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IBM INTRODUCES INNOV8 2.0 AS SIGNIFICANT BUSINESS TOOL
IBM INTRODUCES INNOV8 2.0 AS SIGNIFICANT BUSINESS TOOL 150 150 GAMESFWD

On May 5, 2009, IBM announced the release of the second generation of its serious game Innov8. The online 3D simulation game offers a new global “collaboration feature”, letting players work within a virtual team to progress through the game. Thanks to this new teaming capability, Innov8 is finding uses outside university classrooms to become an educational tool for businesses.

Innov8 2.0 features three additional scenarios that reflect significant needs in today’s businesses. To learn about environmental considerations, players will evaluate a traditional supply chain model to reduce their company’s carbon footprint. Another scenario will have players evaluating existing traffic patterns, re-routing traffic based on sensor alerts of disruptions such as accidents and roadway congestion. And the last will have players using a call centre environment to develop more efficient ways to respond to customers.

The revamped application was rapidly picked up by the University of Farmers, Claims, a corporate campus that trains over 10,000 Farmers Insurance Exchange claims employees across the United States. The University will be using Innov8 and its new call centre training scenario to give employees hands-on experience in processing claims and managing customer calls. This training is expected to help streamline operations and improve the quality of the company’s customer service.

“We see serious gaming as an ideal delivery system for a number of learning opportunities,” said Mike Cuffe, vice president of learning at the UofF, Claims, in a news release. “Customer-focused, accurate and timely claims processing is critical to our company’s bottom line… our employees now achieve competence more quickly, serve our customers more effectively and compassionately, and are better prepared for advancement opportunities.”

Phaedra Boinodiris, IBM Serious Games Product Manager, explains that Innov8 lets players learn “the anatomy of a business process model [by] running around finding clues, interviewing people, and completing puzzles… When you discover what’s wrong, you can collaborate to find ways to change the model to improve business operations.”

“We are seeing exponential growth in the serious games market. These games are being used to introduce new skills, evaluate business performance and develop leadership capabilities,” said Sandy Carter, Vice President of Service Oriented Architecture, Business Process Management and WebSphere at IBM.

IBM states that people retain information anywhere from 80 percent to 108 percent better when learning through serious gaming as opposed to traditional teaching methods. Originally developed based on an interactive shooter game from Vicious Cycle, Innov8 1.0 is being used by nearly 1,100 schools as part of their curriculum. Innov8 2.0 can be played online here.

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TRIXEL REVIEW
TRIXEL REVIEW 150 150 GAMESFWD

The iPhone/iPod Touch platform certainly has no shortage of high-quality, original puzzle games and Trixel is no exception. This title is challenging without feeling frustrating, features a simple yet charming presentation and has loads of content to work through.

Trixel is a logic-based tile-matching game that tasks players with recreating patterns by sliding and flipping coloured tiles across the game board. The game starts out simply enough, but soon escalates into a highly refined challenge that will keep puzzle fans scratching their heads for hours.

The early puzzles in Trixel are played on a small playing field and can be solved with relative ease by sliding and flipping the tiles to match a pattern displayed in the upper left of your screen. The tiles flip between two contrasting colors and you can only be moved horizontally and vertically at first.

The 100 plus puzzles in Trixel are broken down into four tiers; easy, medium, hard and bonus.  Each puzzle is scored as gold, silver or bronze depending on the amount of moves it takes to solve. Early puzzles can be solved in less than five moves, but by the time you reach hard mode you will be looking at a 5×5 square playing field with puzzles that will take at least 25 moves to solve. Taking too many moves will cause you to fail that puzzle and have to restart it.

As you make your way through the easy puzzles you will be introduced to special tiles. Some tiles will allow you to move diagonally, while others will warp you from one part of the playing field to another, bomb a section of the field to flip multiple tiles, or even nuke the whole field to flip every tile. Sometimes crystals will appear after you flip a tile. These crystals can be collected and spent on things like undoing moves or even used to skip levels entirely.

The medium puzzles in Trixel introduce sequence tiles that must be flipped in order. Arrowhead tiles will flip entire rows or columns. Coloured nukes will flip all the tiles to a specific colour. Blinking tiles contain two items and counter tiles must be landed on a set number of times in order to complete a puzzle. Finally, rollback tiles are introduced in the hard puzzles and will reset all the tiles to their initial state.

You will soon realize that these special tiles are not meant as aids, but to create some fiendishly tricky puzzles that will test your logic and ability to plan ahead. Getting a gold ranking, even in the latter part of the easy puzzles can be difficult. However, because Trixel is scored by the number of moves it takes you to solve a puzzle and is not timed, the main mode of the game does not become frantic or frustrating.

Once you have completed enough puzzles, Race The Clock mode becomes available. This mode certainly is frantic and provides a marked increase in challenge over the main puzzle mode. The goal is to solve 12 puzzles in a row in the shortest possible time while being confronted with a countdown timer. Collecting crystals in this mode will allow you buy a few extra seconds. Puzzles are not scored by the amount of moves in this mode, beating them is simply a matter of survival. There are four levels of difficulty in Race the Clock mode; relaxed, fast, frantic and furious, providing a further 48 puzzles to master.

