DC2568 is on the second floor of the Davis Centre in the south
wing. Go up the stairs by the Tim Horton's Express in the atrium on the
ground floor of the Davis Centre. At the top of the stairs, turn right
and walk forward through the double doors. DC2568 is in the third
hallway down on the left.
CS798 Games for Health is a graduate reading seminar and game design course that will review the current major applications of games in healthcare. Readings will cover the major fields in healthcare where games are being used. Case studies will survey a representative set of current health-related games, from best-practices to examples indicating just how far this field has yet to develop.
By the end of this course students should have a good understanding of the current major topic areas for health-related games, an appreciation for what makes for good "gamification" in healthcare, and the ability to apply good game design principles in healthcare applications.
There are no formal requirements other than interest in the topic and ability to read and analyze technical material. Some pre-existing knowledge of popular video games would be helpful but is not necessary. Background in other relevant fields (e.g., psychology, health sciences, narrative modeling) will also be useful.
A project team may choose to extend their digital game prototype towards a working implementation for their own interest but no programming is required in the course. Full marks may be obtained for a card game, board game, or other paper prototype of a game. Ideally, Computer Science and students from other disciplines will participate as members of a team.
Non-Computer Science students are welcome to
enrol in the course after the first week of classes if there is
sufficient space.
You can add your name to the waiting list at:
http://cs.uwaterloo.ca/current-graduate-students/courses
Auditors are welcome if there are extra seats in the classroom.
The focus of the course is on analyzing the requirements for a case study and developing a game design that fulfils these requirements, ideally introducing some novel aspects that improve upon the state of current health games in the area of application.
Students are encouraged to tailor the game-design project to their personal interests or academic discipline, e.g., to focus on one or more of: aesthetics, game play/game mechanics, the avatar, using artificial intelligence, health behaviour change theory, etc.
(***NOTE: last updated October 19)
Auditors are welcome if there is sufficient space in the classroom.
All readings are available from this website, or either in hardcopy or electronic versions from University of Waterloo Library Course Reserves or e-journals.
To find the location of a reading, go to the course reserves link on the
University of Waterloo's Library web page at:
http://lib.uwaterloo.ca
When you choose our course you will see a list of the titles on reserve. Electronic content can be accessed from anywhere with an Internet connection. Hard copies on reserve will indicate where the copy is located, the loan period, and the call number needed to access it from the Davis Centre Library circulation desk.
Jane McGonigal
Reality is broken: Why games make us better and
how they can change the world
Penguin Books, 2011 (multiple copies on reserve)
S. Arnab, I. Dunwell, and K. Debattista (editors)
Serious games for healthcare: Applications and
implications
IGI Global, 2013
K. Bredl and W. Bosche (editors)
Serious games and virtual worlds in education,
professional development, and healthcare
IGI Global, 2013
B. Schouten, S. Fedtke, T. Bekker, M. Schijven, and A. Gekker
(editors)
Games for health: Proceedings of the Third European
Conference on Gaming and Playful Interaction in
Health Care
Springer, 2013
Jesse Schell
The art of game design: A book of lenses
CRC Press, second edition, 2015 (multiple copies on reserve)
Jesse Schell
The art of game design: A deck of lenses
Schell Games, second edition, 2014
(cards to accompany the book) (multiple copies on reserve)
Games for Health Conference
Game Developers Conference
Serious Play Conference
Jane McGonigal's website:
http://janemcgonigal.com/
Friday September 18 10:00-11:50 DC2568
(last updated September 17)
Bill Ferguson,
"Videogames: The good, the bad, and the ugly",
Games for Health Journal, February 2013, 2(1): 1-2
Jane McGonigal
Reality is broken: Why games make us better and
how they can change the world
Penguin Books, 2011
Chapters 1, 14, Conclusion
(***updated significantly September 17***)
World Without Oil
http://worldwithoutoil.org
Fold It!
http://fold.it/portal
EyeWire: A Game to Map the Brain
About EyeWire:
http://blog.eyewire.org/about/
Where to sign up to play the game:
http://eyewire.org
Friday September 25 10:00-11:50 DC2568
Bredl and Bosche, Chapter 1, "Concepts behind serious games and computer-based trainings in health care: Immersion, presence, flow"
"...Too often, people say gamification when they mean games, and sometimes people say games, when they mean the simplicity of gamification. Most often, people are literally confused, thinking that these two words, and their associated practices and traits are one-in-the-same.
Well they’re not.
