Revised Brief

William Levy

The goal of the studio was to create a video game for a child with special needs that would be both skill building and fun to play. The first step was to learn about developing video games and to meet with the child for whom the game would benefit. After a series of skill building exercises, students from the studio visited Boston English High School to meet with high schoolers who have disabilities. The student of interest in this example is a girl named Unique. She is non-verbal but does not let that stop her in any way. Her interests, likes and dislikes, are those that appeal to typical teenagers. While speaking with a helper who accompanies her while on campus, it became evident that she could benefit from a game to keep her engaged independently. Her passion for fruit and love for clapping ultimately became the inspiration of the "Collect The Fruit Game". 

To play the “Collect The Fruit Game,” the player uses two model hands to clap each time they see fruit falling into a basket on the screen. If the player sees a fruit that they do not like, they can simply clap the hands and the fruit will disappear from the screen. In this case, Unique would clap when she sees a grape, as she does not enjoy this fruit. There is a sensor in the set of hands used for clapping, and when pressed, sends a signal to the screen allowing the fruit to move to the side away from a basket which catches the falling fruit. If a grape is seen on the screen and a clap is received from the sensor, the fruit will not fall into the collection basket, and the player receives points. The “Collect The Fruit Game” allows the player to be rewarded for their success while developing skills. The game is easy to use, and fun to play.