The graphical presentation of Trixel takes a minimalist approach and is perfectly suited to this type of game. Everything is drawn in crisp 2D and features bright colours and clean lines. The tiles are big enough that they can be slid or flipped with ease using a single finger or thumb. I really appreciate that because I find that touchable buttons in iPhone/iPod Touch or DS titles are often too small or awkward. This also helps Trixel to be one of the more accessible iPhone/iPod Touch titles I’ve encountered.

The in-game music and sound effects also suit Trixel rather well and are quite pleasant on the ears. Like all good iPhone/iPod Touch games, Trixel allows you to listen to music from your device library while playing the game.

It’s hard to find any major faults with Trixel. The included puzzles are incredibly refined and the difficulty ramps up at a very manageable pace. There is enough content to keep players interested for several hours and the $2.99 asking price is spot on. There are some things that could be included in future updates like more puzzles, a puzzle editor or online leaderboards to track Race the Clock mode scores. Even without these features however, Trixel is among the top tier of recent portable puzzle games, whether on the iPhone/iPod Touch or not.

Positives:

+ Clean, Crisp Presentation
+ Highly Refined Puzzles
+ Accessible, Playable with One Finger
+ Challenging without Frustration

Negatives:

– No Puzzle Editor

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Educational Game Site Helps Students Fight Bullying
Educational Game Site Helps Students Fight Bullying 150 150 GAMESFWD

A new educational website is showing students some valuable skills to fend off real-life and cyberbullies. Developed by LiveWires Design, Braincells uses quizzes, activities and mini-games to give teens a better understanding of just how serious hacking and bullying can be.

Told through sets of photo animations is the story of Oliver, a nerdy boy entering high school who is bullied by an older-boy, Eddie. Mini-games accompany each section of the site which is broken down into Hacking, Bullying and Cyberbullying areas.

In the first, Eddie tries to force Oliver to hand over his cellphone. Players use their knowledge of cellphone science to guide Oliver through the halls to safety. The second game creates an analogy between cellphone security and the walls of a castle, in a mini tower defence game. The last has a more serious theme as players chase Eddie, now an escaped felon, through the streets to arrest him.

Launched in March 2009, the program was adopted by the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District in Massachusetts, for use in their middle and high schools. Braincells also received an endorsement from Plymouth and Bristol District Attorneys who praised the valuable lessons being taught through the program.

“One of the biggest challenges facing kids today is how to navigate safely in this increasingly technical world,” said Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz, in a news release (PDF). “Today, kids often communicate on the internet and through cellphone text messages.  Braincells not only teaches children  appropriate cell phone behaviour, but it also helps them recognize unsafe behaviour.”

But the program goes beyond showing students how to protect themselves and teaches teens about the seriousness of bullying, pointing out the criminal nature of certain actions. Braincells quotes a British study which shows that more than 40 percent of students report that they have been bullied on-line, making electronic bullying one of the most pervasive problems in schools. Theft and extortion are also commonplace with 12 percent of students reporting having been forced to hand over a cellphone to a bully.

“By teaching our children how to respect one another in a world that is increasingly becoming an online one, we are preparing them for adult life and preventing bullying from growing into real life violence,” adds Bristol District Attorney Sam Sutter.

There is even more to expect from Braincells. The web-based application will launch a new series of games and activities every four months, each featuring a new theme. Testing continues in Massachusetts, but also in schools in British Columbia and Manitoba.

“We will be revamping [Braincells] over the summer and launching formally in September. In the meantime, we are working on our next issue,” said Drew Ann Wake, president of British Columbia-based LiveWires Design, to Game Forward.

“Since our office is located a block from two Olympic venues, it was logical that the next theme will be Winter Sports! Games and activities dealing with fitness and nutrition will continue through to the end of the Games in February [2010],” added Wake.

After its first two months online, Braincells has already been tried by 2600 teachers in 25 countries. “Games for schools have slightly different requirements than casual games. Our teachers need to complete the programme in an hour, so the games have to be short enough so they do not overwhelm the other elements of the program,” says Wake.

Until September, both the old and new Braincells content will be available to users for free. After its launch, schools will be able to purchase a site license for use in as many classrooms as needed for $45 per school year.

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NEUROFEEDBACK SYSTEM LETS KIDS WITH ADD GET TREATED AT HOME
NEUROFEEDBACK SYSTEM LETS KIDS WITH ADD GET TREATED AT HOME 150 150 GAMESFWD

Thanks to NASA-developed technology, kids living with ADD can now get treated without the worries associated to behaviour medication and while playing some of their favourite video games. The system marketed by SmartBrain Technologies uses neurofeedback therapy to measure and create brainwave activity.

Unlike other neurofeedback systems, what sets this one apart is its compatibility with any regular PlayStation or Xbox video game console and its use of saline-based sensors instead of the invasive electrodes traditionally seen. But the main advantage of SmartBrain’s system is that kids no longer have to stay at the doctor’s office to receive treatment. This improves accessibility through reduced treatment costs and by allowing clinics to have more time to treat a greater number of children.

To use the system, a child plays any off-the-shelf racing or platforming game while wearing a Velcro visor that monitors levels of distraction. During a racing game, the system will slow down the player’s car if he or she loses focus. Additionally, the controller will vibrate and beep – another reminder for the child to re-focus.

