Good E3 For 'Games For Health'

GamePolitics reports on the Games for Health conference, held the day before E3 opened in LA. From the article: "Immune Attack is a first-person, real-time strategy game which employs authentic biology concepts to teach students about the immune system in a fun and engaging way. Developed by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), Brown University, and USC, the game challenges players to rebuild a human body's immune system from scratch by training cells to identify and combat infections. Contrary to the common public image of gamers as isolated loners, games can also provide a way to practice social skills. With advances in artificial intelligence and 3-D graphics, computers can accurately simulate complex social interactions. Imagine software that allows you to interact with a virtual personal trainer who customizes your diet and exercise regimen. How about a virtual tutor who walks you through your calculus homework?"

Damn

[jbellis]

I was hoping this would be about "games that make you healthy," not "games that teach you about health."

ARE there any of the former, besides DDR?
--
Carnage Blender [carnageblender.com]: Meet interesting people. Kill them.

here's a few

[BitterAndDrunk]

1. Volleyball
2. Softball
3. Flag football
4. Basketball
5. Baseball
6. Rollerhockey/hockey ($$)

All of these games will make you healthy, and most will be available through a recreation center of some sort near your residence.
If you meant computer games, sorry fatty, get some sun.

Re:Damn

[crossmr]

I was hoping for this as well. Other than DDR, I'm not familiar with any other games for the Console/PC that encourage movement like that. I don't think Yourself Fitness really counts.

In the arcade I've noticed a few, like that one where you peddle some kind of flying machine, but thats hard to bring into the home (unless you could find a way to hook a new fangled exercise bike up to USB or something, speaking of things I need to patent...)

Re:Damn

[hackiavelli]

The only other one I'm familiar with is MoCap Boxing [klov.com].

Yes, there are

[LKM]

Playing Donkey Konga is quite exhausting, and it looks like many Wii games (Wario Ware, for example) will make you jump around the room like a madman.

Re:Damn

[lpangelrob]

Maya [yourselffitness.com] comes to mind, but she's very clearly aimed at the 18 to 35 female audience.

Re:Damn

[PSXer]

There was an exercise bike that interfaced with the SNES that I remember reading about in Nintendo Power.

Ah yes, found it. Looks like it's called the "Exertainment System" [gamersgraveyard.com]

Thank god!

[Omicron32]

Not one use of the word "edutainment".

Well I didn't RTFA...

[Skroggtar]

But I assumer there's a mention of "Enter-Fitness."

You left out the important part...

[Wampus Aurelius]

Another idea is a virtual date who you could practice your best lines on, building confidence and giving you a chance to make an ass of yourself over and over in private until you get it right. How about a virtual girlfriend who I can....uh....you know.... ....breasts!

Educational Software's Been Around...

[informatico]

Educational Software has been around for a while, but despite kids' increasing use of computers in the classroom I don't really remember hearing about any of this software being really wide spread.

I suspect it's the difficulty in pretty much creating an educational curriculum (fact checking it etc.) then trying to turn it all into software, and also making it fun / easy to use. Also if it's too fun it might not be educational enough ;), there already seems to be a stigma about playing fun educational 'games

I don't see the point

[moe.ron]

FTA:

Dr. Lynn Miller is one of the minds behind the Interactive Sex Project, an interactive video designed to reduce HIV risk behaviors by allowing players to make critical decisions on a virtual date such as where to go, whether to bring a condom, and how to respond to an opportunity to take drugs. Players are allowed to make up their own minds and are presented with the consequences of their actions. If you are not sure what to do, the video's hosts are always there to offer advice. The project currently

Game consoles is the wrong place for this

[destructoid]

"Interact with a virtual personal trainer who customizes your diet and exercise regimen." - I want my living room wall to do that, not my game console. I want to blow shit up on my Playstation. "How about a virtual tutor who walks you through your calculus homework?" - I want my gigantor texas instrument calculator to do that, not my game console. I want to hug trees on my Nintendo.

Re:Game consoles is the wrong place for this

[grammar fascist]

I want to hug trees on my Nintendo.

I want to bomb animal experimentation labs and abortion clinics on my Nintendo.

Seriously, though, how do you hug trees on your Nintendo?

Already in play

[Dr.Poe]

Note that there's already a game that simulates a personal trainer. It's called YourselfFitness [yourselffitness.com]. I've got the xbox copy, and it's quite good.

Immune Attack Information

[EitanGlinert]

The article left out the address for the Immune Attack Website. [fas.org] Go here to learn more about the game! I'll try to answer questions about the game in this thread, if people have any.