Abstract

In the context of this master thesis a prototypical serious game for the group therapy of Parkinson's patients shall be developed. For this purpose, the following goals are to be achieved:

• The development of a concept to reduce the motor symptoms of Parkinson's patients (especially hypokinesia) and the psychological well-being by improving psychological stress factors of the disease such as fatigue, lack of motivation and shame. For this purpose, motor and psychological treatment methods will be researched in the literature and through expert interviews with physiotherapists and occupational therapists, which can be integrated into a (serious) exergame and needs of the target group, which occur due to their age group and disease, will be given special attention.
• Identify design factors for rewarding and entertaining competitive play will be researched to increase patients' motivation to use the application together.
• Implementation of a serious game in Unity 3D for the Azure Kinect as an input device based on the developed concept.
• Conducting a feasibility study following the development of the prototype to investigate the effect of competitive tasks on game motivation and the potential of the application to reduce fatigue.

This thesis will be prsued in close cooperation with the Fraunhofer ISST, Dortmund.