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    From Games to Health: Lessons Learnt from the Video Games Industry
    From Games to Health: Lessons Learnt from the Video Games Industry
    From Games to Health: Lessons Learnt from the Video Games Industry
    Ebook61 pages52 minutes

    From Games to Health: Lessons Learnt from the Video Games Industry

    By Anna Sort and Alba Sort

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    About this ebook

    Back in the day, playing video games was expensive and complicated, but everything changed when smartphones appeared. More people are playing than ever before, and video games are modifying how we spend our time, interact with the world, and engage with others. 

    But what if the changes in human behaviour linked to video games could be transferred to other industries, such as healthcare? Wouldn't it be great to use them to improve patient care? This book looks at just that and identifies five key learnings from video games with the potential to transform healthcare for the better. 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMoirai Publishing
    Release dateNov 21, 2017
    ISBN9781386128076
    From Games to Health: Lessons Learnt from the Video Games Industry

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      Book preview

      From Games to Health - Anna Sort

      Foreword

      I am a qualified nurse. I also happen to be a gamer and gamification expert. I’m the first to admit that my skill combination is unusual, but I have observed over the years that whenever I meet new people and introduce myself, I often get asked the same two questions. They are so prevalent, in fact, that this book is partially written as a response to those who wonder how I can define myself​ ​both​ ​as​ ​a​ ​nurse​ ​and​ ​a​ ​gaming​ ​advocate. 

      The first question I get all the time is ‘how is it possible for a nurse to enjoy video games?’ Apparently, people find it disconcerting that someone trained to look after fellow human beings should choose to fight vicious enemies in a virtual environment. Interestingly, those same individuals wouldn’t bat an eyelid if my entertainment medium​ ​of​ ​choice​ ​was​ ​horror​ ​movies,​ ​say,​ ​or​ ​books​ ​about​ ​serial​ ​killers. 

      The second question that I’m often asked is ‘how is it possible for someone with a background in nursing to work as gamification expert?’ To many, video games are an immersive form of entertainment, end of story. They fail to see the potential that video games have to change several industries, including the one that has always been​ ​closest​ ​to​ ​my​ ​heart,​ ​healthcare. 

      But back to the first question. For decades, I blamed my love of video games on the influence of my brother Manel, seven years my senior. Manel discovered video games at an early age, and when he had the chance he became a keen gamer and amateur programmer. Inevitably his passion for video games, boosted by his status as elder brother, had a significant impact on my opinions, interests and preferences. Little wonder then, that I also embraced gaming when growing up. But our mother always​ ​says​ ​that​ ​interest​ ​in​ ​technology​ ​runs​ ​in​ ​the​ ​family. 

      In the 1960s, my grandfather on my mother’s side was involved in deploying the first mainframe computer in the savings society he worked at. It was cutting edge technology back then, the kind NASA used to send spaceships into space: the vast machine took up a big room and used punch cards as data input. My grandfather’s fascination with technology was passed on to his offspring. My mother became an engineer, and her brother started to work as a computer programmer. Bear in mind that this was the early 1980s, well before personal computers became commonplace; computing was a little-understood industry, the stuff of science-fiction movies​ ​and​ ​something​ ​far​ ​removed​ ​from​ ​daily​ ​life. 

      Go forward a generation and the family obsession with technology hasn’t wavered. Manel’s interest in programming took him 300 miles away from his family at the age of 19 to work as a video games programmer at a leading PC gaming company. It was a brilliant opportunity and he made the most of it, eventually moving to the UK to pursue his career working as games developer and producer for some of the most respected video game studios at the time. During his stay in London, Manel also completed a Masters in Computer Programming to enhance and refine his technical skills. The Masters got him interested in the holistic aspect of video games – not just their ability to entertain, but also their psychological and behavioural impact on gamers. 

      As for me, for a while it looked like I had avoided the fate of my mother’s side of the family and I became a nurse. I am a naturally empathic person and feel fulfilled when helping others and making them feel better, so going into nursing seemed a natural step. At the same time, I continued to play and enjoy video games in my spare time, particularly the Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) game World of Warcraft, of which I was a big fan. After working as an interim nurse in several hospitals and private organisations, something wonderful and totally unexpected happened: I got offered a job as company nurse at the French headquarters of Blizzard Entertainment, the makers​ ​of​ ​World​ ​of​ ​Warcraft.

      Going through the main door of the cool Blizzard Entertainment offices on my first day at work felt like stepping into a dream; it seemed impossible to think that I was now part of the company. But it was true, and the vibe at Blizzard was like nothing I had experienced before. I loved the fast-paced environment and the

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