Philly’s health IT scene should pay attention to the rise of ‘serious games’

Game researchers and developers are at Drexel’s ExCITe Center today, discussing the state of “serious games.” That is, games that aren’t purely for entertainment.
They could be games for healthcare or for training, like what Children’s Hospital spinout Diagnostic Driving is building or what this Drexel company is doing for kids with cerebral palsy.

Co-host @pamkato wrapping up the #ukusgames4health talks on serious games in UK & US. More @ https://t.co/Z3Rc4Bj1O0 pic.twitter.com/gvlLukvAX8

— EGS (@egsdrexel) March 22, 2016

The talks are part of the U.K./U.S. Games for Healthcare Workshop, hosted by Drexel’s Frank Lee with Pamela M. Kato, a professor of serious games and the director of Coventry University’s Serious Games Institute. (We love that name.)
“I think games for healthcare are at an interesting point right now where some people are going through the rigorous process of FDA approval, like a drug,” Lee wrote to us.
He added that Philly’s health IT folks might be interested in the field. We have a indie gaming scene. We have a health IT scene. Are serious games a perfect fit? We’ve already seen local game developers like Zenas Bellace and Christian Plummer join Diagnostic Driving.
Read about the conference’s presenters here.