“You’re training the brain to work in a specific frequency and rewarding it for doing that,” said Anthony Silver, Director of Gray Matters, a cognitive health clinic in Westport, CT, which has been using the system with great success. “The more you do that, the more the brain gets used to working in that frequency, the more the blood flow goes to the areas associated with that frequency, and the effects become permanent because of it.”

For parents who fear the side effects of behaviour-modifying medications on their children, the SmartBrain Technologies system is a God-send. The Gray Matters clinic notably refers to studies showing that this treatment is just as effective as taking medication and that the results are permanent.

“In the few sessions (about 9) that Richie had, I’ve seen dramatic changes. I feel like I’m getting my little boy back,” said Jenny R., the mother of a 7-year old boy who successfully used the treatment. “My son, who normally cried at the sight of a book, sat down with me and painlessly and beautifully read 3 books aloud. It’s like a ‘miracle in the works’.”

Neurofeedback generally requires 40 sessions to be effective. With the system which allows training protocols to be tailored to each child’s needs, patients only need to be treated in a clinic for about 1 to 7 sessions. Data from home sessions can then be downloaded and emailed to the child’s health professionals for follow up and support.

The technology was originally developed by NASA to help pilots optimize their attention in the cockpit. The system was connected to a flight simulator, rather than a video game console, to flag attention lapses which could have dire consequences during a real-life mission.

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WARIOWARE: SNAPPED! REVIEW
WARIOWARE: SNAPPED! REVIEW 150 150 GAMESFWD

Though it has only 20-30 minutes of gameplay, WarioWare: Snapped! serves as fun technical demonstration of the enhancements found in the Nintendo DSi. The title uses one of the DSi cameras to bring a sort of motion-controlled experience to the handheld console while retaining all the quirky charm of its predecessors.

The latest in a lifetime of moneymaking enterprises sees Wario open a theme park with the help of some familiar faces. Wario Park has four roller coasters to ride, each being a series of five themed minigames. One coaster features Wario, while the rest feature Mona, Jimmy and Kat and Ana respectively.

WarioWare: Snapped! is played entirely using the inner camera of the DSi to track the movement of your head and upper body. This creates motion-controlled gameplay similar to that found in games that use the PlaySation Eye or Xbox LIVE Vision Camera on home consoles. More…

The Nintendo DSi is laid flat on a table with the top screen tilted at a 120 degree angle in order to play WarioWare: Snapped!. At the beginning of each coaster, the game will attempt to calibrate the camera by having players align their face and hand with an on-screen indicator. The calibration checks that the play area is adequately lit and that a player’s skin tone contrasts enough from the background.

The technology certainly is not perfect; there are a number of factors that can influence the recognition of a player’s face or hands. Lighting and background colour are certainly the largest factors, however I had some troubles while wearing my glasses as well. The in-game manual also suggests that difficulties may be encountered in the case of thick facial hair, light hair colour or if a player’s eyebrows are obscured.

For the most part, however the motion recognition in WarioWare: Snapped! works rather well and does manage to provide a console-like experience anywhere a DSi can be set down. Intelligent Systems has made some concessions in gameplay to accommodate the new input method. Much like WarioWare: Smooth Moves on Wii, this titles pauses before each minigame to allow players to realign themselves or get into a new position. The time limit of each minigame has also been markedly increased to 20 or 30 seconds.

Upon completing the five minigames of each coaster, players are presented with a slideshow of themselves making the motions required to play, sometimes with enhancements drawn on them. These slideshows will appear on the title screen, however there is no way to save the photos or slideshows created by WarioWare: Snapped! and they will be erased if the DSi is closed or if players exit the game.

Saving photos or slideshows would have been a welcome feature as the four coasters have players making some very distinct motions that would be fun to share with friends. Wario’s coaster features big expressions and movements, Mona’s asks players to align their body with on-screen objects. A variety of actions are performed during the coaster featuring disco king Jimmy, while Kat and Ana have a second player join in the fun.

The whole package can be completed within half an hour, less if there is no one around to act as a second player. Those looking to get the most out of WarioWare: Snapped! will want to play through the interactive credits as well. This stage sees players moving their head in order to pilot a roller coaster through the names and titles of the staff in order to score points.

The audio/visual presentation is exactly what one would expect from a handheld title in the WarioWare series. Everything features a hand drawn look, bright colours and an oddball charm that has become synonymous with the series. The music and sound effects should also be familiar to those that have played the previous WarioWare titles.

Though very brief, WarioWare: Snapped! does a great job of showcasing what the Nintendo DSi inner camera is capable of. It’s not flawless, but it does succeed in bringing motion and spatial recognition to a handheld game system. Because there are no peripherals involved and the game can be played while seated, I’d argue that this motion control method is more accessible to physically disabled users than titles found on Wii or camera-based games found on other consoles.

WarioWare: Snapped! Would best be played by people within the first few days of owning a DSi. It is not much more than a tech demo, however it is an effective one and is definitely worth a look to those seeking a title that takes advantage of the DSi hardware and a provides a glimpse of what is to come in future games on the upgraded handheld.

Positives:

+ Motion Tracking Works Surprisingly Well
+ Retains Art Style and Charm from Previous Games
+ Takes Advantage of DSi Hardware

Negatives:

– Extremely Short, Very Little Content
– Cannot Save Photos or Slideshows

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Students Aim to Make Wii More Accessible
Students Aim to Make Wii More Accessible 150 150 GAMESFWD

Engineering and occupational therapy students from the University of New Hampshire, as well as its group of therapeutic recreation specialists, Northeast Passage, are helping a former women’s high school basketball forward to get back into the game. In this case, using the Wii.