...the true health experience designer sees games and gamification as mutually inclusive...A common source of trouble on pure gamification implementations is that people often define the experience very narrowly, sacrificing the fundamental appeal that draws people to games in the first place. A broader approach to design, still connected to some of the strengths gamification makes appealing, can lead to better outcomes...[this] session seeks to get at the bigger issue at play when defining experiences as being games or gamified. That issue, simply put, is what works for the user and why?"
Objective: One-page project proposal (due next week)
Friday October 2 10:00-11:50 DC2568
Geoff Kaufman and Mary Flanagan,
"Lost in translation:
Comparing the impact of an analog and digital version of a
public health game on players’ perceptions, attitudes,
and cognitions",
International Journal of Games and Computer Mediated
Simulations, 5(3), 2013, 1-9
Available at:
POX: A public health game
http://www.tiltfactor.org/game/pox/
Game available:
Amazon ($US24.95) and App Store (free for iPad)
Monster Appetite
https://mobiletech4dev.wordpress.com/teams/monster-appetite/
Video
https://vimeo.com/59237217
Presenter: Shu
Friday October 9 and Friday October 16 10:00-11:50 DC2568
Objective: Description of features of game prototype (initial draft due October 30)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3339488/
Ian Bogost, "The rhetoric of exergaming"
http://www.bogost.com/writing/the_rhetoric_of_exergaming.shtml
Arnab et al., Chapter 3, "Rehabilitation gaming"
Motivation:
Deborah L. Feltz, Samuel T. Forlenza, Brian Winn, Norbert L. Kerr,
"Cyber buddy is better than no buddy: A test of the Köhler
motivation effect in exergames",
Games for Health Journal, April 2014, 3(2): 98-105
Presenters: Megan
Traditional game rewards:
Elizabeth J. Lyons,
"Cultivating engagement and enjoyment in exergames using
feedback, challenge, and rewards",
Games for Health Journal, February 2015, 4(1): 12-18
Presenter: Shu
Social exergaming:
Arwen M. Marker, Amanda E. Staiano,
"Better together: Outcomes of cooperation versus
competition in social exergaming",
Games for Health Journal, February 2015, 4(1): 25-30
Presenter: Priyank
"Flow":
Ann E. Maloney, Robin Mellecker, Richard Buday, Zan Gao, Trina
Hinkley, Laura Esparza, Shirley Alexander,
"Fun, flow, and fitness: Opinions for making more
effective active videogames",
Games for Health Journal, February 2015, 4(1): 53-57
Presenter: Xinan
"Immersion":
Brendl and Bosche, Chapter 1,
"Concepts behind serious games and computer-based trainings
in health care: Immersion, presence, flow"
Presenter: Dibya
Lauren R. Natbony, Audra Zimmer, Larry S. Ivanco, Stephanie A.
Studenski, Samay Jain,
"Perceptions of a videogame-based dance exercise program
among individuals with Parkinson's Disease", Games for Health
Journal, August 2013, 2(4): 235-239
Presenter: Xinan
Alien Health: A nutrition instruction exergame
using the Kinect sensor
http://egl.lsi.asu.edu/alienhealth.html
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyv9tkg2Ncc
Paper
M.C. Johnson-Glenberg, C. Savio-Ramos, H. Henry,
"Alien Health: A nutrition instruction exergame using
the Kinect sensor”,
Games for Health Journal, August 2014, 3(4): 241-251
Presenters: Anastasia
Fitbit
http://www.fitbit.com/ca
Game available:
App Store, Google Play, Windows Store
Tester/Presenter: Asma
Zombies, Run!
https://www.zombiesrungame.com
Game available:
App Store and Google Play
Tester/Presenter: Winnie
Friday October 23 10:00-11:50 DC2568
Schouten et al., "A taxonomy of serious games for dementia", pp219-232
Kelli N. Dunlap, "Integration of game design and theory into group psychotherapy with veterans with severe/chronic mental illness", Games for Health Journal, April 2013, 2(2): 109-112
SuperBetter
https://www.superbetter.com
Game available:
iPhone
Background reading
http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com/peoplesinsights/peoples-insights-volume-1-issue-35-superbetter/
Depression Quest
http://www.depressionquest.com/dqfinal.html
Follow the history at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depression_Quest
Game available:
Steam
Presenter: Asma
MoodHacker: A mobile app for depression
self-management
http://www.orcasinc.com/products/moodhacker
"...ORCAS [producer of MoodHacker] is applying gamification, personal user recommendations, and persuasive design to address challenges of user experience and engagement...The goal of ORCAS is to demonstrate long-term behavior change through evidence based outcomes. The result is improved health for individuals, which can drive down individual costs and costs to organizations when adopted by health care systems."
