Honey, don't tell the kids: by playing [_Cascade_](http://www.fayju.com/blog/2013/02/cascade-building-the-brain/), the new Android Ouya / Oculus Rift game that puts players in control of a laser-firing spaceship and asks them to defend alien orbs from an onslaught of mysterious green tendrils, they just might be learning something.

Taking a cue from the library of failed "education-style games" disdained for their lack of, well, _fun_, the brilliant minds behind the [Wellcome Trust](http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/), and University of Essex biochemist [Dr. Jody Mason](http://www.essex.ac.uk/bs/staff/profile.aspx?ID=1234) have teamed up with [Fayju](http://www.fayju.com/blog/) game designer [Gaz Bushell](http://www.gazbushell.com/blog/) to create an actually-exciting videogame that looks like it could generate youth awareness around a real issue: Alzheimer's Disease.

In _Cascade_, players take control over a green spaceship tasked with defending large, white brain cells known as neurons from the amyloid plaques hypothesized to be the primary cause of the disease. Combined with an Oculus Rift, the result is an immersive gaming experience wherein the answer to Alzheimer's awareness lies in the statistics: today, one in 20 people over the age of 65 suffer from Alzheimer's. In the UK, however, "more than one in three people play videogames on a regular basis." By taking a game-based approach to spreading awareness, Dr. Mason thinks he can educate a generation on the dangers of the degenerative brain disease.

Below, check out this behind-the-scenes doc on _Cascade,_ followed by some awesome images of gameplay:

Cascade is an immersive video game that challenges players to experience how Alzheimer's disease works at a cellular level within the brain. 

A collaboration between Dr Jody Mason, senior biochemistry lecturer at the University of Essex, and Gaz Bushell, games developer at Fayju, Cascade engages players with an understanding of the mechanisms of the disease progression and the drugs and methodologies being researched to try to halt it.

With an ageing population and the number of people with dementia set to double every 25 years, it is clear that without better therapies the young people of today will become the carers of those with Alzheimer's disease tomorrow. 

Find out more about our Broadcast and Games funding: 
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/broadcast

Cascade: fighting Alzheimer's disease through gameplay

While it's no new concept for gaming to be an unbeatable vehicle for change, all we want to know is when we'll be able to get our hands and eyes on a copy of _Cascade_. Check out [Fayju's "Building the Brain" feature](http://www.fayju.com/blog/2013/02/cascade-building-the-brain/) to learn more about how the game was designed.

_h/t [FastCoCreate](http://www.fastcocreate.com/3029727/how-one-game-studio-is-fighting-alzheimers-disease-with-spaceships-and-sci-fi)_

_[\[Video Premiere\] Make It Wearable Part 2: Human Health](https://www.google.com/url?q=http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/video-premiere-make-it-wearable-part-2-human-health&sa=U&ei=gHFiU5j5PNakyAS0woLYDA&ved=0CAwQFjAE&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNFYQ2ZknDL5DyrQ1clT6jJZE3scdA)_

_["Obscure Video Games" Is An Insane Gaming Graveyard](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/obscure-video-games-is-an-insane-gaming-graveyard)_

_[DIY Oculus Rift Project Gives You Drone's-Eye-View Of The World](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/diy-oculus-rift-project-gives-you-drones-eye-view-of-the-world)_

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