SERIOUS GAME MARKET

Following my prior post Serious Games Award Winners Announced @ Serious Play , here is another Gold Medal Winner at the Serious Play Conference, held August 23 – 25, 2011 at the DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Wash: RoboMath. RoboMath , a mathematics instruction Serious Game developed for the Canadian Space Agency by Project Whitecard and Virtual Heroes , has been requested by over 40,000 teachers in Canada, and will reach over 1.25 million students this year, placing it as the second largest distribution of a single learning software title in the world. Using the Unreal Engine, the team developed a realistic depiction of the International Space Station centered around STS-127. Students assemble a platform on the station while undertaking integrated Mathematics essential to completion. Voice provided in two languages by astronaut Julie Payette herself. RoboMath and RoboMath3 are focused on curriculum specific math concepts for 5/6 and 9/10 gr

Following my prior post Serious Games Award Winners Announced @ Serious Play , here is a re-publishing of my prior post Practice Marketing: Real World Multiplayer Serious Game .  McGraw-Hill Education Practice Marketing (McGraw-Hill Education International and Muzzy Lane SW) was one of the 6 Silver Medal Winners at the Serious Play Conference, Tuesday – Thursday, August 23 – 25, 2011 at the DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Wash. A 3D representation of a Marketplace Developed for McGraw Hill Higher Education Education UK, PRACTICE Marketing is a 3D turn-based Serious Game intended to teach college kids the principles of product marketing and competition. In the game, players are able to fully experience the seven underlying principles upon which to base marketing strategy and efforts: Image, Differentiation, Repeat Business, Ease of Doing Business, Networking, Likeability, and Emotion . Gameplay You've been selected to manage a company’s new

Via: Air Medic Sky One Following my prior post Serious Games Award Winners Announced @ Serious Play , here are a few more details about Air Medic Sky One , created by University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, which was awarded  Best of Show at Serious Play Award Competition. This innovative patient safety game is an interactive biofeedback game. In the game players are introduced to biofeedback game controls to navigate the game and basic concepts regarding communication and teamwork in patient safety given by an international team of patient safety experts delivered through mini-games and lectures. Players also manage patients in complex situations that they will inevitably face as junior doctors. Game Background Air Medic Sky 1 was first conceived by Dr. Ian Leistikow when he was the coordinator of patient safety at the University Medical Center Utrecht. Ian dreamed of creating a cutting-edge Serious Game that could train young doctors about pat

Air Medic Sky One uses biofeedback sensors to train doctors PRESS RELEASE Air Medic Sky One , from University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, Wins Best of Show at Serious Play Award Competition SEATTLE – Aug. 25, 2011 – Twenty Serious Games were chosen by a panel of experts, as medal winners at the 2011 International Serious Play Awards, a program distinguishing superior examples of corporate, military, healthcare and school/at home learning titles . The winners were selected at the Serious Play Conference, Tuesday – Thursday, August 23 – 25, 2011 at DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Wash. Air Medic Sky One , created by University Medical Center Utrecht, was awarded Best of Show . The award program received submissions from commercial organizations, seasoned and emerging development studios as well as students. This year’s entries included 13 international submissions. “Games for learning are moving onto every platform, from iPads to

SEATTLE – August 22, 2011 – A panel of experts has selected 20 games as finalists in the 2011 I nternational Serious Play Awards, a recognition program honoring outstanding examples of corporate, military, health care and school/at home learning titles (please find also Serious Play Conference To Recognize and Certify Outstanding Serious Games ). The games will be featured and final winners and a Best of Show selected at the Serious Play Conference , Tuesday – Thursday, August 22 -24, 2011 at DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Wash. The award program received submissions from commercial organizations, seasoned and emerging development studios as well as students. This year’s entries included 13 international submissions. Commercial Organization/Development Studio Finalists include: • Air Medic Sky One, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands (Games for Health) • Aircraft Marshalling Virtual Trainer, Heartwood Inc. (Government/Military) • Virtual Reality

Via: Interactive Multimedia Technology Following my prior post Serious Games As The Missing Link Between Game Engines and NUIs , here is another example. Innovation Now Sdn Bhd is a Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, based company specialized in surface computing and Augmented Reality solutions. Homam Alghorani, Innovation Now CEO, has already developed multi-touch surface computers using many technologies such as Frustrated Total Internal Reflection (FTIR), Diffused Illumination (DI), Laser Light Plane (LLP), LED cell imaging and a gesture recognition computer using a 3D camera sensor. Innovation Now is now releasing Inno-Anatomy, a multi-touch virtual anatomy surface computer in the shape of an autopsy table that enables users to use hand gestures to experience the anatomy and autopsy processes virtually.

