On the 5th May 2019 game enthusiasts came together to discuss on how Serious Games may be included in the health care industry at the BIONNALE 2019. The Hosts Bettine Gola (Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie), Maria Wagner (games:net berlinbrandenburg) and Martin Steinicke (HTW, University of Applied Sciences Berlin) were delighted to greet around 80 participants at the panel.
After a warm welcome by the hosts, the first speaker of the day, Dr. Stefan Göbel (University of Technology Darmstadt) offered an introduction to the broad field of games in a scientific use. By contrasting Serious Games and Gamification he drew an outline of a Serious Game’s most important attributes and discussed the significance of further investigation of Serious Games.
During the second keynote Oskar Stamm (Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin) allowed an insight on the current state of Serious Gaming for the elderly in the health care industry. Founded on research results of the Geriatrics Research Group he illustrated the opportunities and limits of gaming elements with patients, especially older users.
In the following pitch round three representatives of companies working on Serious Games were invited to introduce some of their current projects to the audience. First Prof. Thomas Langhanki (Experimental Game) showed their production pipeline tool “gamebook.io” and its possibilities to improve digital storytelling.
Afterwards Jana Beyer (IJsfontein Interactive Media) spoke of the Dutch/German company’s broad portfolio of multimedia projects. Also she took a closer look at “Delirium Experience”, an interactive experience made for doctors and nurses in training to learn understanding and handling delirious episodes of their patients.
The final speaker Ralph Stock (Serious Games Solutions) concluded the pitch by recalling their game “Boosters” amongst other Serious Games the studio has developed. In this game players can take on the perspective as a cancer patient or their relative and strengthen social bonds by conjointly fighting their enemy, the cancer, in a fun shooter or puzzle game.
In the end Martin Steinicke (HTW Berlin) invited the audience to join an open discussion with all the panel’s speakers. Finally all participants were invited to get in touch with the guests with a drink or snack within the welcoming atmosphere of the conference halls.
The session Serious Games for Health was organized by Berlin Partner, games:net berlinbrandenburg and the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin (HTW, University of Applied Sciences Berlin). We thank all our partners and panellists for making such an interesting entry at the BIONNALE 2019 possible.
An event by
