Lazy eye can be extremely frustrating for those who have it.
It results in decreased vision and structural problems and often leads to expensive correctional surgery. A group of U students are looking for a way to change this through HealthX, a video game which they hope will not only lead to a cost-effective way to treaty lazy eye, but also appeal to children.
The game focuses on the player’s eyes — they do not use a keyboard to play. The game is exclusively compatible with Tobii eye tracker, a device similar to a Kinect, which rests below the laptop’s screen. This device tracks where the player’s eyes are looking and analyzes their distance. The goal is to get the user’s eye to correct itself without surgery by training it to look at the same object onscreen at the same time.
HealthX has two levels to it: diagnosis and treatment. The diagnostic aspect is determined by the player looking at a flat plane on the screen, trying to hone with their eyes on objects moving towards the center. If the person cannot destroy the target before they reach the center, they lose. This game tracks the user’s success and adapts the game’s difficulty accordingly.
The treatment aspect of the game amps up the entertainment value of the gameplay. After a quick intro showing the player how to use their eyes, they’re thrown into the game. By using the data from the diagnostic portion, this part resembles an old-school Western shooter, with the player moving the character in four directions with their vision. The player earns points by shooting crows and turkeys to keep them from attacking the player, in addition to finding hidden treasures, all within 200 seconds.
This portion of the game is difficult, and it was designed to be. The player cannot move left or right without moving up or down at the same time, which makes it harder to shoot. Staying still while shooting makes the player an easy target for the birds to attack the player, however, allowing for a stressful situation when the birds quickly overwhelms the character.
Although still in development, this could be a literal and figurative game changer for those with lazy eye. As of right now, the game does not offer a cure for lazy eye, but its creators hope it will soon. When it is finished, they plan to have doctors prescribe the game and bundle the Tobii eye tracker with their game.
Testers are still needed, and those with lazy eye who are interested should contact [email protected].