In 2006 Lindsey Kennell, a Dover High School senior, was involved in a severe car accident that left her without use of her legs or left arm and only minimal control of her right. She and her family later approached Northeast Passage in hopes of finding new ways to socialize and spend time with her friends in her post-accident state.

They submitted a list of activities that the teen was interested in gaining renewed access to. Among the suggestions were fishing and paintball. Ultimately Kennell’s top pick, playing the Wii from Nintendo, was accepted by the UNH electrical engineering department as their first challenge.

Chris Bancroft, an electrical engineering graduate student and the project’s coordinator, oversees the work of a four member team of undergraduates as they continue to develop alternative methods for controlling the console that will meet Kennell’s unique needs.

“Basically the project involves adapting current technology that a lot of people can use normally into something for someone with limited functionality,” said (free registration required) Bancroft in an interview with The New Hampshire, The University of New Hampshire student publication. “What we’re looking to do is restore some sense of normalcy so she can still do all the things that a lot of girls her age would be able to do.”

Enabling Kennell to operate the Wii required re-engineering of the Wii Remote. Because she lacks the ability to hold and direct the controller with either hand, the team has relocated the controller’s Infrared (IR) sensor to the nose-bridge of a pair of common safety glasses. She still has the ability to move her neck and head and will be able to direct the controller while wearing these glasses.

The proximity of a player to the television screen is related to the amount of movement necessary for operation of the Wii Remote. By situating herself closer to or further from the screen, Lindsey will be able to adjust the amount of effort that goes into gameplay, as well as the stress of the motion on her neck.

By mounting the A and B buttons of the Wii Remote on a flat surface, the team hopes she will be able to press them with her right hand. The possibility of a joystick equipped with Velcro as an alternative to the Wii Remote d-pad has been discussed by the project team, but has yet to be tested. Each team member works independently and the entire team meets weekly to monitor and discuss each other’s progress.

Electrical engineering majors Alex Evangelou and John Burdett physically make the alterations to the equipment. Occupational therapy major Angie Royer is on hand to monitor the equipment being designed by the group, making sure it meets Kennell’s needs and taking into consideration the amount of stress the adaptations may have on her body and mind. Nicole Muir, another cccupational therapy major also lends assistance when she can. Royer, Evangelou and Burdett will all receive university credit, but experience of the project holds far greater value beyond that.

Dr. John LaCourse, chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of New Hampshire, describes his role in the project as a kind of mentor to the students involved. “Electrical engineering students tend to get boxed in laboratories with computers and instruments,” he said. “In this particular case you’re working with a human being, a client. It’s the human element that a lot of the electrical engineers do not get and the occupational therapy students get the electrical engineering side or the computer engineering side so it’s a real multidisciplinary activity. A collaborative effort is what I call it.”

The main intention of the project is to offer experience to the students involved and provide Lindsey Kennell increased normalcy. She already uses a variety of adapted technologies in her day-to-day life that are commercially available to individuals with disabilities. “I’ve noticed that if I look more for certain stuff that I know I will be able to use, it’s out there,” Kennell said. “You just have to look for it.”

–Andrew would like to express his thanks to Rachel Gogan for telling him about this story.

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Azkend Review
Azkend Review 150 150 GAMESFWD

Developer MythPeople brings a retail quality puzzle game to the iPhone/iPod Touch platform with Azkend. It has many of the elements found in the popular and addictive games at websites like RealArcade or PopCap Games; attractive graphics, a lengthy Adventure Mode and of course, excellent gameplay that has the power to keep you up late at night.

Azkend tells the story of a traveler trying to return an ancient Relic to a temple in the far east in order to lift a curse. Along the way he will encounter more than 60 unique levels of match three style puzzles as well as some hidden object gameplay. Thanks to a great power up system, a thoroughly realized art style and a core mechanic that feels like it was made for the iPhone/iPod Touch, Azkend has fast become one of the best puzzle games available on the platform.

Since Bejeweled arrived a few years ago, match three style puzzle games have become extremely popular amongst casual players. Fans of those games will find a lot to like about Azkend. The game feels instantly familiar, but brings quite a few unique traits to the table.

Azkend is played on boards made up of hexagonal tiles. Players simply touch a tile and drag their finger to slide over adjacent matching tiles to make groups of three or more. Once a set of tiles has been matched, their backgrounds become blue. Turning all the background tiles blue will release a Talisman piece or jewel. The ultimate goal is to have that treasure reach the bottom of the board by clearing the tiles directly underneath it.

There are a lot of subtleties in the core gameplay that keep Azkend feeling fresh for hours. First is the lightning system. Every time a set of tiles containing a non-blue tile is matched, part of a lightning meter fills. When the five levels of the meter are filled, lightning bolts will hit the board and help to clear remaining tiles. The lightning can also be summoned by matching seven or more tiles in a single turn.

What really sets Azkend apart however is its power up system. After every five boards the Talisman pieces that have been collected are assembled to create a usable power that can  help to clear larger amounts of tiles. Special tiles will begin to appear on the boards and matching them will unleash the power of the player’s chosen Talisman. The powers can be triggered by as little as four matching tiles but will become increasingly effective if more tiles are matched at once.

