The fat girl defence for video games
Posted by Peter Smith on 06-04-24The Guardian Unlimited Games Blog has an extremely small piece up commenting on a front page article in Saturday's Guardian. They are claiming that obesity statistics for England have more than doubled. Even more interestingly they claim statistics for girls have gone up even more than statistics for boys. This allows for Aleks Krotoski's tongue in cheek assertion that boys play more games than girls do, thus proving that games don't make you fat, but fish and chips do. As rediculous a defence for games as this is at least some joy can come from the plight of these poor young girls. Please post all angry comments to the Guardian Comments Page found here.
It often starts at the customer level...
Posted by Ben Sawyer on 06-04-14
So often people ask me where do people come up with some of the ideas that games are good for your health... Well as the comments below show -- it ofen comes from customers of companies like Red Octane. This comment which was sent in to them and recently shared with us (name withheld of course) really illustrates a key general point about games for health and serious game applications... that often it's the unintended application of game technology by customers and other "fourth party" developers like modders that is fueling big parts of this movement.
Case in point this great comment sent to Red Octane by a fan of their Guitar Hero product (which rocks literally and figuratively btw)...
Customer Comments From Point-of-Sale Survey
I love Guitar Hero and actively recruit friends to play. In addition to loving the game, it's actually improved my health. I have carpal tunnel and I'm also missing bone in my wrists. Any moderately high stress on my hands, or repetitive motion, would trigger pain, numbness, and hand cramps. Playing Guitar Hero, I began with a 5 minute stamina in-game before my hands were hurting, stiff, and useless. Within a week I got to a 30 minute stamina, and that's when my hand just starts to feel funky. I've had less pain in general since playing the game. Thanks for helping make everyday tasks (like writing a page of notes for class) less painful than before =)
Red Octane asked me if anyone was doing some research here - none that I know of but certainly there might be some carpal tunnel syndrome experts out there who might want to weigh in.
Games for Health Video Trailer
Posted by Ben Sawyer on 06-04-14This is a video that was created for our Capitol Hill event. It is now available online at via YouTube.
Games for Health Goes to Capitol Hill
Posted by Ben Sawyer on 06-04-14Thanks to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Connect Program, Games for Health was the featured program at two receptions and other meetings held on Capitol Hill this week.
During the two-day event various projects were demoed at receptions attended Monday by House staff and on Tuesday by Senate Staff. You can find a photo gallery online here.
The two-days also saw the project meet with over a dozen committee and member staffs to brief them on the games for health field. The feedback was very promising and in general comments were insightful. Most of all staff appreciated seeing how wide-ranging the opportunities were and understanding some of the basic research that is beginning to be gathered.
Read More...
The projects that were shown included:
FreeDive! from Breakaway Games which is being tested as a pain distraction environment.
Yourself! Fitness from Respondesign which is a personal trainer product for Xbox/PS2/PC
Ben's Game -- which visualizes cancer and was developed with support from the Make-A-Wish Foundation
Sony Kinetic - an EyeToy based workout program with trainers and games that was co-developed by Nike Motionworks.
New Dawn Manor from Pulluin Software that is a game-based approach to assisted living staff training.
EyeToy Play which is among other EyeToy games being looked at by researchers for helping stroke victims, and amputees.
Konami's DDR with pads supplied by Red Octane that showed off everyone's favorite dancing exergames. We showed both the PS2 version and Nintendo's DDR Mario Mix which is awesome if you haven't yet checked it out.
Immune Attack from Federation of American Scientists which is a game developed at USC for teaching K-12 students about the immune system.
PowerGrid Fitness' Kilowatt device driving Need for Speed on the Xbox and showing how this controller provides an isometric based aerobic and strength conditioning workout.
DS BrainAge from Nintendo which is a cognitive exercise game that has taken Japan by storm.
Pulse!! a next-generation game-technology based 3D virtual world for nurse, medic, and doctor training being developed at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi by Breakaway Games. The rendering shown focused on the ICU at Bethesda Naval Medical Center.
