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Showing posts from July, 2011

Largest Game Fair in Latin America Includes Educational Serious Games

The fourth edition of Brazil Game Show (BGS) will be held October 5 – 9, 2011, in Rio de Janeiro.  The event agenda comprehends the Fair, the Conference, the Games Festival Awards, Game Jam (the game development marathon, now in its second edition), and B2B (an exclusive area for doing business). Submissions for the Games Festival Awards are now open at http:// www.brasilgameshow.com.br/   under 10 game categories, one of them being Educational Serious Games. The Festival provides a unique opportunity to promote the best games produced in Latin America, showing the world the enormous potential for the industry in the region (please find also Brazil's Video Game Ecosystem: Superior Serious Games Products ). Winners of Game of the Year and Independent Game categories will be awarded with All Access Pass to the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. The winners will be announced on October 7 during the awards ceremony to be held at the Brazil Game Show 2

Serious Game Expo 2011 – Serious Games In Innovative Companies DNA

The Serious Game Expo was conceived to gather key Serious Game Market players in France. The 2010 edition hosted over 800 visitors and 30 exhibitors. For its seventh consecutive edition, the Serious Game Expo , organized by the Competitiveness Cluster Imaginove and partners, opens its doors on November 21-22, 2011 at the Cité Centre des Congrès - Cité Internationale de Lyon. More than 50 exhibitors, 30 speakers and 1,000 visitors are expected to attend the largest French gathering of professionals in the industry. The Serious Game Expo is considered a must visit exhibition to meet the best industry players in France: this 7th edition is characterized by a new international vocation that focuses on the more effective "Serious Games".  If you want to share your expertise in the next edition of Serious Game Expo 2011, you can submit a proposal by September 9. If you wish to apply the Serious Game Expo Awards 2011 – that will reward the top two Serious G

Serious Games For Mobile Health Tracking

Via: Singularity Hub   - Jawbone Raises $70M, Readies To Launch A Health Tracking Wristband Later This Year Singularity Hub reports that “Jawbone, the sleek line of innovative Bluetooth headsets, is seriously on the move raising funds from venture capitalists. Four months ago, its privately-held parent company, Aliph, announced $49 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz, and now it has raised $70 million from unnamed investors through JP Morgan.”  A press release reveals that Jawbone has developed a health tracking wristband that monitors eating habits, sleep patterns, and physical activity levels, and sends this data to your phone so you can assess your lifestyle against your health goals through a mobile app.  (Please find also Rock Health: Serious Games Catalyzing Innovation In The Interactive Health Space  ).   The wristband is called UP and is slated to arrive at the end of 2011, bringing innovation to health monitoring While Jawbone’s UP has a num

GDC 2012 Call for Speakers Now Open, Sep 29 Serious Games Summit

The call for submissions to present lectures, panels, roundtables, and tutorials at the 2012 Game Developers Conference (GDC) is now open through Tuesday, September 6. GDC will be held March 5-9, 2012 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.  NOTE : If you are interested in submitting for any of the GDC Summits , the call for submission will open September 29 - October 31. The advisory board is seeking submissions from game developers with expertise in any of the following tracks: Audio, Business, Marketing & Management, Design, Production, Programming, and Visual Arts. Please review the submission guidelines and track topics prior to submitting Mark your Calendars for GDC 2012! March 5-9, 2012 Moscone Convention Center San Francisco, CA March 5 - March 9, 2012 GDC Play Days March 6 & 7 Moscone Convention Center San Francisco, CA   The Game Developers Conference® -- the world’s longest running and largest professionals only ev

Experts to Discuss Effective Serious Games for Government and Military

The first-annual Serious Play Conference will feature an impressive list of speakers in the government/military track, including: • Jim Hadley, Instructional Designer, The Boeing Company • Talib Hussain, Senior Scientist, Raytheon BBN Technologies • Ross Smith, Director of Test, Microsoft Plese find below the confirmed speakers, and their topics, in the government/military track for the Serious Play Conference. Project Leads, Developers of Serious Games for Government and Military Units To Tackle Tough Questions about Creating Effective, Measurable Programs SEATTLE – July 27, 2011 – Seasoned veterans who have developed games and sims for government or military use will take on the tough questions about how to create effective, measurable programs at this year’s Serious Play Conference Tuesday – Thursday, August 23 – 25, at DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Washington. In addition to plenary sessions on market size, tools and technology and assessment strateg

