Do serious games for health HAVE to be digital? No! The aim is to use game design approaches to educate and train. Analog games such as board and card games can be a perfect solution in many contexts. They are also really fun to make and have benefits over digital games. Ready Rufus: Find Professor…… Continue reading A Board Game for Children with Hemophilia: Find Professor Tapps
Tag: serious games
“You might be a serious games researcher if….”
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… 1. You want to crawl under a rock when people hold up poorly designed studies of serious games and proclaim that ALL serious games work. 2. You…… Continue reading “You might be a serious games researcher if….”
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…… Continue reading What do you mean when you say your serious game has been validated? Experimental vs. Test Validity
Do Brain Training Games Work? Yes, No and Maybe.
I was recently asked on Twitter if I thought brain training games like Lumosity were “any good.” My short Twitter response was that the answer is YES, NO, and MAYBE. Here is a more detailed explanation from my perspective as a psychologist, researcher and maker of serious games. When is the answer “YES”? Arthur Rubenstein,…… Continue reading Do Brain Training Games Work? Yes, No and Maybe.
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 contradiction. First of all, I would…… Continue reading Games and aggression: Is it a bad thing?