Via: IBM Press Room - IBM Unveils Cognitive Computing Chips For more than half a century, computers have been little better than calculators with storage structures and programmable memory, a model that scientists have continually aimed to improve. Comparatively, the human brain—the world's most sophisticated computer—can perform complex tasks rapidly and accurately using the same amount of energy as a 20 watt light bulb in a space equivalent to a 2 liter soda bottle. Making sense of real-time input flowing in at a dizzying rate is a Herculean task for today's computers, but would be natural for a brain-inspired system. Using advanced algorithms and silicon circuitry, cognitive computers learn through experiences – like "Serious Games", find correlations, create hypotheses, and remember—and learn from—the outcomes. Researchers at IBM have been working on a cognitive computing project called Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Ele

Serious Play Conference will kick-off in 5 days at DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Washington . In a recent interview to the Serious Game Market blog, Clark Aldrich, Serious Play Conference Director, provided a recap of the genesis behind Serious Play and its further development, focusing on a pragmatic take with an eye towards the big picture. “All kinds of organizations, from corporate to military to academic, have realized Serious Games and educational simulations can be used to create educational content that is more effective and more engaging, and is even less expensive”, says Clark. “However, our leaders need pragmatic help. They need to know how to find the talent, the project management framework, the deliverables and the right approaches to ensure success.” Clark adds, “The Serious Play conference is all about giving this second generation of Serious Games practitioners, managers and developers (as well as faculty teaching Serious Game design

Following my prior post Google+ Getting Serious About Games Stream , dated July 22, Google+ Games are live already. At The Official Google Blog, Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President of Engineering, posted on August 11: “ Today we’re adding Games to Google+. With the Google+ project , we want to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to the web. But sharing is about more than just conversations. The experiences we have together are just as important to our relationships. We want to make playing games online just as fun, and just as meaningful, as playing in real life.” As reported by Mashable , “ Google+ users may have noticed something new on top of their streams— a small icon signifying that Google+ Games had gone live.” “When you’re ready to play, the Games pages is waiting—click the games button at the top of your stream. You can see the latest game updates from your circles, browse the invites you've received and check out games that people you

 National Summer Learning Association Chooses Global Kids As One Of The Best Summer Learning Programs Global Kids offers a range of year-round programs in schools, online, and at their headquarters. They work primarily with middle school and high school youth, and also provide professional development and capacity building services for educators and institutions, and special trainings for youth. Global Kids’ Online Leadership Program , since its inception, has been object of several Future-Making Serious Games Blog posts, e.g. GK Supports Teachers to Incorporate Serious Games in Education , GKs: Adapting A Social Media Game To Youth Education Context , among others. Now, the National Summer Learning Association has chosen Global Kids' U.S. in the World summer program as one of the recipients of the 2011 Excellence in Summer Learning Awards. This annual award recognizes summer programs demonstrating excellence in accelerating academic achievement and promo

Via: Asia Pacific FutureGov  – Serious Games Set to Transform Health Services Following my prior post Serious Games For Healthcare Design Beyond the Hospital , here is another article addressing how real time visualization technology penetrates the health industry through "Serious Games" for both patients and practitioners. In an interview to FutureGov, Tim Laning and Jan-Jaap Severs, co-founders of Grendel Games , declared that “Having fun is a very big part of being intrinsically motivated to learn things or do things that are hard to do otherwise. When you play, you learn and you’re never too old to learn, therefore you’re never too old to play.” An example given was a game developed for patients with burns, set in a frozen place where there are polar bears and penguins in a wintry landscape. After certain tests, it was proven that patients’ pain had been alleviated. “It’s a subconscious thing, and it’s very powerful,” Laning said. “In traditional reha