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Explore interconnected worlds in an infinite universe. A malevolent force that surrounds you is closing in, extinguishing everything in a Cascade of annihilation. You are the last frontier against this devastation, save as many worlds as you can before there is nothing left to save and all is lost to memory. Fayju have teamed up with Dr Jody Mason at the University of Bath, a leading biochemist currently researching the causes and prevention Alzherimers disease. The gameplay and its environment have been developed directly from research into the disease and have been inspired by the amyloid cascade hypothesis. A major objective with Cascade is to raise awareness of Alzherimers disease as well as to drive scientific engagement.

Cascade is a game set inside the brain of an Alzheimers disease sufferer. The game allows players to fly around the brain cells in a tiny craft and observe the pathology of the disease. In this craft the player is able to mirror some of the therapeutic intervention strategies that are being pursued by University laboratories and pharmaceutical companies around the globe.

Our major goals for Cascade are threefold:

i)              Increase understanding and awareness of Alzheimers disease

ii)            Increase empathy for those suffering from the disease

iii)          Increase the level of funding for research into dementia.

The numbers of people with dementia are set to rise to 1 million by 2025 and then double every twenty years. What is clear is that the young people of today will become the carers of those with dementia tomorrow. We intend to contribute to the aims above by addressing the subject in a respectful and sensitive manner. Throughout the game we have added information about the disease that also contextualises the gameplay so that players leave knowing much more about Alzheimers than they had previously. Cascade has been part-funded by a Wellcome Trust People Award.

Cascade will initially launch on Steam but is also being developed for other major platforms, including the 3D headset known as Oculus Rift!

 

Video Links:

Wellcome Trust video about Cascade:

http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/w6urg4mF7Lc/maxresdefault.jpg

Jody Mason explaining proteins and Alzheimers:

Cascade Gameplay:

 

TV/Radio/Podcasts (discussing Alzherimers Parkinsons and Cascade):

BBC TV - Points West – Discussing our research into Parkinsons

BBC Radio Bristol/Wiltshire/Somerset/Gloucestershire – Discussing our research into Parkinsons

http://a3.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Podcasts4/v4/24/7f/98/247f985f-fd47-3564-17d6-c8bc9e4236f0/mza_7813860648260037063.170x170-75.jpgThe Naked Scientists - what is Alzheimers? With Professor Chris Dobson

The Naked Scientists - Cascading through the brain Jody and Gaz Bushell of Fayju discuss Cascade as it is tested by school kids

The Naked Scientists - finding the right drug for Alzheimers With Professor Chris Dobson

The Naked Scientists - Using arm hair to grow brain cells With Professors Chris Dobson and Richard Wade-Martins

Jody Mason, BBC Radio Essex (10/2009) discussing research into Alzheimers disease by the Mason lab

Jody Mason BBC Radio Essex (06/2012) discussing making our game Cascade to educate about Alzheimers

Heart FM (03/2014)

 

Featured Web Articles:

FastCoCreate

The creators project

Business Weekly

Baconcape

Bigredbarrel

Serious games market

Alzlive.com

Hotsaucedrops

 

Talks:

The Watershed Bristol (11/2013)

Café Scientifique (Colchester, 2011)

Café Scientifique (Beverley, 2012)

 

Awards and shows showcasing Casacde:

UKIEs game of the show (Gamescom 2013)

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Bath Taps into Science 2015

 

Big Bang Fair 2015

 

Big Bang Fair 2014 (see here for video). This took place at the Birmingham NEC and saw over 75,000 visitors over four days. We had a phenomenal response for Cascade and some great feedback.

 

 

BigBang@Essex 2012,2013,2014

Game developers conference, San Francisco 03/2014

Develop Conference (with Wellcome Trust), Brighton 07/2014

Paxs Prime, Seattle 08/2014

 

Images:

CASCADE_banner_1.png CASCADE_banner_3.png

 

Mason laboratory Alzheimer related research papers:

Cheruvara H., Allen-Baume VL, Kad N.M., Mason J.M. Intracellular screening of a peptide library to derive a potent peptide inhibitor of α-synuclein aggregation. J Biol Chem. (In Press).

Acerra, N., Kad, N.M., Cheruvara, H., and Mason J.M. Intracellular Selection of peptide Inhibitors that Target Disulphide-Bridged Abeta42 Oligomers Protein Science (In Press).

Acerra, N., Kad, N.M., Griffith D.A., Ott, S., Crowther D.C., and Mason, J.M. Retro-inversal of Intracellular Selected Aβ Interacting Peptides: Implications for a Novel Alzherimers Disease Treatment. Biochemistry 53(13), 2101-2111 (2014).

Acerra, N., Kad N.M., and Mason, J.M. Combining Intracellular Selection with Protein-fragment Complementation to Derive ABeta Interacting Peptides. Protein Eng Des Sel. 26(7), 463-470 (2013).

Mason, J.M. Design and Development of Peptides and Peptide Mimetics as Antagonists for Therapeutic Intervention. Future Med. Chem 2(12), 1813-1822 (2010). 

Kokkoni, N., Stott, K., Amijee, H., Mason, J.M., and Doig, A.J., N-Methylated Peptide Inhibitors of beta-Amyloid Aggregation and Toxicity. Optimisation of Inhibitor Structure. Biochemistry, 45, 9906-9918, (2006).

Mason J.M., Kokkoni N., Stott K., and Doig A.J., Design strategies for anti-amyloid agents. Curr. Op. Struct. Biol., 13, 526-32, (2003).

 

Fayjus webpages on Cascade:

Fayju Cascade

Cascade Presskit