Sea Hero Quest is at first glance a heartwarming game for iOS and Android that asks a young boy to help his father tackle his increasing memory loss.
It is much more than a game though, it is the world’s largest dementia research experiment and this week the full scale of its achievements were revealed.
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Sea Hero Quesy
In less than a year the app has created the kind of data that its creators say would take 9,500 years to collect in lab conditions.
2.5 million people have played the game so far and have accrued a staggering 63 years of gameplay in total.
Professor of applied dementia research at the University of East Anglia, Michael Hornberger said to the BBC: “The amount of data that has already been generated by people playing Sea Hero Quest all around the world is phenomenal and is enabling us to reveal a vital global benchmark of how people, of all ages and from all over the use spatial navigation.”
The game asks players to remember locations and navigate a small fishing vessel around a map.
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Sea Hero Quest
By anonymously recording the data the researchers were able to create a huge timeline which showed a sense of direction decline from the ages of 19 to 75.
Other interesting findings show that men have a slightly better sense of direction than women and that the Nordic nations are by far the best performers.
The hope is that by using all this data researchers will be able to create a powerful diagnostic tool which, like the game, can analyse a person’s mental abilities and then accurately diagnose or predict if they’re likely to have Alzheimer’s disease.
The game is available to download for free on iPhone or Android smartphone via the App Store or Google Play Store.
Early Symptoms Of Dementia
Early Symptoms of Dementia
No Initiative (01 of10)
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At times everyone can become tired of housework, business activities, or social obligations. However a person with dementia may become very passive, sitting in front of the television for hours, sleeping more than usual, or appear to lose interest in hobbies. (credit:John Rensten via Getty Images)
Changes in Personality (02 of10)
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A person with dementia may seem different from his or her usual self in ways that are difficult to pinpoint. A person may become suspicious, irritable, depressed, apathetic or anxious and agitated especially in situations where memory problems are causing difficulties. (credit:fStop Images - Carl Smith via Getty Images)
Mood Changes(03 of10)
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Everyone can become sad or moody from time to time. A person with dementia may become unusually emotional and experience rapid mood swings for no apparent reason. Alternatively a person with dementia may show less emotion than was usual previously. (credit:Mike Chick via Getty Images)
Misplace Things (04 of10)
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Anyone can temporarily misplace his or her wallet or keys. A person with dementia may put things in unusual places such as an iron in the fridge or a wristwatch in the sugar bowl. (credit:Oli Kellett via Getty Images)
Problems With Keeping Track of Things (05 of10)
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A person with dementia may find it difficult to follow a conversation or keep up with paying their bills. (credit:Chris Red via Getty Images)
Increasingly poor Judgement(06 of10)
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People with dementia may dress inappropriately, wearing several layers of clothes on a warm day or very few on a cold day. (credit:Jessica Peterson via Getty Images)
Distortion of Time and Place (07 of10)
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We sometimes forget the day of the week or where we are going but people with dementia can become lost in familiar places such as the road they live in, forget where they are or how they got there, and not know how to get back home. A person with dementia may also confuse night and day. (credit:Jupiterimages via Getty Images)
Problems With Language(08 of10)
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Occasionally everyone has trouble finding the right word but a person with dementia often forgets simple words or substitutes unusual words, making speech or writing hard to understand. (credit:Jupiterimages via Getty Images)
Difficulty Performing Familiar Tasks(09 of10)
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People with dementia often find it hard to complete everyday tasks that are so familiar we usually do not think about how to do them. A person with dementia may not know in what order to put clothes on or the steps for preparing a meal. (credit:Anthony Harvie via Getty Images)
Memory Loss(10 of10)
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Declining memory, especially short-term memory, is the most common early symptom of dementia. People with ordinary forgetfulness can still remember other facts associated with the thing they have forgotten. For example, they may briefly forget their next-door neighbour's name but they still know the person they are talking to is their next-door neighbour. A person with dementia will not only forget their neighbour's name but also the context. (credit:Compassionate Eye Foundation via Getty Images)