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Alzheimers awareness takes the form of 'Alz': a haunting stroll among pixels

Alzheimers awareness takes the form of 'Alz': a haunting stroll among pixels

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More often than not, video games about illness involve surviving in a post-apocalyptic hellscape filled with zombies, not diseases typically associated with old age. But that's just what you get with Alz, a very brief web game — if you can call it that — that tries to put the viewer in the mind of someone with Alzheimer's disease. You play the role of a nameless, faceless man walking through various parts of a house and city, trying to remember the details of what's around you, but failing. "Enjoy your walk. Interact with your surroundings. Or don't," Alz's creator who goes by Dylan, says. "Have a forgotten, but hopefully not forgetful, experience."

"Enjoy your walk."

The game was created using Stencyl, the drag and drop game designing software, and is one of many created during what's become an annual contest of those games on Newgrounds. The winner gets $500 and an extended license for Stencyl. Last year's winner was Tiny Dangerous Dungeons, a game that's described as a mix between the Metroid series and Castlevania with a retro Game Boy flair.