Friday October 30 10:00-11:50 DC2568
***Initial Draft of Design Document due***
PlayForward: Using Games to Improve
Adolescent Health
Video (approx one hour):
http:www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWT-CSlVuRA
Autism
Peter J. Chung, Douglas L. Vanderbilt, Neelkamal S. Soares,
"Social behaviors and active videogame play in children
with autism spectrum disorder",
Games for Health Journal, June 2015, 4(3): 225-234
Presenter: Xu, Dibya (demos)
Cerebral palsy
Lian Ting Ni, Darcy Fehlings, Elaine Biddiss,
"Design and evaluation of virtual reality–based therapy games
with dual focus on therapeutic relevance and user experience
for children with cerebral palsy",
Games for Health Journal, June 2014, 3(3): 162-171
Presenters: Megan
Nutrition
Food Focus: Fruits
http://challengepost.com/software/food-focus-fruits
Available on iTunes US Store
Presenters: Zijin, Jamie
"Food Focus: Fruits is a game designed to educate users about the wide variety of available healthy fruit options in a fun and engaging way. The game challenges players' fruit recognition capabilities and nutrient content knowledge..."
Bullying
SchoolLife
http://giantotter.com/schoollife
Game available:
Browser-based version currently available. Mobile version
planned.
Presenters: Xu, Ivens
"SchoolLife is a social role-playing game that teaches and assesses social skills to combat the bullying epidemic....The technology platform underlying SchoolLife builds on over 10 years of research from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the MIT Media Lab — research which has proven that walking in another’s shoes virtually improves relationships, and has demonstrated automating conversational characters with crowdsourced data."
Friday November 6 10:00-11:50 DC2568
Objective: Individual feedback on game prototype design
Note: Class poster session Thursday November 26 at Games Institute
Second Life: A 3D virtual world for eHealth
http://www.secondlife.com
Papers
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2553247/
http://www.slideshare.net/timbuckteeth/second-life-in-education-presentation
Presenter: Hemant, Haiyu
SimCoach: A virtual human support agent for PTSD
http://ict.usc.edu/prototypes/simcoach
Background
Short video overview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEli_3rau9c&feature=youtu.be
CBC Radio Article and Audio Program (approx 30 minutes):
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/popup/audio/player.html?autoPlay=true&clipIds=2669874500
Paper
Albert Rizzo, Eric Forbell, Belinda Lange, John Galen Buckwalter,
Josh Williams, Kenji Sagae, David Traum,
"SimCoach: An online intelligent virtual agent system for
breaking down barriers to care for service members and veterans",
Chapter in Healing war trauma: A handbook of creative
approaches, Routledge, 2012.
Friday November 13 10:00-11:50 DC2568
Cancer
Meveshni Govender, Randy C. Bowen, Massiell L. German,
Grzegorz Bulaj, Carol S. Bruggers,
"Clinical and neurobiological perspectives of empowering
pediatric cancer patients using videogames"
Games for Health Journal, October 2015,
4(5), 362-374
GeckoCap: A gamified asthma inhaler
Video
https://vimeo.com/43277302
Article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/16/geckocap-accessory-inhalers-parents-kids-asthma_n_2487212.html
Asthma is the most common chronic disease and one of the leading
causes of hospitalization for American children.
Nearly ten million – or one in seven – kids are affected by asthma. Worrisome for children and parents alike,
asthma is also a pressing public health issue, costing
the U.S. over $15 billion annually.
GeckoCap has developed mobile, digital, and smart tools that
empower children as well as their parents and doctors
to better manage asthma medication.
GeckoCap’s glowing reminder system helps children
build healthy habits and motivates them
to take control of their health.
With inhaler tracking, GeckoCap can also use inhaler activity
to drive game-based experiences that can support managing asthma
a collaborative effort, allowing parents and doctors to use games
to drive adherence and behavior change in Asthma."
