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ScienceDaily,
May 15, 2008
Today’s video games serve a multitude of functions ranging from
entertainment to exercise and even education. Now, three
graduates from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Class of 2008
have created a game with an even more important purpose—to
foster independence among disabled individuals.
Graduating seniors Jennifer Ash, Zach Barth, and Peter Mueller
have led an interdisciplinary student team made up of
programmers, game designers, character and level artists,
electrical engineers, and music composers to create a
groundbreaking interactive game simulation to help individuals
with disabilities develop life skills and obtain increased
autonomy.
Called the CapAbility Games Research Project, the students
worked in collaboration with the Adult Services Division of the
Center for Disability Services in Albany to develop a game that
specifically addresses the needs of the center’s consumers. The
game, called “Capable Shopper,” simulates a shopping trip at a
local Price Chopper. Players maneuver through the virtual
grocery store—which is based on actual blueprints obtained from
an area Price Chopper where the center’s consumers often
shop—using a specially designed joystick or a head mouse,
depending on their individual mobility.
“The most difficult—and most rewarding—part of the game
development process was creating something that was accessible
to a large group of people who had varying abilities,” said Zach
Barth, a dual computer systems engineering and computer science
major. “Beyond that we created countless iterations of the game
until we achieved something educational that was still really
fun to play.”
A computer monitor set up directly in front of the user
simulates the layout of the store, and a second monitor to the
left displays a virtual shopping list. Users start the game by
selecting a meal they’d like to make—such as a spaghetti dinner,
a holiday ham, or even rotini with alfredo lobster sauce—and
complete it when they’ve found all the items on their list. A
player selecting mac ’n’ cheese casserole, for example, is
charged with finding ham, cheese, pasta, biscuits, and frozen
vegetables to complete the meal.
Consumers at the center have successfully used the “Capable
Shopper” game to practice learning their way around the
supermarket, identifying the appropriate aisles in which to find
items on their shopping list, and selecting specific items off
of shelves.
“By creating this simulated learning environment, our students
have given individuals with disabilities an engaging way to
learn skills directly related to independence in their daily
lives. Beyond that, they’ve gotten them excited about engaging
with the real world,” said Kathleen Ruiz, associate professor of
electronic arts at Rensselaer, and faculty leader of the
CapAbility Research Project. “Games like ‘Capable Shopper’
illustrate the potential for new gaming genres such as serious
games that combine the strengths of interactivity with
multimedia to provide engaging simulations in communication,
education, and artistic expression, among others.”
Following the success of “Capable Shopper,” the students were
asked to install it in the Center for Disability Service’s Adult
Services Division so that it may be accessed by individuals at
any time. A permanent installation was completed this week.
“It was great to be a part of the tech group at RPI, designing
and organizing a video game for the Center for Disability
Services,” said Ron Hill, a consumer at the Center who has been
involved in the project. Barth, Ash, and Mueller worked on the
CapAbility Research Project with teammates Darren Domingos ’10,
Ben Esposito ’11, and Class of 2004 alumnus Brian Ratta and
Class of 2007 alums Ben Frost and Terry Lucas. Following
graduation on May 17, 2008, Ash—a dual psychology and games and
simulation arts and sciences major—and Barth plan to take jobs
at IBM and Microsoft, respectively. Mueller, a design,
innovation and society major, plans to spend the summer
traveling in Beijing.
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