We need to think differently about dementia, and we can do it through the power of gaming.
Here are some of our gaming credentials.
Sea Hero Quest
We co-created the multi-award winning Sea Hero Quest with our partners Deutsche Telecom and games designers Glitchers. The smartphone game has re-written the rules on how we go about dementia research.
Over 4.3 million players played Sea Hero Quest for over 117 years, providing scientists with data that would have taken traditional dementia research 176 centuries to collect. A monster thank you to everyone who participated!
Scientists have already revealed findings indicating that people from different countries play the game and navigate differently.
And researchers are further unravelling the complex information generated when you play. They have also revealed new insights into how people at high risk of Alzheimer’s play the game differently to those who are not.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. We expect plenty more findings to continue to pour out of the Sea Hero Quest study and researchers still have access to a version of the game to use in the lab.
Sea Hero Quest is an innovative way of rising to our greatest medical challenge. Playing for just a couple of minutes provides what would normally take scientists hours to achieve in conventional study recruitment.
Ubisoft and Just Dance
We teamed up with Ubisoft, creator and publisher of the video game, Just Dance.
Launching the #JustDanceMemories social media campaign we raised awareness and funds for life-changing dementia research.
We invited supports to participate by sharing a heart-warming film, created especially for the campaign, as well as their own favourite dance memories. Ubisoft pledged to donate £1 for every time the video was shared online, and for each use of the hashtag, #JustDanceMemories, up to £30,000.
Thanks to fantastic public support, the £30,000 target was reached within one week of the campaign’s launch, and Ubisoft doubled its fundraising pledge to £60,000, which was hit just over a week later.
The campaign film – which has been watched over 700,000 times and shared and commented on over 61,000 times – features Alzheimer’s Research UK supporter, Lynne Wadsworth, and her late mum, Anne Bath. Anne who was in the late stages of dementia was no longer able to communicate – but her love for dancing still brought her enjoyment.
One in three people born today will develop the condition in their lifetime, unless we find new treatments and preventions.
"I’m so honoured to have been a part of this campaign with Ubisoft and Alzheimer’s Research UK, especially as dance meant so much to my mam. I’m ecstatic that it’s raised so much for dementia research. The campaign has also given my family a huge boost when we needed it most. I’d like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has shown their support. We will put an end to dementia."
"We have been thrilled to see so many people get involved with the Just Dance Memories campaign, and are so grateful to everyone that participated. The support has been fantastic, and the funds raised will go to such an important cause."
The Just Dance campaign won GOLD for ‘best collaborative approach’ at the Corporate Engagement awards!
Before I Forget
3-Fold Games, the microgame studio co-founded by Chella Ramanan and Claire Morwood, launched its poignant debut game, Before I Forget, in collaboration with Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Developed with support from medical professionals at Gaming the Mind, Before I Forget is a short narrative game about dementia, using gameplay and atmosphere to portray a confusing world where memories elude you.
3-Fold Games teamed up with Alzheimer’s Research UK, to raise awareness of dementia with a percentage of sales going towards the charity.
A Walk Through Dementia
We’ve been fortunate enough to work with Google to develop a VR experience for dementia – www.awalkthroughdementia.org – and have presented about this project in the UK and around the world as one of the first brands (charity or otherwise) to use VR to communicate.
We are members of UKIE
