Serious Games

Let’s talk about serious games.

Many think that video games are only for fun and entertainment, toys for both kids and adults.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Gaming and game technology have uses in fields outside of entertainment. Sometimes called “Serious Games,” these games focus primarily on education or game-based learning or training. You may have seen the term gamification tossed around a lot lately, the application of game-based principles to education/training.

The concept of game-based learning isn’t new, but technological advances have allowed the opportunity for innovation as more industries take advantage of learning via video games.

Serious Games in Science

Gamification has uses in scientific visualization, namely, visualizing data in a form that can be better digested by its audience. But there’s more.

In healthcare, for instance, serious games can be used to educate the general public about various health topics and to promote healthy behaviors. Japanese researchers recently prototyped a medical app to help brain surgeons, an example of gamification used in training.

Biomedical and Healthcare Research

Serious games also have applications as research tools in the healthcare and biomedical fields. Further, by collecting data on how players interact with the game and what decisions they make, researchers can gain insight into how people process and retain information, as well as how they make decisions under various conditions.

Overall, serious games have the potential to revolutionize approaches to healthcare and biomedical science. By providing a fun and interactive way to learn and practice important skills, these games can help to educate and engage users in a way that traditional methods may not.

Here at MHX, we have a particular interest in biomedical and healthcare applications of game technology. We’d love to hear from you if there’s something in this realm you’d like to develop.