Second Life from Linden Lab demonstrated their build-your-own MMP technology which is being used by a number of therapuetic and training projects in the health arena.
Steve Downs and David Morse from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation spoke and explained the Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio and how it is designed to explore breakout ideas that bring new thinking to the health and healthcare field. Ben Sawyer from Games for Health spoke about how games are being used in a variety of efforts - not just one specific area and Dr. Bruce Jarrell a dean at the University of Maryland School of Medicine spoke about the importance to use new technologies like games to enhance both teaching and patient interaction.
Over the two days over 350 Capitol Hill staff and guests played games, asked questions, and took in our brief presentations and trailer (which we're currently posting on YouTube and Google Video so stay tuned).
Games for Health Day :: May 9, 2006 :: E3 Expo Week - Los Angeles, California
Posted by Ben Sawyer on 06-04-07Games for Health Day
May 9, 2006 :: E3 Expo Week :: Los Angeles, California
Davidson Executive Conference Center
3415 South Figueroa Street :: Los Angeles, California 90089
The Games for Health Project, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, TATRC, and USC’s Annenberg School for Communication & Institute for Creative Technologies invite you to join us on May 9 for a full-day event devoted to the use of games and game technologies in health and healthcare, including an evening reception.
This one-day event, just before the opening of the Electronic Entertainment Expo will bring together researchers, game developers, and health & healthcare professionals for a series of talks devoted to how games and game technologies are addressing critical health & healthcare issues.
Read More...
Talks will focus on:
• Health messaging using games
• Combat & emergency medicine
• Psychotherapy and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Pain Distraction & Anxiety
• Cancer treatment
• Disease management
• Coping with family ailments
• Cognitive health
• Off-the-Shelf consumer health & exergaming titles
How to Attend
A limited number of public tickets are available for $99.00. To attend, please register online at: http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=107672
The event is free for USC faculty & students. RSVP with your credentials to rsvp@seriousgames.org
Researchers who have TATRC-sponsored or partnered projects may attend this event for free. Please RSVP with your project name and TATRC program officer to rsvp@seriousgames.org
Grantees of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation may attend this event for free. Please RSVP with your program name and program officer contact to rsvp@seriousgames.org
Media are welcome to attend this event. Register for a media pass with Beth Bryant (bbryant@dmill.com)
Games Health Day, May 9, Schedule
Posted by Ben Sawyer on 06-04-07The Games for Health Day Schedule for May 9 is now available!
Please click through for the complete schedule. See below for all travel details as well.
Special thanks to TATRC, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, USC's Annenberg School for Communication, and ICT for their help in making this event possible.
A downloadable PDF version of the schedule and event information is available at:
http://www.gamesforhealth.org/gfh-usc-details-schedule.pdf
How to Attend
A limited number of public tickets are available for $99.00. To attend, please register online at: http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=107672
The event is free for USC faculty & students. RSVP with your credentials to rsvp@seriousgames.org
Researchers who have TATRC-sponsored or partnered projects may attend this event for free. Please RSVP with your project name and TATRC program officer to rsvp@seriousgames.org
Grantees of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation may attend this event for free. Please RSVP with your program name and program officer contact to rsvp@seriousgames.org
Media are welcome to attend this event. Register for a media pass with Beth Bryant (bbryant@dmill.com)
Games for Health Day
USC Davidson Conference Center
Schedule: May 9, 2006
Los Angeles, CA
Breakfast & Registration
08:00 am - 09:00 am
Keynote: The Future of Game Driven Technologies
Don Daglow, CEO, Stormfront Studios
09:00 am - 09:45 am
Well known developer/producer Don Daglow will share thoughts on where games are going next on the eve of its biggest showcase of the year. Daglow's firm, Stormfront Studios is producing a highly anticipated next-generation game release.
