Games for health journal
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Games for health journal · Oct 2012
Positive Emotions Associated with "Counter-Strike" Game Playing.
Digital game playing engages people for long periods of time. The pleasure offered by digital games may explain the players' consumption of this activity. Games may elicit both positive and negative emotions, which can be measured by encephalography (EEG). The EEG alpha asymmetry index (AI) is different in positive and negative emotions and so may be used to distinguish positive from negative emotions that occur during gaming. We hypothesized that the "Counter-Strike" (CS) game (Valve Software, Bellevue, WA) is pleasurable and demonstrable with a positive EEG AI. ⋯ The overall results are consistent with the hypothesis that predominantly positive emotional reactions are elicited from playing the CS game and concur with positive subjective ratings of happiness. Future studies may explore the relationship of game pleasure and obsessive game play.
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Serious videogames use entertainment to teach, train, or change behavior. What began in the 1970s as tentative attempts to create learning software is now a recognized videogame genre and an emerging health science. Although more research is needed, a growing body of literature suggests serious videogames can be effective. ⋯ Critics question serious videogames' entertainment value and, thus, their viability. "How can serious videogames attract and maintain players," the argument goes, "if they aren't as much fun as commercial titles, or even any fun at all?" This article examines the argument that, to be effective, serious videogames should be overtly fun and comparable to commercial off-the-shelf videogames. It explores differences between game developer- and researcher-led projects and discusses ways serious videogames can avoid boring and alienating players. It concludes that direct comparisons between serious and commercial game entertainment values may be misdirected.
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Games for health journal · Apr 2012
Feasibility Pilot Study: Training Soft Skills in Virtual Worlds.
In a world where funding is limited, training for healthcare professionals is turning more and more to distance learning in an effort to maintain a knowledgeable and skilled work force. In 2010, Cicatelli Associates, Inc. began exploring the feasibility of using games and virtual worlds as an alternative means to teach skills-training in a distance-learning environment. The pilot study was conducted with six individuals familiar with general counseling and communication skills used by the healthcare industry to promote behavior change. ⋯ These limitations included a lack of microgestures and issues regarding the technology being used. In spite of the limitations, however, the potential use of virtual worlds for the training of healthcare providers exists and should be researched further. This article discusses the need and intended benefits of virtual world training as well as the results and conclusions of the pilot study.