Introduction
In Flareflow, I combined Unity and Arduino to create a VR game. Players wear specially designed gloves and control the game by massaging their abdomen. My intention was to design an entertaining and sustainable method for relieving menstrual pain, integrating it into women's daily lives to reduce the inconvenience caused by menstrual pain.
Background Research
Symptoms
Treatment
Reference
C. Richard King
Florida Medical & Research Institute
Self massage is a nonsurgical, noninvasive manual technique with no risks or adverse side effects or complications.
Department of Gynecology,
Eulji University Hospital
Yun Seok Yang
Menstrual pain is usually treated with NSAIDs and oral birth control, which needed to be used regularly. Self-massage is useful in reducing the primary menstrual pain.
Professional Interview
How much amount of pressure is comfortable？
"It depends on how tight the muscles are.
But it shouldn’t be higher than 1200g.”
"Pressure higher than 1200 for a long period more than 1h can be harmful."
Pressure shouldn’t be higher than 1200g.
Experiment
Before
“intense menstrual pain.”
After
“feel much better.”
Before
“sore abdomen.”
After
“instant relief.”
Self massage is very helpful in relieving dysmenorrhea.
Survey of 50 Women
Age
Symptom
Pain Level
10
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Treatment
menstrual cramps have significantly impacted the lives of young women, bothering them mainly by sore abdomen and headache. The most commonly chosen solution is NSAIDs, which is not sustainable.
Women need a more sustainable and effective relief.
Persona
User Journey
Zoey Ross
Jamila Johnson
Solution Reference
VR games can help distract attention immersively and manage pain effective such as menstrual pain.
Game Experiment
What kind of game can better distract attention during pain？
Adventure games can better distract attention during the pain for women who suffer from menstrual cramps.
Game Concept
A VR parkour game of escaping an erupting volcano, which requires players to wear heating gloves and to make moves by massaging their abdomen.
Scenario
Tasks
Data Flow
Hardware
Mechanism
How to play the game？
Failure Conditions:
Coding
Connecting Arduino with Unity
Game mechanism
Visual Design
All the User interfaces are consist of rectangles without sharp edges. It’s designed to render a dangerous atmosphere, without making users feel that they might get hurt.
The color scheme matches the volcano environment while adding more feminine elements for the users and making them feel warmer.
User Test
Evelyn felt relieved after the FlareFlow session. She hopes the game can be played in higher speed with calming music.
Yiyi enjoyed the entertainment during the treatment, however she thought the dizziness is taking it down a bit. She wished the treatment can be improved with a pause button.
Final Work