There are eight unique Talisman powers in all for players to collect over the first 40 boards of the game’s Adventure Mode, while the remaining boards are spent collecting jewels to fill the ancient Relic and allow it to be returned to its home temple. The Talismans allow powers such as bombs, hammers and extra waves of lightning to be unleashed in order to help clear boards. Later in the adventure, Talisman choice can play a huge role in the success or failure of clearing a board. I can not stress enough how much the Talisman powers add to the Azkend experience.

There are several unique tiles in Azkend to help add some variety to the game as well. Steel tiles have to be matched on twice in order to turn blue. Other tiles like those encased in ice or infected by tar must have a tile next to them cleared in order to make them usable. There are also locked tiles that will be placed to block areas of a given board. These must also have a tile cleared next to them to be cleared. Finally there are wildcard tiles that let you to string sets of matching tiles together, allowing for longer chains and more lightning being unleashed.

Aside from the excellent core mechanics and power up system, Azkend features several levels of hidden object style gameplay that also serve as plot points. The game is broken down into a series of ten weeks. At the end of each week, our traveler reaches a new temple and has a mysterious vision. Players will be presented a small section of a beautifully drawn picture to match with an area of the larger scene. Matching all the vision sections within an allotted time will provide a time bonus for the following seven puzzle boards.

While players may not even notice the timer on many of the early boards, a few extra seconds can make all the difference as the difficulty ramps up. Each board in Azkend has its own shape and tile placement. By the end of the Adventure Mode there will be multiple steel tiles, locks and even holes in the board waiting to challenge a player and the two or three minutes the game allows you to clear a board will start to feel very short indeed.

After clearing the four to five hour Adventure Mode, players can return to any board on the map and attempt to get an expert level rank by clearing it with more than 50% of the allotted time remaining. There is also a robust Survival Mode to keep you busy. In Survival Mode, players use one of the eight talisman powers to survive as long as possible on a board. Every time the board is cleared, a star is earned and the board is reset.

I had no trouble spending over six hours with Azkend and I still didn’t manage to complete everything the game has to offer, including unlocking all of the in-game achievements. For less than the price of a take-out lunch, Azkend provides an excellent, highly-polished game at a great value. This really is a retail or Xbox LIVE Arcade quality title in the palm of your hand and it deserves a spot in any iPhone/iPod Touch owner’s library.

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Link FWD: Groups and Organizations
Link FWD: Groups and Organizations 150 150 GAMESFWD

Since its inception in 2008, Game Forward has been collecting links related to Serious Games, Health & Fitness Games, Educational Games, Game Accessibility and Virtual Worlds. This article will serve as a link repository that will be updated and edited on a monthly basis.

We have separated our links into three categories; Education and Research, Groups and Organizations and Hardware and Software Developers. If you feel that a link to your website should be included by Game Forward, please leave a comment below or send a detailed e-mail to links[at]gamefwd[dot]org. Please note that we are not interested in participating in advertising-style link exchanges and have set up these articles as a resource for people interested in the subjects we cover. Thank you for your co-operation.

AbleGamers – AbleGamers.com is a site that is dedicated to the disabled gamer, causal or hardcore. They offer a safe place for any gamer with any disability to explore, to find news on games that has the disabled gamer in mind, and to meet others, and solve issues as a team, and a family.

Abledbody – Media and communications company with a focus on disability issues. The website  has emerged as a trusted voice on disability issues to consumers, businesses and the media.

AMD Changing the Game – AMD Changing the Game is AMD’s signature education program. The initiative, which is run by the AMD Foundation, enables teens to learn critical STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills and become more globally conscious citizens by developing digital video games with social content.

American Heart Association – The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is: “Building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.”

American Pain Society – The American Pain Society is a multidisciplinary community that brings together a diverse group of scientists, clinicians and other professionals to increase the knowledge of pain and transform public policy and clinical practice to reduce pain-related suffering.

Applied Research Associates – Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) is an international research and engineering company recognized for providing technically excellent solutions to complex and challenging problems in the physical sciences.

Apply Group – Apply Group is a leading total solutions supplier. They supply excellence across marketing, media, events, business development and digital content deliverables, with specialisms in the various markets.

AudioGames – AudioGames.net is a community portal for audio games: games based on sound. An audio game is a game that consists (only) of sound.

Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center – Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, a nonprofit hospital, has provided medical care since 1911. They are committed to excellence in all areas of health care including heart care, cancer, trauma, surgery, transplantation and high-risk obstetrics.

Banner Heart Hospital – Banner Heart Hospital, a nationally recognized nonprofit facility in Arizona, is one of the largest free-standing heart hospitals in the United States. Services include robotic heart surgery, open heart surgery, diagnosis and rehab.

Bulldog Interactive Fitness for Youth – Bulldog Interactive Fitness, the first interactive fitness facility designed especially for youth ages 3 – teen!

Canadian Stroke Network – The Canadian Stroke Network’s mission is to reduce the impact of stroke on Canadians through collaborations that create valuable new knowledge in stroke; to ensure the best knowledge is applied; and to build Canadian capacity in stroke.

Business Game Factory – BGF is the world leader in web based business tournaments and organizes the biggest and most exciting business tournament in the world where leading international companies are fiercely competing for market shares and profits while developing managers and key people to lead their business in a profitable and more effective way.

