What only a Ham and Cheese Sandwich can Cure!

Age Group: Adolescents (13-18) specifically aimed at mature patients who are smart enough to look past the typical distractions.

Hospital Stressor: Restriction of physical activities

Genre: Survival Horror, Third-Person Adventure

Platform: Any console with a thumbstick [XBOX 360, PS3, Wii and PC adaptable joystick]

Player Goal: The goal of the game is simple, survive to the end.

Gameplay: The concept of the game is to force a player into a situation where the brain is acting in a completely different manner than the player’s association with the real world. Specifically, causing the brain to fire the neurons in the locus cerules, more commonly called the "Fight or Flight" area of the brain. The game is more suited to the virtual environments created by the virtual reality therapy games, such as Snow World. The player is immersed into an environment which is unfair, terrifying and horrific. In this world, the player needs to be on constant alert or the avatar will die. The controls are similar to the Scimitar Engine of Assassin's Creed where any object not flush against a surface can be used to climb on and move around. There are fighting options where the player can kick, punch and grapple the creature’s pursuing him, however, the player soon learns these all lead to death unless used strategically. The core of the game is a chase game where the player is trying to escape from the creatures. Using high-agility acrobatics, extreme verticality and flashy movements, the players runs the character through a gauntlet of increasing danger and lethality.

The twist of the story is, as the player takes damage, either from the environment or creatures, the character's movements will reflect the stress and damage. For example, the character is hit in the left leg by a creature’s spiked tentacles, causing the character to limp and reducing his movement. This is a permanent trait. The game then adjust accordingly: the creatures move slower, the environment shifts to accommodate his limited jumping and running abilities and the overall gameplay is still a survival game, except as the player is restricted in his movement, the game still gives the player a chance. The meta-goal of the game is to shift the player's thinking from the negative loss of physical dexterity to a paradigm of possibilities and how, even when impaired in some way, the avatar can still win. The game is two-fold, distracting the patient/player with an neural reaction to the immersion with the “Fight or Flight” scenarios and by using engagement psychology where the player is controlling an avatar not-unlike themselves who is restricted in movement and has to continue on living.

Finally, when placed into a "Fight or Flight" situation, the brain releases several chemicals, including epinephrine (adrenaline) which has various effects on the body. Some of these effects can be beneficial for a particular procedure, such as the dilation of pupils, boosting the supply of oxygen and glucose, reducing metabolism functions and increasing the brains focusing ability, thus allowing a patient to focus more on the virtual world and less on the hospital.