I thought I’d post something fun about how to figure out if you are a serious games researcher.
Here goes…
You might be a serious games researcher if…
“You might be a serious games researcher if….”
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Category Archives: Serious Game Research
So you mean something else when you say your serious game has been “validated”? Confusion Part 2
In my previous post on validating serious games (“What do you mean when you say your serious game has been validated? Experimental vs. Test Validity“) I tried to clear up some confusion around what it means when someone says their game has been “validated.” I called for people to specify whether or not their game had undergone a validation process as an intervention or as an assessment measure. Seems that there is even more confusion out there to clear up.
What do you mean when you say your serious game has been validated? Experimental vs. Test Validity
At many serious games conferences I attend, people talk about the pressing need for more serious games to be validated. People talk about the handful of examples of serious games that have been validated. I assume this means that scientific trials were conducted that validated the use of these serious game to impact outcomes.
But when I listen more closely, sometimes I hear people say that they have “validated” their serious game at various steps of the development process. Humph. How do you validate an incomplete game for effectiveness? Then it turns out they never conducted a trial to evaluate the efficacy of their game to impact outcomes. But they still say they “validated” their game. How can that be?
Do Brain Training Games Work? Yes, No and Maybe.
“For an effective game, do your homework and address a big problem”
So you want to change the world? And you want to make a serious game to make that change? Well, even if luck and chance play a role in your game’s ultimate effectiveness, you can definitely take steps to put yourself in the best possible position to make a big change that can be measured. You can do this from the get-go by doing your homework.
Putting Serious Games for Health in the Chronic Care Model
Our healthcare system of today is based on a system that is very good at treating acute illnesses. If something is broken or diseased, a patient is admitted to the hospital and receives care by a team of professionals until they are well enough to go home.
“How do you measure self-efficacy? The answer may surprise you”
As a follow-up to my post on measuring the impact of serious games (see “8 Tips For Measuring the Impact of Serious Games”), let me give you a little quiz. It’s not as easy as it may seem.
Let’s say you made a serious game to increase the engagement of seniors in regular physical activity at a gym. One of the “research goals” of your game was to increase player’s self-efficacy to Continue reading
“8 Tips for Measuring the Impact of Serious Games”
Serious games are great! When you play them, the good ones (!!), you get the feeling that they are a breakthrough in learning. They “feel” like they are doing much more than traditional teaching and training approaches have done in the past. You think, “Everyone should be learning through games and they will replace textbooks in the classroom and brochures in the doctor’s office!”
But that is not enough. Continue reading
“A Potential Addition to Your Library on Serious Games for Health”
I am often asked what “classic” books I can recommend on serious games in healthcare. Truth be told, the field is still very young so there aren’t too many classics out there yet. One edited volume that is coming out in July 2012 that might be a classic is entitled, Serious Games for Healthcare: Applications and Implications.
The following is a description of the book from the publisher’s website (IGI Global):
“Serious Games for Healthcare: Applications and Implications will introduce the development and application of game technologies for health-related serious games. Further, it provides cutting-edge academic research and industry updates which will inform readers about the current and future advances in the area. Encapsulating the knowledge of commercial and noncommercial researchers, developers, and practitioners in a single volume will benefit not only the research and development community within this field, but could also serve public health interests by improving awareness and outcomes.”
The book is edited by Sylvester Arnab, Ian Dunwell, and Kurt Debattista from the Serious Games Institute in Coventry, England. I expect it to be a nice overview of cutting-edge topics in the area of serious games for health.
Discount
If any of you are interested in pre-ordering a copy AND getting a significant discount, please keep reading. I was given an “Exclusive Discount Offer” form for the book because I authored a chapter about working with researchers on serious games. Even though the offer is “exclusive,” the marketing representative for the book told me that I may share the offer with my colleagues. As a reader of my blog, I consider you a colleague and I hereby share with you the discount offer form. You can click HERE to access the form. You can get a 40% discount on one copy, 45% on two copies, and 50% on 3 or more.
By the way, I never have nor will make a cent from the sales of the book. Ah, the beauty of intrinsic motivation! I hope this book contributes to your ever growing library of research on serious games for health. Once you get a chance to read it, I would encourage you to share your thoughts and comments on it below.
Disclosure
For the sake of open disclosure, I was not paid a penny for my contribution nor will I receive even a penny on the sales of the book. In sum, I have no financial interest in promoting this book. I am interested in encouraging people to learn more about serious games for health either through my blog or discounted books!
Putting self-efficacy theory into serious games
People often ask me how one can incorporate a learning or behavioral theories into games. It is not easy to do but there is one theory that has been incorporated into serious Continue reading
Only 1 in 10 play the whole video game: Implications for serious game development
In the video game industry, an important measure of a game’s success is its sales. Of course the extent to which players of the game are engaged in it and give it positive reviews supports the sales of the game and its popularity. But if a million people buy a Continue reading
Games and aggression: Is it a bad thing?
I am often asked what I think about video games and aggression. It is a funny question because how can I say that games can’t make you aggressive if I also think games can affect what you do and think? I’d like to take this opportunity to resolve this seeming Continue reading
Serious Games and Health: Where are the Dosing Studies?
Before any drug is evaluated to see if it has its intended effects, researchers conduct studies to see what dose of the drug is needed to get the optimally efficient response. They want to make sure they are giving enough of the drug to patients so that they can see a Continue reading
Gaming for Health
This is a very nice presentation on gaming for health posted by IQ the innovation lab of GSW Worldwide. The slides are a mini-workshop that look at the latest research on gaming for health, examples of how health and wellness leaders are engaging people with games, strategies for healthcare brands who want to try gaming.
