News & Updates
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Talk: Exploring the Potential of Biofeedback-based VR Interventions for Anxiety Regulation - Immerse UK
Joanneke Weerdmeester - 20-05-2020As part of Immerse UK's series of webinars, Joanneke Weerdmeester discusses how biofeedback and VR can be a valuable tool for anxiety management and underlines the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration between arts and science. She also shares some important theoretical and practical considerations for using and designing game-based biofeedback interventions.
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Stay Connected! Games to Play Online with Friends or Family - Feb 2020
Joanneke Weerdmeester - 27-03-2020We compiled a huge list of online games you can play together; classic video games as well as online board games. Updated list: 2-11-2020
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iamYu: Jeugdzorg die gaat over jou!
Anna Lichtwarck-Aschoff - 24-10-2019VOTE NOW!! The iamYu app competes for the ZonMw Medical Inspirator award. Cast your vote here [insert url] and contribute to personalized & collaborative youth care!
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Sayonara Hard Mode
Erik van den Berge - 24-09-2019A long-lasting debate around game difficulty flared up again recently. Should games be inherently challenging? What can-or should-developers do to make their games more accessible? Does taking away the challenge hamstring a game’s ability to build resilience? My playthrough of Sayonara Wild Hearts provided me with the answers.
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Memes and Memeversations: A Blessing or a Curse?
Nastasia Griffioen - 04-07-2019A meme is, simply put, an "idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture—often with the aim of conveying a particular phenomenon, theme, or meaning represented by the meme" (Wikipedia). Originally coined by famous biologist Richard Dawkins, memes are seen as the driving force behind culture, as vital to the development of culture as genes are vital to evolution. But are they really?
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The Moment it "Clicks"
Joanneke Weerdmeester - 13-05-2019One of the coolest things about observing people when they play a game, especially when you get to observe them for an extended period of time, is witnessing the moment when someone becomes truly immersed in the game environment, when they truly connect with it, when something just 'clicks'...
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The Charizard Cortex's True Lesson
Nastasia Griffioen - 08-05-2019A new Stanford study has uncovered the next puzzle piece about how our brains process what we see around us... using Pokémon! I think, however, that there is an additional, valuable thing to be learned from this study, which has also to do with how we view things, but in a way you might not expect.
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Hot off the press: a paper about the use of design thinking to improve mental health interventions for youth
Hanneke Scholten - 15-01-2019A new paper by Hanneke Scholten and Isabela Granic is out, published by the Journal of Medical Internet Research! Find 'Use of the Principles of Design Thinking to Address Limitations of Digital Mental Health Interventions for Youth: Viewpoint' here or read about it here.
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Should you play Pokemon Go with your family?
Marlou Poppelaars - 18-12-2018In a small side street leading from the riverfront up to the city center a strange collection of people were gathered. Among them pre-teen children accompanied by a parent, a group of about a dozen teenage boys, several smaller groups of older teenagers and young adults, interspersed by older adults and senior citizens. All gathering to and playing together with the aim of battling and catching the legendary Pokémon Giratina. So why is it that Pokemon go still attracts so many players from all ages? And should your family join in?
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November Summary: Navigating Social Media
Babet Halberstadt - 30-11-2018November is over, so we list this month's theme and blogs.