Using Games to Deliver Key Health Messaging
09:45 am - 10:45 am
Moderator: Ian Bogost, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech & Persuasive Games)
Panelists: Michael Goran Ph.D. (USC), Debra Lieberman, Ph.D. (UCSB), Lynn Miller, Ph.D. (USC)
As an ascendent media form the power of games to deliver useful information and advocacy is great. What is the state of health messaging with games, and the future untapped potential? This panel will explore this and highlight current efforts.
10:45 am Break
Case Presentation: Immune Attack
Kay Howell, (Federation of American Scientists)
11:00 am - 11:30 am
Immune Attack is an educational video game being jointly developed by the Federation of American Scientists, Brown University, and the University of Southern California, and is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. The game serves two purposes; namely, to educate regarding the human immune system, and to demonstrate that education video games are a feasible medium for teaching complicated subjects in a simplified manner. Kay Howell of FAS will lead a review of the project.
Case Presentation: Carmen's Bright Ideas
Stacey Marsella Ph.D. , Lynn Miller, Ph.D. (USC)
11:30 am - 12:00 pm
The Maternal Problem-Solving project is an ISI collaboration with clinical psychologists at six pediatric cancer centers around the country. The CARTE team is creating an interactive multimedia computer program to teach a problem-solving methodology called Bright Ideas. Carmen's Bright Ideas uses an animated narrative to introduce the problems of Carmen, mother of a 9-year-old son, recently diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, and a 5-year-old daughter.
Hopelab: Research results for Helping Kids with Cancer using a Videogame
Steve Cole, Ph.D., (Hopelab)
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm
HopeLab’s first project is Re-Mission™ -- a video game developed for adolescents and young adults with cancer. HopeLab conducted a randomized, controlled trial to test the effect of Re-Mission on treatment adherence, cancer-related knowledge, self-efficacy, and quality of life among adolescents and young adults with cancer. 375 male and female cancer patients aged 13- 29 were enrolled at 34 medical centers in the US, Canada and Australia, and randomly assigned to receive PCs pre-loaded with a popular video game only or that same control video game plus Re-Mission. Study results, which were presented in March of 2006 at peer-reviewed scientific meetings, indicate that playing Re-Mission produced significant increases in quality of life, self-efficacy, and cancer-related knowledge for adolescents and young adults with cancer. In addition, young people who played Re-Mission maintained higher blood levels of chemotherapy and showed higher rates of antibiotic utilization than those in the control group, both results suggesting that Re-Mission helps patients adhere to cancer therapy regimens.
Steve Cole will provide more details on the detailed research HopeLab conducted.
Lunch, Networking & a Briefing
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
During Lunch, Ben Sawyer of Games for Health will provide a quick review of what attendees to E3 can expect to see and should look for. For those of you who will be attending E3 for the first time this briefing promises to better prepare you for the industry's largest showcase event of the year.
Many games have maps, where's ours?
Harvey Magee, TATRC
01:30 pm - 02:00 pm
TATRC has been an integral supporter of game technologies being applied to health care. During this session Harvey Magee of TATRC will take a look at how TATRC is applying past methods in simulation and visualization to the games world in order to enhance TATRC's goals and mission.
Game Technology is Transforming Military Medicine: Is the Inverse Also Possible?
CDR Russell Shilling, NRL
02:00 pm - 02:30 pm
To what extent can the military medicine community aide the game technology world? In this session CDR Russell Shilling a veteran of several major DoD gaming projects including America's Army, Pulse!!, and more will explain ways that the games for health field will be a two-way street improving not only health but games in general.
Addressing PTSD, PsychoTherapy, & Stroke Rehabilitation with Games & Game Technologies
Skip Rizzo, Ph.D., (USC/ICT)
Margaret McLaughlin, Ph.D. (USC)
02:30 pm - 03:15pm
Skip Rizzo and Margaret McLaughlin will detail efforts, research, and developments taking place at USC, The Institute for Creative Technologies, and the greater cybertherapy community involving games and important therapeutic processes.
