Gamifying cancer treatment for children
Help young leukemia patients and their families navigate treatment protocols through personalized storytelling and interactive learning.
Challenge
Children with leukemia struggle to understand their treatment, and parents find it difficult to explain medical protocols in a way that feels approachable. Beaba wanted to create an engaging, child-friendly experience that would simplify treatment information and encourage conversations between parents and kids. Direct research was ethically sensitive, so we relied on parents and pediatricians for insights. Medical information needed to be simplified without losing accuracy, and traditional text-heavy explanations had to be reimagined to keep children engaged.
Solution
We designed an interactive visual novel that transforms treatment steps into engaging, story chapters. The experience starts with an onboarding quiz that personalizes content based on the child’s preferences, comfort level, and whether they are playing alone or with a parent. Leukemia treatment is woven into an illustrated story, making it easier to understand. Kids can make dialogue choices that guide the experience, giving them a sense of agency while learning at their own pace. The timeline of the story follows real treatment protocols, helping families navigate the process together in a gentle and supportive way.
How might we educate kids on their cancer treatment protocol and help parents talk about treatment with their kids?
Exploration
Complicated treatment protocols
Faced with this problem, one mother decided to make the new chart on the right so her child could understand their leukemia protocol, and have greater peace of mind. Beaba wanted us to build off of this mother's chart and thought this new chart could be changed into an engaging digital platform.
Children + healthcare = many ethical complications
Conducting research with young leukemia patients posed significant challenges. Access to children undergoing treatment was difficult, and directly interviewing them raised ethical concerns, especially without proper sensitivity training. Additionally, language barriers limited the ability to fully utilize Beaba’s existing resources. These obstacles required creative workarounds to ensure the design process remained informed and ethical.
Our Approach...
To make leukemia treatment understandable for children, I transformed dense medical protocols into a visual novel.
Ethical constraints prevented direct research with young patients, so I relied on research proxies—parents, pediatricians, and Beaba’s resources—to gather insights. This approach allowed us to design a safe, empowering learning tool without distressing children.
Final Design
Tailored for each child
The onboarding quiz makes learning about leukemia less intimidating by letting children control the pacing and filter sensitive words, ensuring a comfortable and personalized experience. By respecting emotional boundaries and offering small choices, it helps restore a sense of autonomy in a journey often defined by medical routines.
Gamified learning experience
Stories make complex treatment protocols easier to understand and more engaging for children than traditional charts. By following the real treatment timeline, they provide a natural conversation prompt for parents and children to navigate together. Shared reading fosters connection and comfort, while interactive dialogue options give children a sense of agency, making the experience both educational and empowering.
