Aaliyah Robinson, Arlene Butler, Isadora Fink, and Rachel Conway
Proposal:
Intro/Purpose
Our product is called Biohazard: Syndicate and is a Virtual Reality simulation that puts the player in the shoes of a young, single parent who is a lab tech at the start of a zombie apocalypse. The main idea of Biohazard: Syndicate is to educate college and pre-med students on the spread of diseases through a “hands-on” experience. This Virtual Reality will put the players in a lab at the beginning of a zombie apocalypse and allows them to study and learn about the spread of diseases with the feeling of urgency of the zombies surrounding them. This product is important and something that schools would benefit from because it allows students who are studying the transmission of pathogens to experiment with the bacteria and causes of the diseases without putting themselves in a harmful situation.
The background research consisted of looking into the different ways diseases can be spread, in order to know what needs to happen in the game. The information found consists of direct and indirect viral pathways, the importance of discovering a pathway, how to properly analyze a sample, and recognizing patterns within the data.
The target audience for the Biohazard: Syndicate is the science departments of Colleges and Universities.The schools are our target market because the program is designed for the use of college and pre-med students that are studying the spread of diseases because they will benefit from being in a virtual setting where they get to collect samples, analyze those samples, and then test different treatments. This will be conducted in a safe environment being that it is all virtual. The fact that it takes place during a zombie apocalypse will also teach the students how to deal with the pressure and time sensitivity.
Learning Outcomes
The main objective of the application is to educate students on pathology and discover new ways to facilitate learning. The students will be able to know how disease spreads, use laboratory tools and, understand how to conduct data collection. In the Experience the user will learn differentiation on the spread of disease. The player must decide if the spread is direct or indirect in order to inform the the public on methods to avoid the contagion. If the spread of the disease is direct the student would need to analyze the what makes the pathogen unable to spread without a host (Cortez).
The application is not just about just surviving the zombie apocalypse but to teach scientific methods and the study of pathology. The students will come out of the experience understanding how to use specific laboratory equipment properly and comprehend what it is to be used for. The application itself allows the student to interact with expensive equipment without the risk of damages or chemical hazards. In order to become proficient at a skill, one must practice with a hand on learning experience allowing for more neuron connections to occur and create a memorable experience (TÜRK).
In order to assess the students understand of the information given, the player’s must demonstrate the tasks in game. The accuracy of their work would be assessed by a point system such as a scoreboard. The score could appear on the in game avatars wrist, as well as, game achievements. The achievement represent player’s ability to specific objectives. These objectives would be the proper usage of equipment, determined how the disease spread or completion field data collection. The completion of the achievement describes that the student has the ability to correctly follow procedures and has payed attention to the applications information.
User Experience/ User Interface
There are currently no real marketable applications that truly teach the students about the spread of disease and the ways to stop it. Scientists at the Virus Research Center currently employ an application that permits them to view viruses and their weak points (Gates). This allows them to determine what can be used in order to stop the virus; this application is not readily available to the public. It is likely too complex for any ordinary person to fully comprehend. Using the HTC Vive the user can view the virus in a 360 view. Any noted weak spots could then virtually be tested to see if a certain drug would be able to denature the virus and thus create a vaccine.
While this technology is being used for groundbreaking scientific advancements, it does not educate undergraduate students, and it is incredibly boring. Looking at a colorful blob in order to stop a disease is not something the students may want to do. Our application, Biohazard: Syndicate, provides the undergrads with the knowledge of disease. It allows the user to experience lab work and data analysis, but also have some fun. At the start of the Zombie apocalypse, the user must gather samples from the undead and come up with a vaccine. As the user progresses through the game, they receive notification of their successes; the more achievements the better the user played, and the more the user learned. The user will be guided through the application, but not told if their conclusion is correct until the very end. The vaccine is tested on a child and the user will receive a notification if it worked.
Biohazard: Syndicate will be formatted for use on the HTC Vive. The visuals will ideally be realistic animation as to imitate the graphics of an actual video game. The HTC Vive can be used sitting or standing up. A room-scaled play area can be created in order to provide the user will a fully immersive experience. There is a built in safety system that warns the user as they approach the boundaries of their play area. This function provides the user with a sense of comfort. The headset is also equipped with a front-facing camera so that the user can still be aware of their surroundings outside of the headset. The headset is adjustable and fits over most glasses. The hand controllers are exclusively designed for VR and are equipped with HD haptic feedback. The wireless base stations are used to track the user throughout the play area; it has a 360 range.
The basis of the application is to provide the user with a fun way to learn about disease. The user is a lab technician at the start of the zombie apocalypse. They will work with a team of 6 under a lead pathologist. The user must fight zombies to collect samples, and use lab equipment to identify the pathogen and how it spreads. Near the end of the user’s experience the character’s child becomes sick with the disease. The research performed will determine whether the child is saved. The user will analyze the pathogen found in the samples with a computer and microscope, determine the necessary information, and finally vaccinate the child.
