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Long gone are the days when the idea of "games for health" meantexergaming. The mobile and social world has virtually exploded witha wealth of productivity apps, interactive personal trainers andbeyond -- to say nothing of the complex effect the gamificationmovement has had on the concept of digital games that can helppeople feel better and do things better. Portable phones now come equipped with GPS and accelerometers thatcan help people keep track of fitness goals, and reward-orientedgame design shows promise in helping people engage with theirhealth goals. But Ben Sawyer, founder of the games for healthconference, says there are even more big things about to happenthat can create opportunities for game developers. "You're seeing this whole cadre of people rethinking software-basedhealth," Sawyer tells Gamasutra. "They're getting very interestedin games, and you're seeing this gamut from apps and apps withgamification through things that are true games." A happy side effect of current venture capitalist interest in gamemechanics has been a stronger, business-oriented push into thefield. They may be coming from the busines world, "but they'rebumping into people who have been working on games for a while,"Sawyer explains. The upcoming Games for Health conference, set for June 12-14 inBoston, will convene health, gaming and business professionalslooking to explore these synergies. Keynote speakers includeConstance Steinkuehler Squire, senior policy analyst for the WhiteHouse Office of Science and Technology Policy; Bill Crounse, MD,senior director of worldwide health for Microsoft, and SuperBetterLabs' Jane McGonigal. "You're seeing people who aren't grant-based, not research-based,but product people looking at this mass opportunity in health andwellness, and they know games are going to be part of it," Sawyersays. "That's why you see this quick glom-on to gamification...then they have to figure out how to go further." It's game developers that can take intrigued health and wellnesscompanies beyond the sort of participation that comes fromimitation or a sense of obligation and into meaningfully-funexperiences that can help people improve their health. A number ofwellness and productivity apps -- take the popular Runkeeper for example -- are making APIs available for developers to use,too. In particular, Sawyer is interested in a future for biometricsensors: "I think it's going to be a significant opportunity. It'sstill one of those things where you can see the pieces of it, butyou haven't had that kind of 'aha' moment." Right now, the tech -- sensors like Nike's Fuel band, which providedetailed feedback on fitness and body performance and interfacewith interactive software -- is a little too cost-prohibitive tocreate a ton of mass market opportunity, but "it's going tohappen," Sawyer says. "If I were [a sensor company], I'd be talkingto developers already, saying over and over, 'this is a bigopportunity." When you get those costs down, what's going to happen is if we canshow that people who wear these bands get healthier because theychange their behavior ever so slightly... then the large healthcompanies might step in and start saying, 'okay, we're going tosubsidize this.'" Sawyer expects two distinct groups to emerge: Developers doing appsdirectly, and companies that focus on enabling app economies forgame developers. From there, it could only be a matter of timebefore major healthcare providers look to buy in. The gamification movement is useful in that it offers a startingpoint for companies from well outside the world of games -- but itcan only do that, Sawyer warns. Without a strong, engaginginfrastructure, layering game-like qualities on top of things willprovide health companies only a temporary blip -- with the downsidebeing that the minimal response might put them off gamesaltogether, or make them believe gaming is a "box" they've alreadychecked. Goal-setting or reward apps are only the beginning, notthe sum of the whole. "There's this real ability to present to people what thosedifferences might be, so that's good; one doesnt exist without theother right now," Sawyer says. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Epo RC Planes Manufacturer , 4ch RC Airplanes Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Ready To Fly RC Planes.
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