Customized Avatars In A Multiplatform Game On Mobile And Virtual Reality For Hospitalized Children In Hemato-Oncology: A Conceptual Design
Estelle Guingo, David Paquin, Casey Cotes‐Turpin, Sofia Addab, Cathy Vézina, Félix Côtes-Charlebois, Sylvie Le May · International Journal of Virtual Reality · 2024
The hospital is an environment that may induce both anxiety and pain in hospitalized children and their families. The use of games and distraction offers a solution to better manage anxiety and pain. The objective of the present paper is to introduce “A Friend for Life,” a multi-platform game based on the creation of customized avatars to help children hospitalized in the hematology-oncology unit cope with their everyday pain and anxiety. This smartphone and virtual reality application uses the IKEA Effect and transmedia storytelling to improve child engagement in the game. This game was developed as part of AVATAR, a research project that combines collaborative action research with co-design. The project is led by our multidisciplinary team with relevant experience in nursing, pediatrics, hematology-oncology, and new technology. Also, our team includes a former patient and a former patient’s parent. In this paper, we introduce our serious game, “A Friend for Life”, and the collaborative development method that was used in the prototyping phase. Additionally, we will outline our hypothetical conceptual framework and its underlying concepts. Finally, we discuss the game's limitations and directions for future research.