G4H 2006: CPR Training with an MMOG System
Posted by Peter Smith on 06-09-29Patricia Youngblood of, Stanford University School of Medicine, gave a very interesting talk about CPR education in a virtual world developed using Forterra Systems Olive Platform, which was used to power There.com and recently used by MTV for Virtual Laguna Beach. The virtual world based education had high school students playing as actual students taking a class. During the course of this experiment the teacher collapses and the students must save him using the skills they have learned in the real world. This experience helps the students to visualize how a typical emergency would progress.
G4H 2006: Pulse!! First Person Health Care Simulation
Posted by Peter Smith on 06-09-29If you don’t know about Pulse!! it is a game being developed by BreakAway Games in conjunction with Claudia Johnston at the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. It is being funded by the Office of Navy Research, and it is obvious they have spent their money well. After about a year the game is really starting to take shape. Doug Whatley of BreakAway Games showed a demo in which the player can interact with any object in a perfect representation of the Trauma Center in Bethesda MD. One of the best features is the ability to look through tubes and bottles to determine liquid levels and flows. While parts of the game are a bit rough around the edges overall the game is looking quite nice.
G4H 2006: Video Game Donors and Activists
Posted by Peter Smith on 06-09-28Kay Howell of the Federation of American Scientists led off this panel with Robert Khoo of Child’s Play (Penny Arcade) and Ryan Sharpe of Get Well Gamers. While I was kind of hoping for a battle royal fighting match this talk was one of the more laid back, pat gamers on the back, presentations I have ever seen. First Ryan kicked off running through the foundation of Child’s Play. Starting out with only one hospital and an Amazon.com wish list, this charity has become a favorite among gamers. It services over 20 Hospitals world wide and pulled in over $600,000.00 in video games and consoles for hospitalized children. They are beginning to take on case by case activities to help individuals and are even funding some research with Project Hope. Robert was clear that this charity appeals to gamers by providing them an outlet to help while staying true to their gaming roots.
Ryan’s Get Well Gamers is very similar to Child’s Play in that it also provides games to children in hospitals. The main difference here is that Get Well Gamers collects and refurbishes games and game systems donated by gamers. Ryan explained many of the challenges they face, like gaining credibility as a charity. Cleaning the systems before putting them in hospitals and worrying about the appropriateness of the games donated. He concluded that gamers are good people who are looking for outlets to help others in a way that appeals to their inner gamer. It was amazing how similar these two groups really are.
G4H 2006: Physical Therapy with Games
Posted by Peter Smith on 06-09-28Dr. Skip Rizzo, Institute of Creative Technology at the University of Southern California, began working with Game Boys and has quickly upsized to full virtual reality systems. While the promises of virtual reality made in the 90s still has not come to fruition, PC based virtual worlds have advanced to a point that they can be used to test for and treat health problems. Dr. Rizzo is now working on rehabilitation with games and virtual environments. He is experimenting with a large variety of alternative input and output devices including head mounts, multi-screen systems, hand trackers, head trackers, etc.
For rehabilitation people must do repetitive motion based tasks to practice using the muscles again. Because these tasks are mundane and non-engaging people tend to trail off on keeping up with rehabilitation routines. By adding games we will be able to motivate people to continue to do their rehabilitation.
G4H 2006: The State of Exergaming
Posted by Peter Smith on 06-09-28Dr. Ernie Medina, has the title Exergaming Evangelist, and he is amazingly passionate about the topic. He reminds us that it is common practice to blame games and tv for obesity, but while this is true we don’t people blame reading. The real enemy is exercise is boring. If you can exercise with a fun, social, game. At Beaver Medical it is common for people to play Dance Dance Revolution in large groups ranging in age from child to senior. The games have a lower perceived RPE, an increased self-esteem, competition, etc. They have tournaments and high score boards in their facilities. They have now expanded to create the XRtainment Zone, a family fitness center that specializes in providing games for health in a gym environment. They even use the games as a way to bring people in and then teach them nutrition and perform research to validate the game interventions. Expect them to have Wii’s, just maybe not on launch.
ResponDesign, the creators of Yourself Fitness followed up by bringing us back to reality. The talk kicked off with Yourself Fitness no longer being in stores and there is no sequel in the works. While ResponDesigns has an uncertain future there is still strong support and need for the exergaming space. They also feel having compelling software is what is required to get people to exercise and to solve the obesity epidemic.
Games for Health 2006: Keynote
Posted by Peter Smith on 06-09-28I’m here at the 2006 Games for Health conference being held at the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore Maryland. Starting with opening remarks from Ben Sawyer, followed by a keynote by HopeLab’s Steve Cole, this year’s conference is off to a great start.
The keynote from HopeLab highlighted the great work they and Real Time Associates have done on their seminal title Re-Mission. Re-Mission, as you may already know, is a cancer awareness and educational game which they have shown increases self efficacy and quality of life in users. You can find out more about the game on their site. Cole presented us with the thought that by showing that this one game can change behavior in a positive way it can be used as the impetus to fund new games and overcome more diseases. Finally he concluded with this statement, “If you build it, they will not come – Unless it is fun.”