Broadened Horizons – Broadened Horizons develops and delivers unique, innovative solutions empowering those with upper extremity physical mobility limitations with tools to break down barriers and lead fulfilling lives as equals within society.

Change4Life Campaign – Change4Life is the social marketing component of the UK Government’s response to the rise in obesity.

Child’s Play – Child’s Play is a game industry charity dedicated to improving the lives of children with toys and games in our network of over 60 hospitals worldwide.

Clever Zebra – Clever Zebra build products, and provide services for organizations in 3D virtual worlds like Second Life.

COGAIN – COGAIN is a network of excellence on Communication by Gaze Interaction. COGAIN integrates cutting-edge expertise on interface technologies for the benefit of users with disabilities. The network gathers Europe’s leading expertise in eye tracking integration with computers in a research project on assistive technologies for citizens with motor impairments.

Companions in Courage Foundation – The Companions in Courage Foundation is a charitable organization which raises funds to build interactive playrooms in hospitals throughout North America. Through innovative communications tools, these playrooms replace the isolation of a hospital with a connection to family, friends and celebrities during each hospital stay.

Deaf Gamers – Text/visual feedback is a key issue for a deaf person and many has the occasion been when a deaf games player has purchased a game only to find no visual feedback or very little of it (this can ruin the game for them).

DHX Media – DHX Media Ltd. is a leading international producer and distributor of television programs.

Entertainment Software Association – The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is the U.S. association exclusively dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies that publish computer and video games for video game consoles, personal computers, and the Internet.

Entertainment Software Association of Canada – The Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) is dedicated exclusively to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies in Canada that publish and distribute computer and video games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers and the Internet.

Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa – The Faculty of Health Sciences strives for perfection, and their innovative teaching methods and state-of-the art research programs are gaining them a place among national and international leaders. In choosing the Faculty of Health Sciences, you are choosing excellence and investing in a great future!

GameAccessibility.org – This site hopes to bring a real world resource online for game developers and researchers to find the information they need to make games more accessible.

Gamebase – SpecialEffect wanted a place where they could use the knowlege and experience they have gained to reach a wider audience.

Games Beyond Entertainment – Games Beyond Entertainment Week is a series of one and two-day conferences designed to explore serious game and emerging market opportunities for videogames and videogame technologies.

Games for Change – Games for Change (G4C) is a non-profit which seeks to harness the extraordinary power of video games to address the most pressing issues of our day, including poverty, education, human rights, global conflict and climate change.

Games for Health – The Games for Health Project supports community, knowledge and business development efforts to use cutting-edge games and game technologies to improve health and health care.

Games for Life – Games for Life is focused on guiding people with learning related cognitive difficulties to success. With specific reference to overcoming attention related difficulties experienced by children and young people that are having a negative impact on their home, school and social life.

Generation Cures – Generation Cures is a kid-led, parent-enabled community all about empowering kids to give back. Ideas are sparked online in a free and safe online experience-complete with for-kids, by-kids videos, original animation, and educational, science-based games. Once engaged, kids can then take action-hosting their own fundraiser to support Children’s Hospital Boston’s life-saving research.

Get Well Gamers – The Get-Well Gamers Foundation was founded in 2001 with the goal of bringing video game systems and games to children’s hospitals. Video games are an effective and proven pain management tool and provide needed entertainment during long hospital stays.

Global Kids – Global Kids’ mission is to educate and inspire urban youth to become successful students, global citizens and community leaders by engaging them in academically rigorous, socially dynamic, content-rich learning experiences.

Handicap International – Handicap International is an international organisation specialised in the field of disability.  Non-governmental, non-religious, non-political and non-profit making, it works alongside people with disabilities, whatever the context, offering them assistance and supporting them in their efforts to become self-reliant.

Hansen Medical – Hansen Medical, the global leader in flexible robotics, was born from the vision of creating a new generation of advanced medical robotics.

Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society – The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is a comprehensive healthcare-stakeholder membership organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare

HERMES Cognitive Care and Guidance for Active Aging – HERMES is an international collaboration between six organizations in six countries, aimed at providing cognitive care.

IndieCade – IndieCade supports independent game development and organizes a series of international events showcasing the future of independent games. It encourages, publicizes, and cultivates innovation and artistry in interactive media, helping to create a public perception of games as rich, diverse, artistic, and culturally significant.

Information Technology Industry Council – ITI represents companies on the cutting edge of technology, and its mission today is to promote the global competitiveness of its member companies.

Interactive Ontario – Interactive Ontario is a not-for-profit industry trade organization committed to the growth of the Ontario interactive digital content industry.

International Game Developers Association – The International Game Developers Association is the largest non-profit membership organization serving individuals that create video games.

International Game Developers Association’s Game Accessibility Special Interest Group – The International Game Developers Association’s Game Accessibility Special Interest Group is an advocacy group in the gaming industry to promote awareness of the issues that gamers with disabilities face and to help provide solutions that can be used by others who want to make their games accessible to more!

International Society for Technology in Education – ISTE advances excellence in learning and teaching through innovative and effective uses of technology.

Joan Ganz Cooney Center – The mission of The Joan Ganz Cooney Center is to catalyze and support research, innovation and investment in digital media technologies to advance children’s learning.

