GameOn! : international educational program for developing Health Games, lessons learned

1. GameOn!: international educational program for developing Health Games, lessons learned Harro Leupen, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, the Netherlands

2. Introduction Harro Leupen, • Coordinator & Lecturer: Game On!, Game Innovation. • Co-developer major Game Design & Development • Member expert group of the international major Game Design & Development (starting September 2014) • School of Communication, Media & IT • Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen, the Netherlands.

3. What is my talk about? Game On: the student program Projects: development of games addressing health and social issues in developing countries. Lessons learned

4. Game On, the program A third year, elective program (30ECTS) The goal: to develop a serious game that aims to change behaviour. The setup:Multi cultural and multi disciplinary teams, that combineexpertise from didactic and game production backgrounds, produce an educational game for an international learning environment. The context: • An international assignment and international client • Developing countries • 20 weeks of production time • Experts: domain and game design & production • Virtual collaboration

5. Stakeholders George Onyango, HelpHeal Organization, Community Based Organization, Kisumu, Kenya Nataly Martini,School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences,  University of Auckland, New Zealand (Card Game, Malaria) Rob Willems, School of Communication, Media & IT Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands William Novak, School of Media, Culture & Design, Burbank, CA Chair, Game Art & Design Department, The United States.

6. A closer look at the program Theory: • psychology & developing game concepts • cultural differences and sensitivities • programming/scripting in Flash, Assets • kaleidoscope (meet and discuss with experts from a domain, e.g. malaria, game design, ) • researching effectiveness Design & Production: • Orientation/Blueprint/Design phase: research target audience, game concept -> Game Design Document • Preparation/production/finalization: programming, artwork, playtest prototypes -> final game.

7. A closer look: Design & Production Keywords: field experts, end-users, game experts, game solution.

8. A closer look: Design & Production Client : assignment Keywords:experts, focus group, psychology, cultural sensitivity. Assignment/target group/end-user Game expertise Field expertise: domain Courses: Psychology Cultural sensitivity, Kaleidoscope Focus Groups: EducationalInstitute: learning principles University of Auckland: Health & medicine FocusGroups Woodbury University Courses: Game concept Kaleidoscope Programming Research

9. A closer look: Design & Production Client : assignment Keywords: game concept, paper prototype, agile development, beta testing, finalization. Game expertise Game based solution: Design Field expertise: domain End-user/target group Game based solution: Production Client/Assignment

10. A closer look: Design & Production Client : assignment Keywords: game concept, paper prototype, agile development, beta testing, finalization. Feedback and Test: Game Concept Paper prototype Game Blueprint Game expertise Game based solution: Design Field expertise: domain End-user/target group SCRUM based production: Sprints & testing Game based solution: Production Client/Assignment

11. Past projects: South Sudan Client: War Child, a Dutch NGO for helping war affected children by using creative therapy and social educational programs. Assignment: • Create awareness and acceptance about children with a disability among in-school children in South-Sudan. • Create a learning experience in a “fun” way Target Group • South Sudanese Children • Between the ages of 10-14 years • Female and Male school going children,not disabled.

12. Past projects: South Sudan Raise awareness and acceptance for disabled children in South Sudan Features: • Flash based PC- game, low system requirements • Point and click, adventure game • Story: help and build a community by solving quests (+20, random generated). • The main character is helped by handicapped children and is confronted with a handicap (e.g. Illness/difficulty to walk). • Identifiable environment/character. • The use of role models in the game (e.g. Mother, Elderly people) • Reward: in-game and real life (e.g. instructions to make a real toy or game)

13. Past projects: South Sudan Testing: • Paper prototype testing at a primary school in The Netherlands • Final game tested in South Sudan • Questionnaires and interviews carried out by War Child employees Results: low response rate, difficult to interpret.

14. Past projects: Sri Lanka Client: War Child, a Dutch NGO for helping war affected children by using creative therapy and social educational programs. Assignment: • Introduce topics of gender relations and choices around sexual behavior in Sri Lanka (part of War Child’s Big Deal Program) Target Group • Sri Lanka: Tamil and Sinhalese. • Between the ages of 16-20 years • Two languages

15. Past projects: Sri Lanka Introduce topics of gender related behavior Features: • Flash based PC- game, low system requirements • Point and click, adventure game, dialogue driven • Story: for the main character (first person) to become a detective, he/she must solve cases • Cases relate to War Child’s Big Deal Gender Module

16. Past projects: Sri Lanka Testing: • paper prototype testing at a primary school in The Netherlands • No testing of final games • Shipped to Sri Lanka for playtest, difficult to establish exchange of findings. The Sudan game and the Sri Lanka game were targeting war affected areas. Proper evaluation of the games was impossible.

17. Past projects: Kisumu (Kenya) Malaria is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Kenya and it kills an estimated 34,000 children under five in Kenya every year. 77% of Kenya’s population lives in areas where the disease is transmitted. The disease is responsible for 30% of out-patient visits (requiring more than eight million out-patient treatments at health facilities each year) and 15% of all hospital admissions. About 3.5 million children are at risk of infection and developing severe malaria.

