CFP: Games for Health 2010

Ben Sawyer over at Digitalmill has released the CFP for this year’s Games for Health conference. Complete details, including an online form for presenters to fill out, are here.

The 2010 Games for Health conference is set to be held on May 26-27 in Boston, MA. Pre-conference events on mobile games, games accessibility, and virtual worlds will take part on May 25.

Our call for content is now officially open. Please fill out the form below for each session you wish to submit.

All speakers receive free entry to the conference and all related events but no other compensation.

>>>DEADLINES FOR SUBMISSIONS<<<
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Our call for content has multiple deadlines with the first being December 31, 2009. DO NOT DELAY!!!!!

The sooner you provide your submission the better your chances for selection as space fills up and our we have a limited number of spots.

>>December 31, 2009 Deadline
All content received by December 31, 2009 will be considered for acceptance by February 1, 2010.

>>January 22, 2010 Deadline
All content received by January 22, 2010 will be considered for any remaining openings by March 1, 2010.

After January 22, 2010 all content received thereafter will be considered as space remains in the program.

March 15, 2010 : Peer Reviewed Proceedings & Poster Session Deadline
All content for peer-reviewed proceedings and poster sessions (see below) must be submitted no later then March 15, 2010. Final drafts of all proceedings and poster session work must be done by April 15, 2010.

*****SPECIAL NOTE: PEER REVIEW OPPORTUNITIES*****
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We are considering including peer-reviewed presentations and posters at this year’s conference. While not required, we will make our final decision based on number of submissions. If you wish to have your submission considered for peer-review, indicate that on the form below. All submissions are non-exclusive, meaning you can submit them for publishing elsewhere.
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++++CONFERENCE STRUCTURE++++
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The main Games for Health Conference program takes place over two-days on May 26-27, 2010. These two days are divided into five simultaneous tracks, a poster session, exhibits, and special topic rooms. The conference ALSO includes pre-conference events taking place on Tuesday May 25, 2010.

You will be asked to designate your submission to any or all of these to help us identify where your submission will best fit our program

***PRE-CONFERENCES***

>>Games Accessibility Day (Tuesday May 25, 2010)
All things dealing with making games more accessible to people with disabilities and using games and game technologies to improve the lives of people with temporary, acquired, chronic, or life-long disabilities.

>>Virtual Worlds in Health (Tuesday May 25, 2010)
Anything dealing with multiplayer online games/social worlds/etc. that is aiding in health/healthcare is focused on here.

>>Serious Games Mobile (Health Track) (Tuesday May 25, 2010)
This is a two track event exploring serious games on mobile and handheld platforms. This event features a health specific track while the remaining track looks at many other sector applications. Our hope is also for mobile health content to be featured during the main conference as part of our expo areas and in specially highlight panel discussion.

Submission to a pre-conference does not exclude the opportunity to present your work to the full conference. However, work in these areas will get strong consideration for these specific events.

***MAIN CONFERENCE TRACKS***
The main Games for Health Conference features five tracks of simultaneously presented content. Two of the tracks each day are open content. Three tracks each day are dedicated to specific domains and are lead by recognized community leaders in those fields.

These tracks are as follows:

>>Active Gaming Track
Held both Wednesday May 26 and Thursday May 27)

>>Cognitive Health with Games Track Powered by SharpBrains
Held both Wednesday May 26 and Thursday May 27

>>PT/Rehab Track
Held Wednesday May 26 only

>>Medical Modeling/Education & Simulation with Games Track
Held Thursday May 27 only

The two remaining tracks are open content. If you want to be specifically considered for promotion within any of these tracks please check the proper box during submission.

FURTHER QUESTIONS
If you have any further questions please contact gfh2010 at gamesforhealth.org with your request(s).

Interesting Sessions at Games for Health, 2008

Games for Health, 2008 will be held May 8-9 in Baltimore. Here are some of the sessions I found particularly interesting:

A Randomized Controlled Study of the Effectiveness of Casual Video Games in Reducing Stress and Improving Mood
Carmen Russoniello, Eastern Carolina University

Should “Videogame Addiction” be in DSM-V?
Jack Kuo, Promises Treatment Centers

The World of Warcraft Blood Disease : Epidemiological Observations and Findings
Nina Fefferman, Tufts University

PDwii: Using Novel Interfaces to Promote Physical Rehabilitation & Achieve Quantifiable Results
Red Hill Studios

The one by Fefferman on the WoW disease will be intriguing because it will attempt to show how dynamic virtual environments can represent RL phenomena. I’ve covered Wii-hab, stress reduction, and the question of including videogame “addiction” in DSM-V here. (In a word, the answer to this question is, “No.”)