MacArthur Foundation – MacArthur is one of the nation’s largest independent foundations. Through the support it provides, the Foundation fosters the development of knowledge, nurtures individual creativity, strengthens institutions, helps improve public policy, and provides information to the public, primarily through support for public interest media.

Mayo Clinic – Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy of “the needs of the patient come first.”

Medical University of South Carolina – The Medical University of South Carolina is the oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care.

MedPlay Technologies LLC. – Utilizing the latest in medical fitness research and the new technologies continually emerging in the video game entertainment world, MedPlay Technologies has created an environment where kids of all ages can have fun and become healthy at the same time.

Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute – At the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute, highly trained physicians and staff are here to push every level of athlete – whether you’re a recreational, competitive or professional athlete – to a higher level of performance.

Northeast Passage – Northeast Passage is a nationally recognized leader in the provision of innovative therapeutic recreation services. Northeast Passage delivers disability-related health promotion and adapted sports programs throughout New England.

One Switch – One Switch is a resource of fun ideas and ‘assistive technology’ aimed at moderate to severely learning/physically disabled people.

PE4Life – PE4life is a national non-profit organization dedicated to developing a country of active and healthy children and youth by increasing access to quality physical education. PE4life promotes making physical activity fun and interactive to engage all students.

Peter G. Peterson Foundation – The Foundation’s mission is to increase public awareness of the nature and urgency of key economic challenges threatening America’s future and accelerate action on them. To meet these challenges successfully, they work to bring Americans together to find sensible, sustainable solutions that transcend age, party lines and ideological divides in order to achieve real results.

PlayMancer Project – PlayMancer (A European Serious Gaming 3D Environment) is a Collaborative Project in the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme working to implement a new Serious Game environment, by augmenting existing 3D gaming engines with new possibilities.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – The mission of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is to improve the health and health care of all Americans. Their goal is clear: To help Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need.

Serious Games Initiative – The Serious Games Initiative is focused on uses for games in exploring management and leadership challenges facing the public sector. Part of its overall charter is to help forge productive links between the electronic game industry and projects involving the use of games in education, training, health, and public policy.

SharpBrains – SharpBrains is a leading market research and advisory services firm covering the growing cognitive fitness market.

Software and Information Industry Association – The Software & Information Industry Association is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education and intellectual property protection to the leading companies that are setting the pace for the digital age.

SpecialEffect – SpecialEffect is a charity dedicated to helping ALL young people with disabilities to enjoy computer games.

Starlight Children’s Foundation – Starlight Children’s Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses and life-altering injuries by providing entertainment, education and family activities that help them cope with the pain, fear and isolation of prolonged illness.

Team Orlando – Team Orlando provides training solutions to enhance Warfighter readiness, with capabilities including research and development, program management, effective lifecycle management, and support services.

TeamSTEPPS – TeamSTEPPS is a teamwork system designed for health care professionals developed by Department of Defense’s Patient Safety Program in collaboration with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The AbleGamers Foundation – The AbleGamers Foundation is committed in supporting the advancement of accessibility in the digital entertainment space.

Triangle Game Initiative – Triangle Game Initiative is the trade association for the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina interactive entertainment industry, whose members are market-leading companies and prominent industry figures who have gathered to master the arts and sciences of gaming.

University Medical Center of Southern Nevada – University Medical Center is dedicated to providing the highest level of health care possible by maintaining its ongoing commitment to personal, individualized care for each patient. Through the latest treatment techniques, comfortable surroundings and a dedicated staff, that commitment is expressed every day, in every area of the hospital.

Veteran’s Administration Outpatient Clinic – Comprehensive health care is provided through primary care and specialty care in the areas of medicine, outpatient surgery, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, orthopedics, dentistry, geriatrics, radiology, nuclear medicine, cardiology, pulmonology, gastroenterology and tele-care services.

Vienna University of Technology’s Institute of Software Technology and Interactive Systems – Institute of the Vienna University of Technology’s Faculty of Informatics.

Vision Audio Inc. – Distributor of EASe CDs which are the original disc-based auditory stimulation program. EASe CDs are used by tens of thousands of parents, therapists, treatment centers and non-profit organizations to treat children with auditory hypersensitivity.

VisionQuest 20/20 – VisionQuest 20/20 is the only non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to establishing a national vision screening program for U.S. school children. Because vision disorders can occur at any age, their goal is to ensure that all school-aged children receive a vision screening annually.

Volt Fitness – Volt Fitness is the only fitness facility where the whole family can actually workout at the same time, combining video games and exercise to make fitness fun for kids.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars – The Wilson Center is a nonpartisan institute for advanced study and a neutral forum for open, serious, and informed dialogue. It brings pre-eminent thinkers to Washington for extended periods of time to interact with policymakers through a large number of programs and projects.

Young Drivers of Canada – Young Drivers of Canada teaches Canadians how to drive and survive. They offer the most comprehensive driver training courses in the country, including exclusive YD-branded in-car emergency maneuvers training.

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Virtual Finance Teaches Real Financial Skills in Second Life
Virtual Finance Teaches Real Financial Skills in Second Life 150 150 GAMESFWD

Ohio University has launched Virtual Finance, a game set on Credit Union Island in the virtual world of Second Life. Created with teenagers in mind, the game guides players through real-life financial decisions like taking out a college loan, making car payments and buying a home.