Spatial Humanities: Serious Games Revolutionizing Historical Data

David Rumsey Map Collection A New Generation of Digital Mapmakers Over the past decade, historical GIS has emerged as a promising new methodology for studying history, which can be utilized to reorganize and reevaluate historical data. Via: The New York Times - Digital Maps Are Giving Scholars the Historical Lay of the Land Historians, literary theorists, archaeologists and other academics are using advanced technology to establish a novel field that they are tentatively calling Spatial Humanities .  These scholars are using Serious Games for Studying History: Geographic Information Systems (Historical GIS) display and analyze information related to a physical location to re-examine real or fictional places in new ways.  Spatial Humanities aims to revolutionize humanities scholarship by critically engaging the technology to determine the influence of geographical space on human behavior and cultural development.  Humanities scholars explore the potential o

Live Now: Join GE Healthymagination Game Changers Summit On Ustream TV

Via: GE Helathymagination: Game Changers Summit On Ustream Healthymagination is GE’s six-year, $6 billion strategy for taking on one of the toughest challenges: global health (find also Geoterra: Serious Games For GE's Ecomagination ). GE’s Ask Anything programming brings together today’s leading innovative thinkers. The Game Changers Summit is a deep dive into how social gaming, personal tech and mobile devices can catalyze innovative behavior change, fostering better experience & greater engagement for everyone.  The event features a talent roster of pioneers in the space — mavericks who are leading the change. See all the innovative LIVE here .   Join now and send your questions to #AskGE WHERE: 450 East 29th Street, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10016 WHEN: Tues, 7/26, 9-5:30pm About Healthymagination Healthymagination is a shared commitment to creating better health for more people. Almost everyone wants to make healthier choices, but they d

Serious Games, Serious Money: Google's Web Reshaping

Via: TechCrunch   TechCrunch reports today that “ Google’s stock is reaching its highest value over the past six months, trading as high as $619.50 share on Friday, putting search giant just shy of a $200 billion market cap.” TechCrunch adds “in the week following the launch of Google+ , the company’s most ambitious social product yet, investors added $20 billion to Google’s market cap. That combined with the general strength of the market and health of Google as a company propelled the stock upwards into July.” As Google+ hit 20 million users, analysts are now optimistic for Google’s social plans. As the Wall Street Journal reported last week, Barclays Capital equity researchers are telling investors that “given positive initial traction from users we believe Google is now better positioned to compete and integrate social cues across its products than before, which could drive increased relevancy in search going forward.” I tend to agree with Geek with Laptop that

HumanaVille: Serious Games Providing Productivity Solutions In Healthcare

Via: Humana, Inc. - Humana Creates “Virtual Neighborhood” to Provide Health and Wellness Education for Seniors   Humana (please find also Humana Serious Games: Helping You Play Your Way To A Better Health ) announced earlier this month the launch of HumanaVille, built in collaboration with Numedeon on their Interactive Community Engine.   The Numedeon engine was built in the context of Whyville , a virtual learning world for children now with almost 7 million registered users. Here is the full press release: HumanaVille.com supports members with health and wellness information, leading to increased understanding of resources and offerings   LOUISVILLE — Humana, Inc. has launched HumanaVille.com , an innovative online community that engages members 65 and older through an interactive virtual neighborhood” to connect them to extensive health and wellness resources.  From 2004 to 2009 alone, the number of seniors actively engaging online increased by more than 55

Serious Games Polarities: Playing Google+ versus Checking FB

Via: Hannibal and Me – The Sociological Breakthrough Of Google+ by Andreas Kluth on July 20, 2011 Re-shared from Larry Ferlazzo on Google+ Among the zillions of posts trying to explain Google+ phenomenon (please find also Google+ Turns Spheres of Connections Into Serious Games ), the one that has recently drawn my attention is Andrea Kluth’s post The Sociological Breakthrough Of Google+.  His opening statement: “ My last Facebook update said: Too busy playing on Google+ to check FB. And that was five days ago .” Here are the highlights: “ The truth is that I’ve long been too busy doing anything to check Facebook. I’ve secretly, and increasingly, loathed Facebook since I joined it, which was relatively early (beginning of 2007, I believe), because my beat at The Economist back then was Silicon Valley, and it was simply part of my job to be fiddling with stuff like this.” “Why this skepticism? Because Facebook is fundamentally indiscreet .” “

Serious Games As Technology That Mimics Nature

Via: TED talk – A Robot That Flies Like A Bird Plenty of robots can fly -- but none can fly like a real bird. That is, until Markus Fischer and his team at Festo built SmartBird , a large, lightweight robot, modeled on a seagull, that flies by flapping its wings.  SmartBird is the centerpiece of a broader project to build technology that mimics nature. Futuristically named the  Bionic Learning Network , the project is a collaboration between Festo and universities that has so far built six different robotic animals.  For the most part, Fischer says, the arduous process of mimicking nature in robotics helps him and other designers think up ways to build lighter weight, more elegant machines - thus working as Serious Games. Once built, the animals themselves are sort of “just for show”. The latest TED talk feels features Markus Fischer, the head of corporate design for German tech company Festo . The video shows what appears to be a sort of stiff seagull flying