Virtual reality student project aims to cure acrophobia

by James Ransom-Wiley { Jan 24th 2007 at 4:25PM }

The Last Boss's Tom Fronczak (a semester away from a degree in game design) profiles a VR studio at the University of Pittsburgh's Medical Virtual Reality Center, which he and a small team of classmates will use to develop an acrophobia (fear of heights) sim to be used during habitual therapy sessions. Tom's group will be using Unreal Engine (1) to design a level, ideally representing an unfinished skyscraper. ~~Players~~ Patients will slowly ascend the floors of the building, eventually emerging into the open air, where they'll have to navigate up scaffolding to reach the top, ~~grab the flag, and sprint back to base~~. Development time has be limited to ten weeks.

Tom will continue to update The Last Boss readers on the status of his project during the coming weeks, and notes he's eager for feedback. Our advice: Don't look down!

Tags: Alienware, Unreal Engine, Unreal Tournament, UnrealEngine, UnrealTournament, Virtual Reality, VirtualReality, VR

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

JodyAnthony @ Jan 24th 2007 4:46PM

as someone with a really strong fear of heights, i dont think this would do jack to help.

Rubang B @ Jan 24th 2007 4:49PM

I read this exact story over a year ago. Other people are also trying to do this for arachnophobia too. You'd walk through a very realistic house filled with thousands of spiders and they'd crawl all over you until you stopped crying, and voila, you're cured. Personally, when I see a spider I get scared like a little bitch, so I'd try it out.

I'm just glad to see gaming engines used in other fields. This news along with the story about surgeons having better precision if they play Monkey Ball, it's just awesome stuff.

Rubang B @ Jan 24th 2007 4:52PM

I also think Rock Star is working on a game based on the Bully engine that will cure homophobia. You'll have to walk through a house and make out with hundreds of dudes until you realize you're queer and accept it and carry on with your life in a friendly fashion.

mr mobius @ Jan 24th 2007 5:00PM

surely 10 weeks wouldn't be enough to create a realistic looking environment

no1 is going to be afraid walking along a girder where the pixels are visible

virtual boy is not what is wanted so surely 10 weeks is slightly tight

this is the only time i think graphics matter

Tom @ Jan 24th 2007 4:58PM

How about a Maury Povich simulator? You can cure your fear of pickles and find out you're NOT the father, all in one sitting!

SteveZ @ Jan 24th 2007 5:03PM

Well despite all of Jack Thompson's baseless FUD, I think that if a people lose fear, heights or otherwise, we could see all sorts of weird accidents which are, in this case, directly linked to the sim's purpose.

Rubang B @ Jan 24th 2007 5:12PM

Video games cured my fear or heights! Now I can base-jump off the Statue of Liberty while juggling babies!

Steve @ Jan 24th 2007 5:27PM

I believe this completely. I am afraid of heights and even get scared standing near the top of a 6' high ladder. I went skydiving about a year ago. I loved it and it seemed to erase my fear of heights. Why be afraid of 10' when you've falled from 13,500'? Anyway, that was 13 months ago and after a few months the old fear/"respect" for heights has slowly crept back. I still have a somewhat reduced fear, but it's nothing like what it was.

With 3D videogames I find myself tricked a little by the 3D graphics. I'll sway when driving or twist my body when my onscreen character needs to peek around something. I believe a sophisticated VR environment with 3D effects can really work.

Dansk @ Jan 24th 2007 5:28PM

Didnt i see the very same thing they are doing in a 7 year old Discovery Channel program?

JodyAnthony @ Jan 24th 2007 5:30PM

I got a bit dizzy jumping from a really high place in Twilight Princess. Skydiving is the last thing I'd be able to do.

Kannon @ Jan 24th 2007 6:12PM

I thought of this same concept without knowledge of this idea. Creating games to destroy fears. Like having the fears but not the real consequences. They seem to have understood the need for a more interactive environment to truly be able to cure them.

Tom Fronczak @ Jan 24th 2007 7:17PM

Thanks for spreading the word James! I look forward to whatever feedback your readers can bring, it'll definitely be an interesting project.

@ Rubang B - hahaha, that is a game I want no part of!

oosqueaky @ Jan 24th 2007 8:28PM

This is already a part of many established practices. I've been to the office of a therapy group that specializes in this, called Virtually Better (http://www.virtuallybetter.com/).

It actually does work for some people.

cybereality @ Jan 24th 2007 9:12PM

Im glad to see people still persuing VR. Its not dead, despite claims otherwise. I think there is a lot of potential for physical and mental rehabilitation that hasnt been explored in enough depth. 10 weeks aint a lot of time though, I hope the project goes well.

If anyone doubts the validity of using virtual reality to induce "fear of heights" or other such tricks of the mind, try it yourself. As JodyAnthony mentioned, you can get this feeling from playing Zelda Twilight Princess. Just get on top of a high building or cliff and take a good running jump. You will feel it in your gut. Its like the free-fall at Six Flags but not as much. This proves that the graphics need not be photo-realistic to trick the more primitive aspects of the mind.

Edge of Blade @ Jan 24th 2007 9:30PM

I have seen a similar experiment performed before with dramatic results.

The best way to over come a fear is to face it. Acrophobia is one of the more difficult to deal with since throwing yourself off a building, while doing wonders for your acrophobia, will probably teach you fear of the pavement in the process.

The most important factors in this treatment is to maintain a high framerate. Texture quality is of minimal importance.

The map should also involve some degree of parallax mapping in any environment the subject is intended to be in...no need to do anything to the street-level textures if they won't be down there long.

I'll bet that if the subject uses a control method they are unfamiliar with (like "normal", non-gamers might), it will occupy a part of their mind and force them to concentrate on a separate task, requiring them to unfreeze if they freeze up.

I expect this treatment, with the proper equipment, to be very successful. Good luck!

...and on the note of MY fears, ever since seeing Return of the Jedi, I had a fear of the sarlacc pit. So every time I play a Star Wars game and they have the standard cliche sarlacc pit......I stay the f*** away from it and go clean out my underwear.

PapaChabre @ Jan 24th 2007 10:42PM

lol @ sarlaphobia!

There are only two real reasons to fear the Great Sarlacc: 1) If you are employed by Jabba the Hut or 2) if you have a jetpack with an easily accessible on/off switch and you spontaneously forget how to use it after years of flying around, hunting bounties.

Worst. Death. Ever.