Demonstrating that video games can help players avoid health issues, game giant Ubisoft has announced its intentions of developing "Dig Rush," a game designed to help take care of amblyopia, a disorder more commonly known as lazy eye syndrome.
The games developer, known for coming out with the hugely popular "Assasin's Creed" and "Far Cry" titles, is partnering with Amblyotech to create the game.
According to Mathieu Ferland, a senior producer at Ubisoft, the development of the game is "a great opportunity for us to contribute our knowledge and skills in videogame development to help materialize a breakthrough novel medical treatment."
He further added, "The team from Ubisoft Montreal has been able to create a more engaging and enjoyable experience for patients being treated for amblyopia, and we're proud to be involved in such a positive illustration of the impact of videogame technology."
Amblyopia, or lazy eye, is a disorder where images are not transmitted correctly along the optic nerves, causing people to see hazily out of one eye. This disorder affects an estimated three percent of children worldwide.
Building on patented technological inventions of different researchers at McGill University in Canada, "Dig Rush" will use 3D glasses and a tablet provided by the player's physician. The gameplay involves characters being guided to mine precious minerals and solve puzzles, and the design is in varying contrasts of red and blue. This makes players work both their dominant and lazy eyes together and retrains the brain to improve visual acuity. Depending on the progress, doctors can adjust the game's settings to customize each level of gameplay and make it specific for each player so that every person with the disorder will have the right levels of contrasts to suit their condition.
States Joseph Koziak, CEO of Amblyotech, "With our agreement with Ubisoft, we are further able to provide physicians with a complete and accurate picture of treatment compliance to help them monitor patient progress throughout therapy."
