{"id":13563,"date":"2023-09-14T09:05:59","date_gmt":"2023-09-14T09:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8d.nl\/now-available-game-on-supported-communication\/"},"modified":"2025-04-17T08:17:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T08:17:06","slug":"now-available-game-on-supported-communication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8d.nl\/en\/now-available-game-on-supported-communication\/","title":{"rendered":"Now available: game on supported communication"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After a long time of researching, designing and programming, the game “Playful Learning about Supported Communication<\/a> (SOC)” is ready! The game is available to everyone for free via the Google Play Store <\/a>(Android), Apple App Store<\/a> (iOS) and the Deelkracht<\/a> website. In this article, we provide an inside look at the game’s development process. How did 8D Games together with Deelkracht come up with the design and what functionalities can you expect? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Download the Supported Communication Game via:<\/em><\/p>\n\n

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Playful learning about Supported Communication <\/h2>\n\n

‘Supported Communication (OC) is the use of alternative forms of communication for people who do not – or have difficulty – speaking or understanding language,’ says Madelon Toussaint, initiator from Deelkracht. ‘Often people already use OC without realizing it themselves, for example by pointing to something or making a gesture. However, if you ask them to do this consciously, they sometimes don’t dare or it feels complicated to learn. With this game we want to lower that threshold. Parents, therapists and children with a communicative disability discover in a playful way what OC can do for them. Toussaint: ‘There are many specialized aids that can support communication, but the road to finding the most appropriate form is quite complicated. Then a positive first introduction to OC, as we want to create with the game, can be just the push you need to embark on that adventure.’ <\/p>\n\n

Joint design process <\/h2>\n\n

An exploratory design process<\/a> started in 2021\/2022, in which practitioners and parents of children with communicative multiple disabilities (CMB) also played an important role. Stephan Burghout, project leader from 8D: “On the basis of a brainstorm with practitioners and parents, we first mapped out all the important preconditions and restrictions. Think of practical choices, such as the device we are going to develop for, but also certainly questions such as: when exactly is the game successful? It is tempting to disregard these basic questions, but if you test these questions against the parents and practitioners who want to use the app together with a child, it yields an awful lot of nuances and refinements for the design.’ <\/p>\n\n

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From abstract idea to visual elaboration<\/h2>\n\n

<\/strong>Based on the brainstorms, a creative concept and a so-called wireframe were developed. Burghout: ‘This is a functional representation of how the game works – which screens are there, where is which button, do we all have the same functionalities in mind? A wireframe makes an initial idea tangible, both for our development team and the practitioners and end users. Whereas in the idea phase there is still a great risk of confusion, in the wireframing<\/em> phase you have something concrete to agree on together. Moreover, making the idea concrete often yields new insights. For example, a couple of parents and therapists were sharp enough to think of a quick lock function<\/em>, so that no icons are changed or lost if a child handles the tablet a little roughly.’ <\/p>\n\n

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