Task-Based Role-Playing VR Game for Supporting Intellectual Disability Therapies

TL;DR

This paper introduces Space Exodus, a VR role-playing game designed to support therapy for children with Intellectual Disability, demonstrating its potential to improve daily life skills through immersive, customizable scenarios.

Contribution

The paper presents the development and preliminary evaluation of a novel VR game tailored for ID therapy, highlighting its effectiveness and identifying areas for ergonomic and usability improvements.

Findings

70-80% of participants transferred skills successfully

System demonstrated stability, usability, and adaptability

Identified challenges include VR discomfort and task complexity

Abstract

Intellectual Disability (ID) is characterized by deficits in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, necessitating customized therapeutic interventions to improve daily life skills. This paper presents the development and evaluation of Space Exodus, a task-based role-playing Virtual Reality (VR) game designed to support therapy for children with ID. The game integrates everyday life scenarios into an immersive environment to enhance skill acquisition and transfer. Functional tests and preliminary experiments demonstrated the system's stability, usability, and adaptability, with 70--80\% of participants demonstrating successful skill transfer to new challenges. Challenges, such as VR discomfort, controller misoperation, and task complexity, were identified, emphasizing the need for ergonomic improvements and adaptive guidance. The results provide empirical evidence supporting VR as a promising tool in ID therapy. Future work will focus on refining gameplay mechanics, enhancing user guidance, and expanding accessibility to broader populations.