18. Client: HelpHeal Organization, CBO (community based organization) Assignment: Todevelopacomputergameinthebattleagainstmalaria, for children in primary schools (10 -15)in Kenya (Nyanza province). The game (s) would be a success if children are; Able to tell signs of malaria clearly Identify malaria transmission methods Tell what times of the day mosquitoes bites occur State cheap and effective ways of preventing malaria The importance of going to the hospital and finishing drug doses Past projects: Kisumu (Kenya)

19. Computer games in Kenya?

20. The result: three games

24. Playtest at 3 schools

26. Results Shared with the game production teams

28. Current status • Games shipped to HelpHeal • Played at several schools • Effectiveness (in relation to the learning objectives) will be evaluated • Keep evaluating

29. Current Project: HIV/aids • New project with HelpHeal (Kenya) • Subject is HIV/AIDS • Virtual collaboration in design and production with JOOUST University and Woodbury University JaramogiOgingaOdinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST)

30. Lessons Learned • The importance of a game development method that allows for regular testing, feedback moments and changes. • The importance of a user/player centred design: the context of playful experiences, including the player and his personal elements contribute to the game. • Cultural awareness in game design and development: consider and adapt to the values and beliefs of the target audience. • Collaboration with local people/end-user in game development adds to game acceptance.

31. Lessons Learned • A very positive attitude towards the use of computers in education in the targeted areas: “When GameOn! came along; I was to second guess on one thing now my kids wanted to engage in. (….) I was convicted of the appropriateness of a computer based game tackling any disease; more so malaria. (….) Nothing arouses primary interest of a Kenyan child living on the fringes of Lake Victoria more than an opportunity to play a computer game. It allows them the realization that computers are not complex electronic gadgets that only adults have access to” (G. Onyango, HelpHeal Organization).

32. Participation of Kenyanstudents CavendishWacheraMwangi There is much I wouldlike to learnfromthiswhole project. Most important how to program. Thiswouldenhancemyskills and enable me to beable to createother programs thatwouldbe of help to the community. I alsowouldlike to becomebetter in teamwork which is a key component in building and implementing of successfulprojects. In addition I wouldalsolike to learnhow to create a positive impact to the communityaround me and in the end beproud of making an achievement. Living in a communityinfected and affectedbyHiv/Aids, watchingpeople die all because of thisdisease and knowingthat I have a chance to change all that and save the future generation  bydesigning games is an opportunity I can’t let pass me by. Thankyou for thisgreatchancethatyou have offered to me.

33. Participation of Kenyanstudents CavendishWacheraMwangi There is much I wouldlike to learnfromthiswhole project. Most important how to program. Thiswouldenhancemyskills and enable me to beable to createother programs thatwouldbe of help to the community. I alsowouldlike to becomebetter in teamwork which is a key component in building and implementing of successfulprojects. In addition I wouldalsolike to learnhow to create a positive impact to the communityaround me and in the end beproud of making an achievement. Living in a communityinfected and affectedbyHiv/Aids, watchingpeople die all because of thisdisease and knowingthat I have a chance to change all that and save the future generation  bydesigning games is an opportunity I can’t let pass me by.Thankyou for thisgreatchancethatyou have offered to me.

34. Participation of Kenyanstudents OliverNyaswentaNyagah My motivation to join Game On is my interest in animation (especially cartoons and playing games);and also the need to pass important lessons and messagesthrough the simplest and funway, whichcapturestheirattention, thereforereaching more people, hencemaking the message more relevant. I wouldalso want to learnsomethingnewasidefromwhat I ammajoring in myuniversity studies. Thisprompted me to beveryinterested in the project and wouldlove to be part of it. Also living in a communitythat is infected and affectedby HIV/AIDS, I have seen the impacts of the disease to the communitytherefore I believe I willbe in a goodpositionalso to be a researcher to the team. Moreoverthat I wouldlike to learnprogramming and I amoptimisticthatbeing a team member in Game On I willbeable to achievethisambition. I believethatbeing part of a team I willbeable to improve on my team workwhich is a major component in anysuccessful project.

35. Participation of Kenyanstudents OliverNyaswentaNyagah My motivation to join Game On is my interest in animation (especially cartoons and playing games);and also the need to pass important lessons and messagesthrough the simplest and funway, whichcapturestheirattention, thereforereaching more people, hencemaking the message more relevant. I wouldalso want to learnsomethingnewasidefromwhat I ammajoring in myuniversity studies. Thisprompted me to beveryinterested in the project and wouldlove to be part of it. Also living in a communitythat is infected and affectedby HIV/AIDS, I have seen the impacts of the disease to the communitytherefore I believe I willbe in a goodpositionalso to be a researcher to the team. Moreoverthat I wouldlike to learnprogramming and I amoptimisticthatbeing a team member in Game On I willbeable to achievethisambition. I believethatbeing part of a team I willbeable to improve on my team workwhich is a major component in anysuccessful project.

36. GameOn!…it has been an exhilarating journey(George Onyango, HelpHeal)

37. Lecturers GameOn • Eelco Braad, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, the Netherlands. (Game Design, Kaleidoscope) • Manno Bult, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, the Netherlands (Flash Programming) • Loes Damhof, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, the Netherlands (Cultural collaboration, dimensions, in game) • Martijn Meutgeert, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, the Netherlands (Game Concept) • Lieke Drukker, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, the Netherlands (Developmental and Learning Psychology) • Rob Willems, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, the Netherlands (Research) • Myself

38. Harro LeupenHanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, the NetherlandsEmail: h.m.leupen@pl.hanze.nlPhone: +31 624 970 672