Presenters: Gustavo, Terence
Diabetes: InsuOnline
Leandro Arthur Diehl, Rodrigo Martins Souza,
Juliano Barbosa Alves, Pedro Alejandro Gordan,
Roberto Zonato Esteves, Maria Lúcia Silva Germano Jorge,
Izabel Cristina Meister Coelho,
"InsuOnline, a serious game to teach insulin therapy to
primary care physicians: Design of the game and a randomized
controlled trial for educational validation",
JMIR Research Protocols, 2(1), 2013
Leandro Arthur Diehl, Rodrigo Martins de Souza, Pedro Alejandro Gordon, Roberto Zonato Esteves, and Izabel Cristina Meister Coelho, "User assessment of “InsuOnLine,” a game to fight clinical inertia in diabetes: A pilot study", Games for Health Journal October 2015, Special Issue on Games in Diabetes, 4(5): 335-343
K. Gerling, I. Livingston, L. Nacke, and R. Mandryk,
"Full-body motion-based game interaction
for older adults",
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors
in Computer Science, 2012, 1873-1882
Friday November 20 10:00-11:50 DC2568
Amy Shirong Lu,
"Narrative in exergames: Thoughts on procedure, mechanism,
and others",
Games for Health Journal, February 2015, 4(1): 19-24
Presenter: Priyank
LongStory
http://www.longstory.com
Game available:
App Store and Google Play
Presenters: Yuqing, Justin
"LongStory is a dating and adventure game that helps pre-teens sandbox healthy relationships and sexuality. It deals with issues such as consent, bullying, being different, fitting in and learning how to ask for what you really want.
LongStory has based its health strategy on encouraging players to develop empathy through a meaningful and challenging romantic storyline....Games can be interventions for mental health promotion, but the majority of mainstream games don't address the capacity to be emotional sandboxes in a meaningful way."
QuitIT: Teaching coping strategies
for smoking cessation through interactive storytelling
http://www.muzzylane.com/products/1450
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af7ItVqss0I
Paper
Paul Krebs, Jack E. Burkhalter, Bert Snow, Jeff Fiske, and
Jamie S. Ostroff,
"Development and alpha testing of QuitIT: An interactive
video game to enhance skills for coping with smoking urges",
JMIR Research Protocols, Jul-Dec; 2(2), 2013
Published online Sept 11, 2013 at:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3786125/
Presenters: Justin, Terence
"For decades, the standard behavioral treatment for smoking urges has been behavioral rehearsal, which entails the identification, modeling, and role-playing of diverse cognitive and behavioral coping strategies to identify and manage smoking cues. This treatment promotes skill acquisition, bolsters confidence in coping with smoking cues, and reduces relapse to smoking."
In game vernacular, this skills acquisition approach is called “mastery” and is consistent with a gamer player’s experience as they advance through a variety of game genres such as Role Playing Games (RPGs)....Virtual reality games and simulations provide environments similar to those faced in the real world, which increases personal relevance and learning potential...games serve as powerful tools because they encompass many aspects of human learning, such as engagement, problem-solving, receiving corrective feedback, and repetition."
Friday November 27 10:00-11:50 EC1
***NOTE: THE POSTER SESSION WILL NOW BE IN OUR REGULAR CLASS TIME
BUT AT THE GAMES INSTITUTE, EC1, 175 COLUMBIA W***
Class Poster Session will take place during the Games Institute Annual IMMERSe Project Meeting
Friday December 4 10:00-11:50 DC2568
A closing "Mission Statement" for games for health:
(from the 2014 Games for Health Conference,
Games for Global Health Meetup roundtable discussion)
"[Games for global health] can include not only opportunities for
specific efforts in less-developed regions, but also opportunities to address
truly global issues such as pandemic flu, nutrition, and the spread of
non-communicable diseases."
MalariaSpot: Building a global network of
virtual malaria hunters through gameplay
Demo and TED talk:
http://malariaspot.org/en
Game available:
Android, PC, iPhone
Paper
Miguel Angel Luengo-Oroz, Assier Arranz, and John Frean,
"Crowdsourcing malaria parasite quantification:
An online game for analyzing images of infected
thick blood smears",
Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2012;14(6):e167
"According to the World Health Organization, approximately 216 million cases of malaria occur in the world each year, and the disease kills about 655,000 people annually....Currently, the gold standard for malaria diagnosis worldwide consists of first detecting parasites, and then counting the number of parasites in blood smears by using a microscope....An average of 100 images have to be visually checked by a specialist, a process that can take up to 30 minutes. Confirmation of a negative diagnosis is ultimately dependent on the technician’s expertise....
Thus, we need scalable, fast, ubiquitous, and accurate screening systems...Mobile phone coverage is reaching every corner of the planet and we see the global connectivity as an opportunity to distribute the images all over the Internet.
We believe that there is so much online talent out there that can be used to analyze malaria images (while you play a game!)..."
Arnab et al., Chapter 5, "Ethics in the design of serious games for healthcare and medicine."
Bredl and Bosche, pp105-115, "Evaluation of serious games."
Schouten et al., pp75-84, "Servitization and commoditization: The business model dilemma confronting serious games for health."
Panel Members: Ahmad, Anastasia, Gustavo, Rina, Xiao-Bo
Chrysanne Di Marco
University of Waterloo, DC 1308
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
519 888 4567 x34443
email: cdimarco AT uwaterloo.ca
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