Storyboard
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Implementation Strategy
Overall, specific issues that occur with this technology will be cost, availability for consumers, and making sure the focus of the game is pathology and is not overshadowed by zombies. In order to combat the issues we set an idea of what systems would be most effective to use for the experience as haptic feedback is a necessary part of the application, we looked at the systems HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. To accomplish the main point of the application of being more than just a zombie apocalypse game, the focus of the must be labeled throughout the simulation and have limited interaction. By grouping the zombies as a labeled contagion without a first person shooter perspective the user would focus on the specific task more than trying to destroy all zombies.
The main target of our product is universities and college students. The application can be used as a resource in college classrooms to facilitate a hands experience without the risk of becoming sick. The application allows for a more interactive lecture requiring the students full attention. Our secondary target audience is students of any level of education such as high school students. The objective of the application is to create a learning experience that will establish an interest in the user. The way which we choose to advertise the product would be through social media sites commonly used by college students. The sites we believe to be most beneficial to advertise on would be Twitter,Youtube, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook.
App icon:
Long-term Vision
The initial prototype focuses on identifying what is causing the zombie disease. The players are motivated to find the cause by the knowledge that if they fail, their child will contract the disease. The first episode we are pitching is focusing on finding the cure, so that the player is not overwhelmed with too much at once. In the future of Biohazard: Syndicate, more episodes can be released that deal with finding a cure for the Zombie disease as well as one where you prevent further spread. The next episode released can use the information you developed when you found the cause of the disease to figure out how to further prevent the spreading of the disease so you will then be able to find a cure to the disease all together. Another expansion option is that the cure you developed does not work on everyone, so you then have to adjust the cure you found to help those who were not cured.
The 5-year plan for Biohazard: Syndicate begins with the release of the initial game, which includes finding the cause of the Zombie outburst. Once the game is released, we will then work on any bugs in the initial release, and promptly fix them to give the players the most realistic experience possible. We will take a year or so to gain feedback from the public on what they like or do not like about the game and develop the next episode, establishing the cure, taking into account the feedback from the players. We want to make sure the next game will be well received. If the feedback from the new episode is positive, we will then move forward with the third episode which will deal with the cure previously developed failing in some people, and the player will then need to adapt the cure to work on every person.
In conclusion, we hope that this pitch will be something that many of you consider for the future. With new diseases developing every year, this product will be beneficial to younger generations that are still learning and developing. This virtual reality experience can be a fun way of learning, while the users are still retaining useful information. According to Sandra Piovesan, virtual reality presents an opportunity of learning with a real situation, but artificially created, facilitating the visualization and the interaction sensation with the study focus. This virtual reality experience allows students to be dangerous situations while not actually being in any real danger. Furthermore, the virtual reality permits students to learn about real diseases in an interactive world based on images that are computer generated. This experience will be something that can be used for years to come, and it can fit in with the technology of today.
Work Cited
Balcarek, Kytia B., et al. “Neonatal Screening for Coenital Cytomegalovirus Infection by Detection of Virus in Saliva.” The Journal of Infectious Diseases, vol. 167, no. 6, 1993, pp. 1433–1436. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30112750.
Cortez, Michael H., et al. “Distinguishing between Indirect and Direct Modes of Transmission Using Epidemiological Time Series.” The American Naturalist, vol. 181, no. 2, 2013, pp. E43–E52. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/668826.
“Discover Virtual Reality Beyond Imagination.” VIVE™, HTC Corporation, www.vive.com/us/.
Gates, Bill. “Here’s How Virtual Reality Can Help Fight Disease.” Gatesnotes.com, The Gates Notes LLC, 11 July 2017, www.gatesnotes.com/Health/How-Virtual-Reality-Can-Help-Us-Fight-Viruses
Piovesan, S. D., Passerino, L. M., & Pereira, A. S. (2012). Virtual Reality as a Tool in the Education. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED542830.pdf
TÜRK, Cumhur, et al. “An Experimental Study on the Teaching of Seasons: Model Transformation.” [“MEVSİMLER KONUSUNUN ÖĞRETİMİ ÜZERİNE DENEYSEL BİR ÇALIŞMA: MODEL DÖNÜŞÜMÜ”]. International Journal of Eurasia Social Sciences / Uluslararasi Avrasya Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, vol. 8, no. 27, June 2017, pp. 531-561. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.stevenson.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=124908259&site=ehost-live.
Demo:
https://cdn.instavr.co/html/8Sxz9qHC6ihagXCMn80n_app.html
Presentation Link:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qZNbWfCU0HnHu-iA8PSrnf4or9zPYbT5Jj2H9vSD-kk/edit#slide=id.p
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