Courtesy of the GDC Vault is another free video from GDC 2012. This session covers the efforts of three developers creating games combined with health goals.
Jane McGonigal's SuperBetter, an online game with a mobile app, encourages building physical, mental, emotional, and social resilience. ShapeUp co-founder Rajiv Kumar speaks about his success of adding social games to employee wellness programs to promote physical activity, healthy eating, and weight loss. Finally, GreenGoose founder Brian Krejcarek discusses making all of life a game, including Apps for teeth brushing and bathroom etiquette.
Speaker(s): Jane McGonigal, Rajiv Kumar, Brian Krejcarek
Company Name(s): Social Chocolate, ShapeUp, GreenGoose
Track / Format: Game IT Summit
Overview:This session looks at three projects that are doing just that, leading the way for games to become the first-line of defense for individual and organizational health.
First up is an update on Jane McGonigal's SuperBetter, an online game with a mobile app designed to build SuperMario Health with four kinds of resilience: physical, mental, emotional and social. In this quickfire talk, you'll hear insights from a user-driven development process based on user-tests in both clinical and organizational settings -- from Ohio State University's hospital to Zappos Corporation.
Next up is ShapeUp, an exciting startup in the field of employee wellness that uses social networking, gaming and incentives to improve health. ShapeUp’s social games promote physical activity, healthy eating, and weight loss among employees of large corporations and members of health plans. The company has expanded rapidly over 5 years, now covering 2 million people in 93 countries and working with clients like Aetna, HP, Cleveland Clinic, and Sprint who are using games to improve the health of their populations.
Wrapping up, Brian Krejcarek, founder of GreenGoose will be presenting on making all of life a game -- with little wireless sensors. Taking on everyday obstacles and things we do in more playful way is a new kind of game we're exploring for all ages. What if the hours spent sedentarily playing casual games online could be extended to the real things we do around us? Maybe it's just a smile and a little humor to change our daily habits toward a healthier and happy lifestyle.
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