Immersive Virtual Reality Schizophrenic Experience

Project Info

An immersive virtual reality experience meant to simulate a schizophrenic episode – the trigger and the episode itself. The experience follows a person living with schizophrenia as they engage with a pedestrian, where an episode is triggered. The user is then guided through the episode, where they experience both visual and audtiory hallucinations.

Brief Description of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder often stigmatized due some of its symptoms, such as: drastic personality changes, irregular motor behavior, and disorganized speech. This experience's goal is to facilitate the learning and understanding of people with schizophrenia using VR, where the user can immerse themselves in a situation where people living with schizophrenia are discriminated against.

Video Demo

Credits

Developers: Zakaria Abdisalam and Samuel Braun
Technical Help: Noah Do Régo
Storyline Development: Annika Whitwam, Maria Khalil, Zakaria Abdisalam, Junyuan Qi, and Samuel Braun
User Voice: Samuel Braun
Pedestrian Voice: Zacryn Madison (Professional Voice Actor)

Resources Used

Development Environment/Engine: Unity 2021.3.11f1
Programming Language: C# (when extra programming was needed for customization within Unity)

Sources

1. Decoding the voices of schizophrenia - mental help. MentalHelp.net. (2022, November 12). Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://www.mentalhelp.net/blogs/decoding-the-voices-of-schizophrenia/
2. Maurizio Pompili, M. D. (n.d.). Aggression and impulsivity in Schizophrenia. Psychiatric Times. Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/aggression-and-impulsivity-schizophrenia
3. Schizophrenia and dangerous behaviour. Living With Schizophrenia. (2021, July 1). Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://livingwithschizophreniauk.org/information-sheets/schizophrenia-and-dangerous-behaviour/
4. What is schizophrenia? Psychiatry.org - What is Schizophrenia? (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/schizophrenia/what-is-schizophrenia
5. White Swan Foundation. (n.d.). Talking to someone with schizophrenia. White Swan Foundation. Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://www.whiteswanfoundation.org/disorders/psychotic-disorders/talking-to-someone-with-schizophrenia#:~:text=A%20person%20with%20schizophrenia%20may,may%20not%20reflect%20the%20same.