EzekielNOR

EzekielNOR OP t1_ix2wiii wrote

Everything we did was ran through medical professionals and the users for feedback and adjustments. We had user workshops to get detailed feedback and see real life use cases outside the clinical usage at the VR Lab.

Continued clinical usage is planned.

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EzekielNOR OP t1_ix2w998 wrote

There shouldn't be any issues using it with mono-vision, but of course depth perception will be limited as in real life. It will be significantly harder, but not any different from real life.

A small note that we didn't write research papers on this but developed it through workshops and clinical use. User and hospital feedback combined with iterations and in conjunction with qualified medical personnel. Continued clinical use is planned.

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EzekielNOR OP t1_ix2w0tw wrote

Our workshop/test group was limited to Brain stroke patients due to project requirements. But we consider everything we did to be applicable to rehabilitation of TBI.

Sadly, I do not know a lot about such weapon and harm, so I wouldn't be qualified to answer that.

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One of the things we do is quantify patient results through leader boards. This helps doctors track daily performance and or long term improvements.

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EzekielNOR OP t1_ix2vt0q wrote

We were always set on using Unreal Engine as we had a lot of experience with that. I have a dedicated programmer - he prefers Rider IDE since it's very Unreal Engine friendly.

You don't want me to write code unless you love spaghetti, and not the Italian kind. :)

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EzekielNOR OP t1_ix2vmwd wrote

You'll need a lot of initiative. I contacted the general secretary of the largest interest group in Norway directly. Got the chance to do a 2min pitch and he liked it.

I was somewhat lucky that got his number from a tech lead at the company - he told me to go for it.

After that we approached the Dam Foundation for funding application and approached the largest specialist hospital in Norway. They liked our idea, and we developed the application together. It got declined the first time and we applied a second time in which it was accepted. :)

I don't think there is any set way to do this, but getting powerful players in on your idea early is very important.

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EzekielNOR OP t1_ix2vfli wrote

I don't know the specifics. But I know that it's been used in treatment of addictions (probably as a distraction). Even some research on post traumatic injury to see how it can maintain synapse function. I do not know what the end result was- but it's very interesting to see games being used this way.

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EzekielNOR OP t1_ix2vb5z wrote

It's always hard to quantify without longer studies, but we had one patient in particular whom had suffered an extremely severe stroke - paralysis of left side (very limited hand movement), and reduced mobility on right side on top of some mental disabilities.

It was the kind of patient that you'd sit on eggshells to see how would react, expecting that they would gain nothing, be frustrated and quit.

They didn't. They loved it. Despite extreme challenges, including taping a controller to the left hand - they laughed so hard and had so much fun that I had tears of joy in my eyes. That kind of thing made all the hours we donated worth it.

The patients we had with the heaviest disabilities were the ones that came with the most positive feedback. I guess this goes to show how much a little bit of fun can mean for someone.

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EzekielNOR OP t1_ix17f62 wrote

I had been a hobbyist in Unreal Engine and UDK2.5 since 2004. Modding, level design - and entered the indie development scene a few years before coming up with the brain trauma rehabilitation idea.

My skills are in project management, debugging, optimization and product / game design. The project management skills came naturally as a part of the journey getting here.

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EzekielNOR OP t1_ix15l7y wrote

The original reply to my answer has been changed.

He went on a rant about Norwegians not working and spending thousands of dollars of weekend vacations, comiting a line of code or two, before being exhausted. And complaining about Norwegians being depressed.

My reply to this was "Thankfully that's not how it works" - and in turn he changed his reply to "That is a nice money. Did you eventually thought of making the project opensource, so less fortunate people can use it too?"

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Not sure what's up with that but. Clarification for the masses.

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EzekielNOR OP t1_ix10nmz wrote

If you want to experiment with something - I would look at software for loneliness and isolation. Scenery, locations in VR that could be brought to home for elderly to give them an experience and vacation to an exotic and exciting place. I think this would be well received and be a topic for discussion among the elderly that tries said experience.

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EzekielNOR OP t1_ix105lw wrote

Game design in general takes a lot from psychological concepts, and even some neuroscience in the way we design for accessibility. We don't specifically deep dive into it - but build our software based on feedback from our patients through workshops and our game design knowledge.

I don't think I've been stuck on a game design problem - it usually leads to trying different approaches that are more creative, or work arounds. If there is a will there is a way - it is just a question of how much smoke and mirrors you want to use. :)

I think that the most important aspect of any product or game design is where possible reducing user friction. Make it as easy and intuitive to pick up as if it was walking. Drop in and play/use. (That does not mean it cannot be challenging! Dark Souls is amazing, minus accessibility!).

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EzekielNOR OP t1_ix0zlbf wrote

Our world is built up around reducing distracting colours, not having a cluttered -but easily readable world. We try to not overwhelm the senses of our users despite being in VR. So on the software side there is "tech" - but not anything specific on the hardware side.

We generally limit sessions to 15 to 20min or so, but we some patients may prefer longer sessions depending on their abilities.

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EzekielNOR OP t1_ix0z7y4 wrote

We are looking for commercialization partners for the project currently - currently it is available at Sunnaas Hospital and for home use with their patients. But it is not publicly available other places yet. More widespread trials would be a logical next step.

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EzekielNOR OP t1_ix0yvcz wrote

Currently working on a new project. I own the company, so my salary varies.
I try to not take a salary that is bigger than the rest of the team.

Depending on where you live you can earn from 65K to 150K USD per year with my skills. Sometimes more. (Unreal Engine generalist, game designer with 5-10 years' experience).

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EzekielNOR OP t1_ix0ybry wrote

Thank you for the kind words. If I inspire one person -that is mission complete for me. <3

It can be daunting to start projects like these. We didn't have extensive medical knowledge outside a keen interest in the topics - but that is why we allied ourselves with a good hospital - to weigh up for our own limitations.

If you feel limited in anything you do - find people that compliment you! :)

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EzekielNOR OP t1_ix0xic8 wrote

>I was inspired after a friend of mine suffered a brain stroke in his 40s. He was rather severely afflicted and sits in a wheelchair now - but he never gave up. Always thought. He even bought a belted wheelchair and mounted his gun on it - still goes moose hunting.
>
>I spent a lot of time with him talking about rehab and he told me how extremely boring some of the stuff was, and how Wii games were cool but some were very hard for him. And that kinda started it all.

I was inspired after a friend of mine suffered a brain stroke in his 40s. He was rather severely afflicted and sits in a wheelchair now - but he never gave up. Always thought. He even bought a belted wheelchair and mounted his gun on it - still goes moose hunting.

I spent a lot of time with him talking about rehab and he told me how extremely boring some of the stuff was, and how Wii games were cool but some were very hard for him. And that kinda started it all.

From before I was in the games industry as an indie/hobbyist using Unreal Engine.

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