CopyMe: an emotional development game for children

Proper emotional development is important for young children, especially those with psychological disorders such as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), whereby early intervention becomes crucial. However, traditional paper-based interventions are mostly laborious and difficult to employ for carers and parents, whilst current computer-aided interventions feel too much like obvious assistive tools and lack timely feedback to inform and aid progress. CopyMe is an iPad game we developed that allows children to learn emotions with instant feedback on performance. A pilot study revealed children with ASDs were able to enjoy and perform well in the game. CopyMe also demonstrates a novel affective game interface that incorporates state-of-the-art facial expression tracking and classification. This will be particularly interesting for CHI attendees working in the domain of affective interfaces and serious games, especially those that target children.