Phase three began with the development of the team EKGAME’s, consisting of Emilia and myself. We shared common themes in our research such as the effects of music and sound on the mind, immersion and therapy for mental health. We have a shared ambition to use this final year in games design to create a unique game experience that can make a positive impact on the mental health.

Once we had established our project and personal goals for our games design and development we were able to come up with an essential experience and begin gathering research into themes that would support it. The key research included therapy techniques, methods of self-care, immersion and the use of physical space to create meaningful game experiences.

Through rapid idea generation, considerate design strategies and the development of prototypes and testing, we were able to come up with three unique and distinct ideas. These ideas explore how we can use space, sound and visual design to create an immersive experience that allows for the mental and physical regulation of the players.

Our chosen idea is a physical game space that will act as a tool of intervention in universities and schools, supplying them with an immersive safe space that will provide students with a means to regulate their feelings of overwhelm and stress. This will develop from the Game Box Idea. We have established that we will be using 360 degree screens that will most likely have projections mapped on to them, as well as surround sound that is designed to calm the player and put them at ease.

The idea requires a great amount of development and during phase four we will be putting further research into how we can create meaningful visual and audio design with the effect desired. This will begin with a deeper delve into how visual and audio impacts and influences the mind as well as causing changes in the physical body. Furthermore we intend to research how we can use immersive technology, such as those used in the Igloo Dome, to create game interactions that support regulation.

Actions for Phase 4:

• Prototype within the Igloo Dome, learning how to use its technology
• Develop a greater understanding of how to use audiovisual design to have a emotive and regulatory
• Research into immersive technology to support the ideation of game interactions
• Establish potential art styles for our visual design
• Consider the development of our own physical space
• Propose our idea to music students to add a sound designer to our team