Games in Non-entertainment Environments (GiNE)

Perspectives on using games for other purposes

HeRC

University of Manchester

Benjamin Green

16th Oct 2014 ITAG

Me

• Software Engineer for HeRC

• Qualified Staff Nurse

• Games Programmer

Benjamin.green@manchester.ac.uk @republicof1

Working for HeRC

• Health Informatics

– using technology to improve healthcare

• My games background got out!

• Before long I was discussing gamification

3 Insights

I want to share some things that I have observed

from my vantage of being from two distinct

backgrounds

ONE

Gamification is a buzzword

The problem with ‘gamification’

On one hand

It has become almost

meaningless!!

On the other

It has become refined (and confined)

I prefer: Games in Non-entertainment Environments

(GiNE)

What am I talking about?

• The essence of games

• Difficult to define

– Conflict?

– Narrative?

– Fun??

Games are:

Any situation where a player

attempts to achieve an objective

but where there is some distance

between the player the control of the objective and

Failure

• Crucial and inevitiable in games

• Can be a problem ethically and morally

• Failure in safe environments can be good

– It helps learning and allows us to explore efficiently

TWO

The perception is that making games is easy

Its not simple to make a good game

• Requires a different skill set than is commonly available in universities or hospitals

• Takes years of learning and practice

• Requires ‘polish’ to be acceptable

Buy in the experience

• Independent developers want to help

• They are talented, dedicated and enthusiastic!

• They are prepared to explore non-traditional funding

• They are flexible and resourceful

• They are more than likely on your doorstep

THREE

People play games are better at making them

Play games

• You can’t explain music meaningfully to someone who has never heard it

• Experience is the best tool you have to become a good maker of GiNE’s

• Understanding both worlds is necessary for innovation that spans both

Summary

1. Know what games are

(and what they are not)

2. Get help if you can

(or give it if you are a developer)

3. Play more games

Questions please

B E N J A M I N G R E E N

Benjamin.green@manchester.ac.uk

@republicof1

www.republicof1.co.uk