
"The objective of The Forest Project is to improve the quality of life for people living with dementia by escaping from the monotony of their living spaces," said Opaque Multimedia Co-Founder Norman Wang. "Future expansions will include more locations, interactions and preferences. Our eventual goal is to put The Forest Project in every aged care facility in Australia, and similar facilities all over the world."
The motor behind the team is latest version of the same engine that gave us a buffet of triple-A franchises: Batman: Arkham series, Borderlands, Gears of War, Mass Effect, etc. Said one of the men behind Unreal Engine 4, Epic Games VP Jay Wilbur, "we are proud that Unreal Engine 4 has been able to help the team see its vision realized. We have worked hard to give Unreal Engine 4 the unparalleled versatility needed to bring any concept to life, and projects like the VDE and The Forest Project make those efforts worthwhile."
It was only due to Unreal Engine 4 that gave developer Opaque the tools and flexibility needed to overcome limitations. Said Wang, "Game engines that specialize too specifically towards a certain type of game limit the developer's options, and can doom a serious game project before it even starts. In our experience with Unreal Engine 4, we have found that it has versatility and flexibility, and is clearly designed with the end user in mind."
The game is currently seeking crowdfunding support via Pozible, and has raised about $2,300 at the time of this article's publication.