Do you remember the first time you played Pac-Man, Tetris, Super Mario Brothers, Halo, or Wii Bowling? For most people, a love for these games stems from what is seen onscreen. For Leonidas Deligiannidis, associate professor of computer science, it is the behind-the-scenes programming that has captured his passion, especially when it can level the playing field for those who are physically impaired.
Although a passion for gaming developed over time, Deligiannidis’s interest in technology has always been a driving force in his life. In college he decided he wanted to figure out how to turn a light on and off by clicking a button on his computer. When he accomplished this in his sophomore year at Northeastern University, he was elated. Deligiannidis’s interest in electronics continued to grow—he was always exploring the latest and greatest technology.
“When I first saw a computer,” says Deligiannidis, “I knew this was the thing I had to work with.”
With a master’s and Ph.D. in virtual reality from Tufts University, Deligiannidis knows 
as much as a person can about gaming. He has found a way to use his unique talents to give back to society by creating a game targeted to children with muscular dystrophy. His hopes are threefold with this project. The first is to improve the lives of those playing the games; the second is to encourage a shift in the objective of producing games away from making money; and the third is to create a meaningful learning environment for his students, encouraging them to use interaction techniques for more than just racing games.
Deligiannidis’s vision is to work with Wentworth students to create a game that can be played by disabled and able-bodied children. By using the latest technology, children will be able to experience and control the game in the way that best suits their capabilities. Beyond the challenges of heavyduty programming, Deligiannidis faces a struggle to find a controller that can be used by children with varying levels of ability. By using retroflective tape or an infrared LED, like the one used for the Wii system, he envisions the device being something small and easily fastened to any child with a simple bracelet. At the end of the game, Deligiannidis hopes the child with disabilities will have been able to experience it in the same way as other players.
After two years at Wentworth, Deligiannidis believes the school is the ideal place to be working on this research because of the Institute’s eagerness to expand the gaming track and the students’ determination and work ethic.
“They are serious and very focused,” says Deligiannidis. “They come here because they know what they want to do, and they want to become better people in our society.”
Along with working to enhance the gaming presence at Wentworth, Deligiannidis is busy publishing papers, teaching a regular course load, looking into ways to collaborate with other departments, and spending as much free time as possible with his wife and two children. One cannot help but ask the question: How does he get it all done? For a man who is obsessed with cutting-edge technology in computers and gaming, his answer is simple: “I don’t have a TV at my house.”