There are many more sessions, and all of them look inviting. The Games for Health conference is always chock full of good content, and this year will be no exception.

More Videogame Myth Debunking

Here’s a nice editorial column from the Fond du Lac Reporter newspaper over in Wisconsin by David Williams debunking a few videogame myths. Recall we’ve taken a look at gaming industry myth debunking before, particularly Ben Sawyer’s Top 10 Myths of Serious Games, and Lee Wilson’s two-part article in Technology & Learning.

Here, Williams rips pundits asserting that videogames cause violence, are responsible for decreasing exercise, and are in general a waste of time. While eschewing the research to back up his points, Williams nonetheless makes a good common sense case for his points. Well worth the read.

References:
Williams, D. (2008, January 20). David Williams column: Time to pull plug on video game myths. Fond du Lac Reporter. [Online]. Retrieved January 20, 2008 from:

http://www.fdlreporter.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20080120/FON04/801200399/1329/FONlife

Highlights of the Serious Games Summit at GDC 2008

Ben Sawyer noted recently on his serious games listserv that the 2008 Game Developers Conference is coming up Feb. 18-22 in San Francisco. Of most interest during the conference will be the Serious Games Summit. Here are some brief highlights of the summit:

The NSF-Funded WolfQuest (screenshot below) will be featured in a discussion by David Schaller from eduweb. This game has players assuming the roles of wolves in Yellowstone National Park and learning about their habitats and nature. Sawyer and Peter Smith over at U. Central Florida will present a taxonomy for serious games. Sawyer will also serve along with Eric Zimmerman at Gamelab as moderator for a panel discussion on the difficulties of measuring learning in games.

Most all the discussions look very interesting. Check out the Serious Games Summit page for a list of all the topics that will be covered.

Civ IV Mod Contest Offers Education Category

Thanks to Alan Au for giving a heads up on Ben Sawyer’s Serious Games List about the Firaxis Civilization IV mod contest. Winners get new Dell XPS computers. One of the categories is the best educational mod, and this will bear watching. The contest ends Feb. 18, 2008. More details are here: http://firaxis.com/community/modcontest.php

CFP: Games for Health, 2008

The Games for Health Conference 2008 will be held May 8-9 in Baltimore. Registration is now open. Ben Sawyer put out a call for content on the Serious Games listserv, a copy of which is online over at Education Spree, which posts chatter from the Second Life Educators (SLED) listserv.

Several interesting topics are noted in Ben’s call, including using virtual worlds for health, the nascent field of cyberpsychology, exergaming, and virtual patients. Games for Health is a subsidiary project of the Serious Games Initiative, which is backed by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. This marks the fourth year for the Games for Health Conference.

Ben Sawyer's Top 10 Myths Surrounding Serious Games

Ben Sawyer over at Digitalmill announced on his seriousgames listserv a new article recently published by The Escapist. “Ten Myths About Serious Games” explores common misconceptions surrounding the industry. It’s a good read, and I won’t recap all of it here, but one of the highlights is the myth, “Serious Games Aren’t Fun.”

We saw this idea argued in the Bogost/Peters controversy earlier this year. It seems some feel that any serious elements within games automatically preclude the possibility of fun within the game. Likewise, fun games should preclude serious elements. Sawyer sums it up this way:

Sure, there are times when serious games lack the joy of play that at times disproportionately drives commercial games, but people absorb media for many different reasons, only one of which is for fun. Any number of necessities and other motivational purposes also come into play. To think fun is the only reason users play games isn’t giving people much credit. If anything, serious games are more than fun.

Sawyer also explores questions surrounding academic influence, military influence, and social factors going into the creation of serious games.

I got a lot out of the seriousgames listserv during my stint working in higher ed, spending much time lurking in conversations between academics, authors, and industry professionals. Recently I jumped back onto the listserv, and found these conversations are still going strong.

Sawyer concludes his article by stating it is important to combat the myths perpetuated in a young field like serious games, because too often a lie left unchallenged becomes the truth.

References
Sawyer, B. (2007, October 30). Ten myths about serious games. The Escapist. [Online]. Available: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues
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