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International Conference on Serious Games Development and Applications

SGDA 2012: Serious Games Development and Applications pp 13–30Cite as

Health Games

Taxonomy Analysis and Multiplayer Design Suggestions

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNIP,volume 7528))

Abstract

This paper presents an exploratory research of health games in EU, focusing on the role of multiplayer in the health-games experience, utilizing the health-game taxonomy suggested by Sawyer and Smith [1], combined with a preliminary survey of fity existing European health games in order to point out existing trends and suggest currently untapped venues of exploration. First, a theoretical review is presented, utilizing framework from the humanities and cultural studies in order to address what seen as a design issue with contemporary serious health games. Then, the results of a quantitative study of existing health games are presented, and analyzed through an existing taxonomy. Last, based on the lacunas found in the taxonomy, a thorough theoretical analysis is undertaken on their possible reasons, and suggestions on design methodologies are introduced through a comparison with existing commercial multiplayer games.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Media and Culture Studies, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands

    Alex Gekker

  2. Games for Health Europe Foundation, Eindhoven, Netherlands

    Alex Gekker

Authors
  1. Alex Gekker
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Glasgow School of Art, Digital Design Studio, The Hub Building, Pacific Quay, G51 1EA, Glasgow, UK

    Minhua Ma

  2. Sintef Technology and Society, Industrial Management, Sintef, Sluppen, P.O. Box 4760, 7465, Trondheim, Norway

    Manuel Fradinho Oliveira

  3. Bremen Institute for Production and Logistics, University of Bremen, High School Ring 20, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Jannicke Baalsrud Hauge , Heiko Duin  & Klaus-Dieter Thoben ,  & 

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© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Gekker, A. (2012). Health Games. In: Ma, M., Oliveira, M.F., Hauge, J.B., Duin, H., Thoben, KD. (eds) Serious Games Development and Applications. SGDA 2012. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7528. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33687-4_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33687-4_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-33686-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-33687-4

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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