This is the first year that there are multiple tracks, but I am committed to blogging the main room presentations. If you are here and would like to cover things in another room on this page, or our covering the conference on your own site let me know and we will publish or link to you here.
The Body is a Game
Posted by Ben Sawyer on 06-09-26One of the sessions at Thursday and Friday's Games for Health conference is a group meeting titled "The Body is a Game" looking at ways we can use the incredible imagery of the human body to fuel new ideas for games, education, science, health, etc.
This animation created for Harvard by Xvivo really does stir the mind at what games about the inner workings of cells, organs, etc. could draw from and the power of an interactive element to something as visual as this could have:
http://aimediaserver.com/studiodaily/videoplayer/?src=harvard/harvard.swf&width=640&height=520
Thanks to BoingBoing for the link.
Games for Health @ NBC4 Connected Expo
Posted by Ben Sawyer on 06-09-15Video Games for Health and Social Awareness Debut at Washington Consumer Trade Show
Two cutting-edge organizations working to turn the incredible technology of the entertainment video game industry into works of spirited social awareness and educational value, Games for Change and Games for Health, are paving the way for video games to endow a player with real world perspectives and experiences. They will be coming together to showcase their socially responsible games this weekend (Sept. 16 – 17) at The Entrepreneur Pavilion at the NBC4 Connected Expo at the Washington (DC) Convention Center.
(Washington, Sept. 13, 2006): Parents now have to take a closer look when they tell their child to stop playing video games: they may be stopping them from learning some very important lessons on subjects like genocide in Darfur, roots of conflict in the Middle East and the impact of global hunger. Expressed through video games created by the members of Games for Change (G4C) and Games for Health (G4H), these themes are a part of a serious movement to impress social activism and education on a broader audience through new media. The mission of these two organizations—to use video games to educate, inform and assist people—will be communicated at The Entrepreneur Center Pavilion at the NBC4 Connected Expo, September 16 – 17, at the Washington Convention Center.
G4C and G4H apply the success of gaming beyond entertainment value. Since being established in 2003, membership has grown from 50 to more than 2,000 organizations, researchers and developers. G4C and G4H have established key partnerships with a variety of organizations, including MTV, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the New School for Design in New York.
“A new movement is emerging, and given how much our young people are playing video games, it’s not a moment too soon for social issues to speak to the next generation in the media of their choice,” noted Suzanne Seggerman, co-founder and co-director of G4C.
At the Connected Expo, informative, interactive multimedia displays will be exhibited to express the unique approach and capabilities of G4C. Darfur is Dying is a game which challenges a player to take the role of a displaced Darfurian struggling for survival in a refugee camp with the goal of instilling a more personal understanding of the crisis in Sudan. Food Force, another game being demoed, invites a player to take on several roles in an effort to demonstrate the challenges and rewards of working to curb global hunger. The expo will also be a platform to display the winner of the Reinventing Public Diplomacy through Games Contest, Peacemaker. In this game, players tackle the role of the Israeli Prime Minister or the Palestinian President solving real world dilemmas with the goal of promoting peace.
G4C provides support, visibility and shared resources to individuals and organizations using digital games for social change. G4C acts as a national hub to help organizations network and develop video game projects beyond their traditional expertise. Members represent hundreds of partners in the games industry, artistic community, academia, local and state government, the United Nations, funding organizations and the nonprofit sector.
G4H is described by co-founder, Ben Sawyer as, “an effort to bring together two industries, health and healthcare, and the video game industry, to form a community of practice … that can look at ways to take talent, technology and tools from the game industry and apply them to problems in the health and healthcare industry.” Attendees will see G4H’s games being demoed on a variety of subjects, including health epidemics, disaster response, professional healthcare skill development, personal health and more.
This public unveiling of the work of G4C and G4H will be sandwiched between two exclusive serious games expos. The first took place this past June at The New School in New York when the showcase expo of the G4C Annual Conference unveiled a new round of social change games. At the end of September, the G4H Annual Conference will be held in Baltimore, Md. This conference will bring together health care professionals, game developers, and academic researchers who continue to develop innovative strategies, driving the success of the combined video game and health care industries.
“Games for Change and Games for Health are providing tremendous leadership in this important new movement to develop video games that will have a positive educational and health impact on today's youth. Parents today must work hard to provide better positive influences and alternatives for their children. The Entrepreneur Center is excited to help promote these games and this innovative movement through the NBC4 Connected Expo," said Steve Boyd, Director of The Entrepreneur Center at NVT
Official Schedule
Posted by Ben Sawyer on 06-09-11Here is the official schedule and times for all talks. We expect there will be perhaps 1-2 minial additions to our program and perhaps some tweaking of titles. But the timings of the beginning and end of the session blocks are set.
Access it in PDF format (legal size paper) here:
http://www.gamesforhealth.org/Games-For-Health-2006-Schedule.pdf