03:15 pm Break
An Analysis of DDR Studies & Outcomes
Debra Lieberman Ph.D., (UCSB)
03:30 pm - 04:00 pm
Konami's DanceDanceRevolution and similar titles are perhaps some of the most researched games around. In this session Debra Lieberman of UCSB and Games for Health steering committee member will provide an overview of the many studies completed or underway that show critical health outcomes and successes based on DDR.
Using Game Consoles to Create New Methods for Disease Management
Dr. Howard Goldberg, MD, (University of Washington)
04:00 pm - 04:30 pm
Dr. Howard Goldberg will detail his efforts to improve interaction between doctors and children being treated for diabetes. Recently his lab was provided a grant by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to move some of his management systems over to video game consoles as a means of increasing the means by which critical health information can be disseminated and tracked.
Using Portable Game Devices to Reduce OR Anxiety in Children
Dr. Anuradha Patel, MD, (University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey)
04:30 pm - 05:00 pm
In her work as an anesthesiologist Dr. Patel has documented the benefits of helping children reduce pre-op stress by providing them portable videogame consoles to focus on from the dressing room right to the point they are put under. The benefits of reducing OR stress with an off-the-shelf game solution is indeed measurable.
Cognitive Exercise & Games: Today, Tomorrow, and Why?
Ben Sawyer, Games for Health
05:00 pm - 05:30 pm
With support from casual game developer PopCap Games, the Games for Health Project is developing a public meta-repository and summary of the potential for games to aide in various aspects of cognitive health. Most notable about this is the potential to decrease the onset of Alzheimer's and dementia. An entire industry seems poised but is the research as clear cut to support this emerging market and if so what is the role seasoned game developers will play?
What is the Commercial Mass Market Future of Games for Health?
Ben Sawyer (Moderator), Ernie Medina, DrPH (Xrtainment Zone)
Chinwe Onyekere, Program Manager (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
05:30 pm - 6:15 pm
With our proximity to the E3 Expo we will wrap up this day with a general discussion of the future for the intersection of healthcare and commercial off-the-shelf games. With products like Sony Kinetic, Yourself! Fitness, DDR, DS BrainAge, and EyeToy Play offering potential mass-market opportunities to improve public health is this by-itself an important market for more then just game publishers? If so what is the role the general public and health community must play to ensure its growth and impact?
Reception & Networking
06:15 pm - 07:15 pm
Please join us post-conference to further conversations, make new friends, and increase the potential for future collaboration in this dynamic emerging field.
Games for Health Travel Help & Lodging
Posted by Ben Sawyer on 06-04-06Traveling to Games for Health Day and E3
We are happy you are going to join us at USC on May 9.
Cab will be the best way to get around and prices to go from outside the downtown area to the Davidson Center will be anywhere from $30-$50 on average. Cabs from the area around the Los Angeles Convention Center wbhere E3 itself is based to the Davidson Center will probably run around $10-$15 at worst on average.
For information about how to get to the Davidson Center please visit:
Google Map Location
Directions from Los Angeles Convention Center
USC.edu Information Page
USC Hospitality and Catering Page
Convenient parking is available in the Jefferson and Figueroa parking lot, located across the street from the Davidson Executive Conference Center. We have arranged for a limited number of garaunteed spaces on a first come-first serve RSVP basis.
Housing and Travel During E3 Expo Week
Housing is at a premium in the Los Angeles Area now. As E3 approaches it only gets worse. There are two blocks of housing you will find. Official E3 Housing and non-E3 Housing. The two major differences are price and access to courtesy shuttles for May 10-12. During the core days of the Expo (May 10, 11, and 12) E3 runs shuttle buses from official hotels. You MUST have booked a room through E3 Housing in order to be granted access to the shuttles.
Thus if you will be staying for any of the E3 Expo days we recommend you try to book an official E3 hotel.
click through for ALL DETAILS!
Checking Luggage @ E3
There is on site luggage checking at the Los Angeles Convention Center so for those of you staying for as much of 5/10 as possible to join us on the E3 show floor it will be easy for you to come in join us for the day and leave to LAX from the convention center.
