'Button Bash' proves a smash hit
Enthusiastic young players enjoyed playing ‘Button Bash’ – a co-operative, switch-based game designed by the University – at the recent ‘Breeze on Tour’ young people’s event at Roundhay Park.
Dr Raymond Holt and Anne-Marie Moore with the 'Button Bash' game.
The co-operative game is a product of the University’s ‘Together Through Play’ research project which develops toys and games that encourage disabled and non-disabled children to play together.
The project, which was funded by the Leverhulme Trust, was carried out by Dr Raymond Holt of the Institute of Design, Robotics and Optimisation (School of Mechanical Engineering), Dr Angharad Beckett (School of Sociology and Social Policy) and PhD researcher Anne-Marie Moore from the School of Mechanical Engineering's Institute of Design, Robotics and Optimisation.
Participating children were encouraged to develop ideas for new games, which were refined and prototyped by the University, and taken back for the children to try out. ‘Button Bash’ was one of the outcomes. In the game, players must work together to guide their crew of cartoon ‘Bashians’ through the game. Designed to be played with accessibility switches to ‘steer’ the characters, the game can be used even by children with significant motor impairments, and is designed to encourage a spirit of team work and collaboration.
Although the project finished in January, the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society provided funds to enable the team to bring ‘Button Bash’ to Breeze on Tour.
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