Indie studio Fayju, best known for number one OUYA game ‘The Amazing Frog?’ will be showcasing their much-anticipated game ‘Cascade’ at this year’s Big Bang Fair in Birmingham from 13^th to 16^th March.

Cascade is a resource management shooter which sends players into a dramatic last stand against the deadly assault of Alzheimer’s disease on the human brain. Players must try to preserve the mind against a never-ending onslaught before all of memory is lost forever.

The game has been in development since 2012 and has been developed in collaboration with Dr Jody Mason, a senior lecturer in biochemistry at the University of Essex who is researching into Alzheimer’s disease. The game was awarded the UK Game of the Show at last year’s Gamescom and won a People Award from the Wellcome Trust, who helped part-fund the project.

Cascade will be playable, for the first time since its reveal at Gamescom, on the exhibition floor for all attendees of the fair on both OUYA and Oculus Rift. Players will also get hands on time with the brand new multiplayer mode which sees up to four players co-operating to save a brain cell.

Fayju have also teamed up with OUYA to run a competition as part of a new get into games initiative at the fair. Visitors of the stand will get the chance to win an OUYA console for their school with the aim of inspiring kids to learn more about game development.

Creator of the game, Gaz Bushell said: “We have been working really closely with Jody to make sure the game remains true to scientific understanding of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Games are a powerful learning tool and The Big Bang Fair will help us teach younger generations about AD and its pathology within fun and interactive gameplay.

“When you start the game, it’s unclear where you are or what your purpose is, but as you progress you are suddenly hit with the realisation that it is a human brain under attack. I hope that our game helps to inspire kids to want to learn more and our campaign on the stand with OUYA will give both students and teachers the opportunity to take their first steps into game development and see how effective games can be when utilised as a teaching tool.”

Dr Jody Mason, director of the Essex Research into Ageing Unit at the University of Essex said: “Dementia costs the UK economy £23 Billion each year, more than heart disease and cancer combined, yet receives just a fraction of the funding. Numbers are spiraling and the problem is only getting bigger. That’s why it’s key that we get kids interested so that we can slow or even stop this time bomb.

“Cascade seeks to help by raising awareness, understanding and empathy, while highlighting the desperate need for a cure. What is clear is that the kids of today are the carers of tomorrow and we believe the best way to get them interested is via fun and engaging gameplay that teaches without feeling lectured. The game will mirror the biochemistry behind the disease as well as some of the therapeutic intervention strategies, including our own, which are being pursued to combat it.”