All hotels were checked for availability on the nights of the 5/8 and 5/9. Keep in mind staying past 5/10 may limit your choices even further.
E3 Hotels
If you can you will find the best pricing and proximity by booking an official E3 Hotel. You must book these hotels through the E3 Housing Service. Visit http://www.cmrhousing.com/e3_9r/hotel-list.asp for the most up-to-date list and visit https://www.cmrhousing.com/e3_9r/form.asp to actually book your room.
Of the hotels last listed as available we recommend:
Four Points by Sheraton LAX Airport
$125.00/night
Hilton Universal City
$175.00/night
Hilton Los Angeles Airport
$135.00/night
Crown Plaza Los Angeles Airport Hotel
$150.00/night
Holiday Inn Los Angeles Airport
$139.00/night
Hotel Angeleno
$189.00/night
Fairmont Miramar Hotel Santa Monica
$236.00/night
NON E3 Hotels
The following is a listing of hotels NOT on the official E3 housing list but which also show availability for 5/8 and 5/9. As of 4/7/06 we checked with Expedia.com and the following hotels showed availability.
We've ranked the hotels in order of what we think are the best to worst possibilities based on quality, price, and proximity (in that order). If you do not find an official E3 Hotel that works consider the following:
LAX Plaza Hotel
$123.00/night
Radisson Hotel Los Angeles Airport
$124.00/night
Sheraton Gateway Hotel Los Angeles Airport
$229.00/night
Westin Los Angeles Airport
$234.00/night
Renaissance Montura Hotel Lost Angeles
$229.00/night
Ramada Limited Los Angeles Downtown
$94.00/night
Comfort Inn Los Angeles City Center
$139.00/night
(limited availability)
New Otani Hotel & Garden
$314.00/night
Air Travel
People attending E3 can use the following discount codes to save on airfare:
United Airlines
www.united.com
800-521-4041
500BS
American Airlines
www.aa.com
800-433-1790
A1056AF
Rental Car
To access E3 referenced rates, visit Hertz online or call 800.654.2240. Be sure to reference the discount code: 01PG0046.
For Enterprise, call 800.593.0505 and reference the customer number: 32H7441 or book online.
E3 Location
Los Angeles Convention Center
1201 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, California 90015
Phone: 213.741.1151
Fax: 213.765.4266
Re-Mission Released Today From HopeLab
Posted by Peter Smith on 06-04-01
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You may not have heard about HopeLab, a non-profit organization that combines rigorous research with innovative solutions, but you will soon. They have what some may consider a lofty goal of creating innovative solutions to improve the health and quality of life of your people with chronic illness. Although others have shared this goal in the past, HopeLab announced today that they have reached that goal with the release of their new game Re-Mission. Re-Mission is now available for free for children affected by cancer at www.re-mission.net.
All of this is great, but I haven’t told you the best part. The game actually looks fun to boot. The player takes on the roll of a Nanobot named Roxxi, she is armed and ready to fight cancer cells throughout the body. They are able to fight cancer using common therapy regimens like diet and chemotherapy.
When creating Re-Mission HopeLab did not stop at creating a fun, educational game utilizing expert advice and up to date research, they combined this with a rigorous scientific study to prove their game had positive outcomes for players. HopeLab claims their game is the first to scientifically show that it can improve health-related outcomes for young people with cancer. This underserved population is at a greater risk than others for adverse cancer outcomes. The data from the study showed statistically significant improvements in cancer-related self-efficacy, social quality of life, cancer-specific knowledge, and adherence to prescribed medication regimens in patients who played R-Mission. No word on what the control group played, but I bet it was not Grand Theft Auto.
So, what is next for HopeLab? First Re-Mission is going to be available to the general public in May, on a suggested donation basis. Then they plan to attack more health issues affecting young people today including autism, major depressive disorder, obesity, sickle cell disease, and more.