Panic attack reduction game among social change prize-winners

A game designed to reduce the effect of panic attacks is among the winners of a £1 million prize fund for technology designed to benefit social change.

Playlab London’s therapeutic mobile game, named Flowy, is controlled by breathing, and aims to provide practical support to those who experience anxiety-related conditions. It was designed by Simon Fox, who shared some of the title’s development on the studio’s blog.

The anxiety-relief aid was among nine other winners of the Social Tech, Social Change programme.

Each of the ten winning developers is to receive a £50,000 share of the £1 million prize money.

The programme was set up by the Norminet Trust and Founders Forum for Good.

The successful ventures share the fund’s goal, which is to drive social and economic change through bold uses of technology, and address major social issues, from social isolation and sustainability to access to education and healthcare.

Each venture will be matched to a Founders Forum for Good mentor who will provide hands-on support to these social tech projects grow.

Other prize-winners included Commonplace Digital’s mobile tool for helping communities and local planners to identify local needs and Speakset, a set-top box that that uses the TV rather than a computer and a simple user interface to enable video calling without requiring the internet.

To see all the winners and find out more about the projects, visit: www.nominettrust.org.uk.