From MMORPGs to toys which are immersive, interactive, and brain building (and also printer building), game- and toy-playing is considered to be one of the best tools to help increase knowledge, change behaviors, improve self confidence, boost skills, and keep healthy.
Yesterday’s Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg guests discussed the impact of toys and games on health and how they help innovation and discovery:
Joining the show was Debra Lieberman, the Director of the Center for Digital Games Research at UC-Santa Barbara, and 13-year old Shubham Banerjee of Braigo Labs.
Here are their best soundbites:
“I’ve been building with LEGO since 5 years old. I think it’s a great place to start DIY projects.”
“I knew I had to start with LEGO because you can be so inventive and not follow the instructions.”
“LEGO’s been really generous, they tweeted about it. They’ve been sending me kits.”
“It’s amazing to see such a big company like Intel help me. They use a chip called Edison that’s changed my printer completely.”
On the science project he almost worked on: “I’d have 3 plants and see which light would affect plant growth but my mom said no.”
“It was amazing to be at the White House. It was such an honor to be there. I got to hear Obama’s speech about STEM.”
“I’m a normal kid. I keep a low profile. I don’t want to be a big celebrity.”
“There’s a whole coding sense to Minecraft. You can build whatever you want. It’s inventive and useful for people who want to be creative.”
“My family tries to set work aside and have normal conversations.”
“It’s important to teach kids about STEM and programming. Be creative, be innovative. Maker Faire is a great place to showcase your idea.”
“There are people with really great ideas, but you need your parents support to chase down your dream.”
“We need to help people without resources chase down the dreams the way we’re able to.”
“I asked my parents how blind people read but I feel like I should’ve know who Louis Braille was.”
“Imagine closing your eyes for 10 seconds, now imagine that for 80 years of your life.”
“If you do good you get good back.”
“Portability and mobility is what we’re working on. Our main goal is to get the printer to be light weight, very quiet and under $500.”
“I went to brazil recently to see a tiny braille printer that cost over $50,000.”
Find more about Braigo Labs HERE.
“The cloud is here to stay. Someone will find a way to provide cloud gaming with micro-payments.”
“I hope that Amazon is curating, selecting and evaluating the games they are providing.”
“Games are experiences. You’re trying out skills, learning by doing, getting feedback. Health games align with health goals.”
“Bronkie the Bronchiasaurus teaches about asthma. The player must put together pieces of a wind machine to save the planet from encroaching dust but also to keep Bronkie’s asthma under control.”
“We wanted to reach our players where they already live— on consoles.”
“The American Lung Association adopted Bronkie as a mascot for young people.”
“Health games should be healthy at all levels. Video games can be healthy for social connections and other skills but video games can also teach bad things.”
“There’s all kinds of learning embedding in video games.”
“It’s very normal for game players to test the failure state of a game so you have to plan for players testing the waters and making that a teachable moment as well.”
“23 years ago there was a 40% drop in urgent care, asthma-related visits with those who had Bronkie to play on Super Nintendo.”
“Over 20 years ago, Packy and Marlon reduced urgent care visits 77% for diabetes.”
“How do you change people’s behavior with games? It’s taking the knowledge and applying it to games. It’s processing the media that rehearses new skills.”
“The percentage of gender gamers exactly equivalent but the amount of time that males spend playing games is higher for younger men.”
“I would love to see more games being made for women.”
“Tweens, especially girls, are now targeted in health games to help self confidence and boost healthy sex relationships.”
“I’m getting calls from parents of high school students wanting to be involved at the Game Center. They help work on our research grants and projects.”
“We have a Media Arts and Tech program that’s a combo of engineering and arts to enter digital careers.”
“We have to make great health games to inspire others to do it.”
“iThrive in Utah has game challenges where people can design a game to win prize money or get mentoring by experts in the field.”
“Michelle Obama had a game challenge in her Let’s Move campaign.”
“Mobile gaming can be tremendous since you can be out and about in the world. Like fitness games sensing your speed.”
“Zombies Run is an excellent health game. It modulates your run by asking you step it up because the zombies are encroaching on you.”
“Lumosity is full of science based neuro-games that help your memory and concentration to keep your brain sharp and rehearse mental skills.”
“We’re aiming to keep Baby Boomers mentally sharp and delay the onset of Alzheimer’s.”
“There’s a new game call Neuroracer that is well-tested and aimed at older players who are losing concentration. This helps them stay focused and learn how to multitask.”
“We don’t see huge demands from consumers to buy health games. With exceptions like Lumosity and DDR that are fun and yet have health benefits.”
“Health clinics, insurers, pharmaceutical companies have incentives to keep people healthy.”
“We rely on social media, websites, and our database where people can go to look up hundreds of games.”
Find more about Digital Games Research HERE.
Make sure to join Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg next Wednesday at 9am PT/12 ET when Professor Brian Little joins the show. Only on SiriusXM Business 111!
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