With many high school students having little to no financial education, the island plans to become a new vehicle for awareness to help teens better understand important financial decisions. The game which is currently accessible to any users of the teen grid in Second Life, bids on attracting students with its appealing, Web-based environment. It also hopes to prove the effectiveness of immersive technology in education.

Ohio University was one of the first to develop functioning campuses in Second Life, offering classes in subjects ranging from English to engineering. Roger Shelor, a professor of Finance at the University’s School of Business, participated in the development of Credit Union Island and regards it as a great new learning tool.

“I’ve had a couple opportunities to share parts of the game with my undergraduate business students and our professional MBA students, and all of them have given me a lot of positive feedback,” Shelor said.

Credit Union Island is powered by the Virtual Immersive Technologies and Arts for Learning Laboratory (VITAL Lab). The multidisciplinary research and development facility located at Ohio University is sponsored by Members United Corporate Federal Credit Union and the Filene Research Institute, a think tank for the credit union industry.

The VITAL Lab is also behind other inworld projects, including a partnership with the Smithsonian Institute to build the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum in Second Life, scheduled to open publicly March 2009.

“We’ve been working on the forefront of immersive technologies in learning applications for a few years,” said Dr. Chang Liu, VITAL Lab director and associate professor of computer science in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology.

“This project gave us an opportunity to collaborate internally with the university’s education and finance departments and externally with the credit union industry to make a real-world impact in this important area,” added Liu.

Unveiled in February 2009, Virtual Finance is said to take about 30 minutes to complete, though expansions are already in the works. A second phase of development will include additional features like roads and highways for players to drive on, credit cards and a shopping mall to purchase furniture for their homes.

“We are very excited about releasing the first generation of Virtual Finance. This has been a collaborative effort to enhance financial education for youth, while making it more engaging, and more importantly, more effective than traditional education methods,” said Scott Moriarty, of the Filene Research Institute.

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SIMANIMALS REVIEW
SIMANIMALS REVIEW 150 150 GAMESFWD

The latest Nintendo DS title in the The Sims series from EA, SimAnimals takes you through a lighthearted mission of returning the land to its original natural beauty. Playing as an omniscient hand you will take care of 10 different locations by cleaning them up, growing plants and attracting new wildlife.

This simple management game is charming thanks to its numerous goals and achievements which offer hours of game play that can easily be enjoyed in long sessions or short bursts. SimAnimals is reminiscent of the Viva Piñata series on the Xbox 360 and DS but unlike its counterpart, this game presents no real conflict and offers a more linear and manageable gameplay experience.

Starting out in a backyard, you will be introduced to the game’s basic functions. You are equipped with a backpack in which you can store practically everything, from seeds and plants to animals in need of protection and even rain clouds. As you slowly rebuild this garden, squirrels and bunnies will be attracted to the area.

Each area comes with two goals to achieve, whose completion will determine your medal ranking. These goals vary and generally include multiple steps like attracting an animal, letting you pet it, having it build a nest and it giving birth to offspring.

As you progress through the game’s new areas, you will unlock more and more types of animals and plants, which will attract other species and so on. Some areas will be littered with debris that you will have to remove before animals can feel comfortable. There is a total of 72 plants and 20 animals ranging from rabbits and birds to deer and wolves. Each species has specific requirements in order to establish its home in an area.

When tending to plants, you will find yourself constantly checking their status to ensure that they are well watered and have enough room to grow. Certain plants require more care than others. Some will only appear when the area is in very good shape and help to attract the fussiest of animals. Plants left untended for too long will die off.

Animals can also get scared and leave if they are not treated well. You will be able to gauge your progress within an area by checking the happy-point meter on the top screen of the DS. This bar counts the total of happy faces released by plants and animals to unlock two special abilities as it fills up.

At one-third up the meter you will gain the ability to create wind. At two-thirds through you can create lightning which is useful to remove large waste, but that ability can set plants and trees on fire. When the meter is full you will have unlocked the next area. There is no penalty for losing all of your happy points.

The controls are relatively simple. I found it easiest to use the d-pad to manoeuvre around the map; however, you can also touch the edge of the touch screen to move around the map in any direction.

Most of the game’s actions like tree shaking, petting animals and pollinating plants are performed using the stylus and shoulder buttons of the DS in tandem. Using the wind skill requires you to blow into the microphone.

The audio in SimAnimals is minimal but suits the game well. Levels contain no music but include subtle sound effects when performing actions like shaking trees, watering plants and earning happy-points. The menus play song loops of a cheerful and kid-friendly variety.

The in-game graphics feature basic 2D animated sprites and relatively detailed environments. The world map is very basic, a single image with sign posts pointing to the game’s ten areas. The colours could have been a little brighter, but I find myself saying that a lot on the DS. There are a few pieces of in-game art which remind me of story book pictures. A few more of these images would have helped give the game a bit more personality.

I have played some of the The Sims games in the past and was never very fond of them. However, I found SimAnimals to be a very enjoyable management-style game. Its seemingly unlimited number of unlockable plants and animals made me smile with every little bit of progress and thanks to its basic and forgiving gameplay, SimAnimals turned out to be a surprisingly good casual game.

Positives:

+ Lots of Gameplay for a Casual Game
+ Moves at a Comfortable, Manageable Pace

Negatives:

– Bland, GBA-esque Graphics
– Sparse Sound and Music

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