Sea Hero Quest is a mobile game which contributes to research on dementia. It was designed by British game company Glitchers in 2016 in association with Alzheimer’s Research UK, University College London and the University of East Anglia and with funding from Deutsche Telekom. The idea for the game came from neuroscientist Michael Hornberger of the University of East Anglia who collaborated with Hugo Spiers of University College London and a group of six other neuroscientist.
The way in which players navigate the game will help researchers to understand the mental process of 3D navigation, which is one of the first skills lost in dementia. It is hoped that a large number of people will play the game, thus contributing much more data than could easily be obtained in a laboratory experiment.
The plot of the game involves a sea journey taken by a son in a quest to recover the memories his father has lost to dementia. There are three sections: navigation, shooting flares to test orientation, and chasing creatures. Each has been “carefully crafted to be as fun and exciting as it is scientifically valid”
