WII Game for the Blind

At the end of 2008 the collaboration partners – MAD multimedia, Principal Blue, TNO and Royal Dutch Visio – had decided to give the concept of Serious Gaming a new dimension. Within two years and with a subsidy from Innovative Action Programme in Groningen (Dutch: IAG2) the first official Nintendo Wii game was developed for children with or without visual impairment. The process used for this development is called co-creation, a technique in which the end user is involved in the development of new products and services. Visually impaired, blind and full sighted children contributed to the content and form of this game, while physical therapists, exercise specialists and teachers monitored the motoric aspects.

In “The Explorer and the Mystery of the Diamond Scarab”, you play the role of Ben the Archaeologist who is searching for the Temple of the Diamond Scarab. Once he is in the temple he meets Tiri, an enchanting Egyptian princess. Going through a maze of underground passages they look for ancient Egyptian treasures and confront various challenges. The Guardian leads them step by step to the exit. The game is played on a Balance Board, a standard Wii accessory. With this you can move through the maze, find treasures and enter challenging situations. Since this is the first game in the world developed jointly for visually impaired, blind and fully sighted children, the game can be played in Dutch and in English.

To learn more, please visit http://www.visio.org/Wii-game.

Alison Currey
Being a Literature Students she loves to write and always kept working for the society and who really need a hand. Apart from writing she is an excellent singer herself. Have found her either reading or drawing in her free time. An inspiring personality you may want to follow at FredForum here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *