"The game targets players with schizophrenia and related conditions that affect cognitive function. While I can't discuss the specific game (it hasn't been published yet), the user research process taught me lessons that extend far beyond this single project. I spent hours in interviews and user testing sessions with schizophrenic people from all walks of life. If you're designing games or gamified experiences for neurodiverse audiences, here's what I learned that might save you months of iteration."
"This taught me that traditional difficulty curves don't work for cognitive remediation games. You can't design three difficulty settings and call it accessible. Instead, you need systems that automatically adapt in real time based on user performance. If someone breezes through the first five levels, the algorithm should immediately jump them ahead. If someone struggles with basic interactions, the system needs to provide more scaffolding without making them feel patronized."
Cognitive abilities vary widely among people with schizophrenia, producing both highly capable and much less capable players. Traditional fixed difficulty curves and a handful of difficulty settings do not accommodate this variability. Systems must automatically adapt in real time to individual performance, advancing fast performers and providing unobtrusive scaffolding for those who struggle. Auto-balancing mechanics carry significant technical and user-experience risks: poor balance will churn both the most capable and least capable users for opposite reasons. Design should also account for many players' prior gaming experience while preserving accessibility for neurodiverse audiences.
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