Meditation

Block Extravaganza is a showcase for the graduation project done by Floris Versendaal from Dreams of Danu, graduating as European Media Master of Arts specializing in Game Design & Development at the faculty of Art and Technology of the Utrecht School of the Arts (HKU).

The project focussed on a players affective influence in a game, using the Emotive EPOC brain-computer-interface. Possibilities for interaction through affective states such as excitement and engagement were explored, as well as the potential for dynamic difficulty adjustments made according to the players own emotions.

Stress Reduction

In Block Extravaganza, you control a paddle that you can move around to bounce a ball against falling blocks. As you begin to feel more excited or frustrated, the game’s difficulty dynamically changes to suit your skill level, while still providing a challenge. Letting you increase your skill at the pace that you are most comfortable with.

By learning to relax as you play, you can force the ball to split up into multiple projectiles that make quick work of the falling bocks. The casual yet engaging game Block Extravaganza let’s you play with your own emotions, and teaches you how to keep calm while still keeping your eye on the ball!