Games

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Our games cover a range of diverse topics:
From helping teens to stop smoking, to relaxing through deep breathing, and even managing anxiety by controlling your own brain waves!

to Science

Core Design Principles

Truly effective and engaging solutions are born from a strong cooperation between
Science ⥃ Design.


Playfulness As More Than Just Fun

Play and playfulness constitute a freedom and flexibility of spirit that plays a crucial role in human well-being regardless of age. We strive to embed a sense of playfulness in all our work, making sure that users young and old feel free to experiment, make mistakes, and explore.

Woman jumping playfully with her dog

Evidence-Based Solutions

We think a deep and thorough understanding of the issue we are trying to tackle is the first step towards designing an effective solution to the problem. An awareness of the nature, contexts and relevant psychological processes of any given problem can stem from scientific evidence, but will also require connecting to your target audience.

User-Centricity

To address the needs of the end-users in our products, we have made sure to include them in our work, from conception through design, prototyping, iteration, research and up to implementation ‘in the wild’. We test often and with many different representatives of our target audience.

Spiral staircase looking down the center

Iteration, Iteration, Iteration

Iteration is the key to innovation and the foundation for improvements. We give ourselves ample opportunity to revisit our assumptions, gather new feedback, and make changes accordingly.

Interdisciplinary Work

An effective and meaningful solution requires the creativity, insights and perspective from different disciplines to gain a deep and thorough understanding of the problem. We effectively integrate knowledge, techniques and methods from various experts to true impact with our users.

Two people placing notes on a whiteboard together

A group of people posing for a photo around a table at a restaurant

Youth Advisors

Our Youth Advisor panel represent many of our end-users between the ages of 18-24. From early concepts, to brainstorming & prototyping all the way through continued playtesing alpha and beta builds, these young stakeholders give us valuable feedback and provide us with their much-needed perspectives and insights.

Are you between ages 18-24 yrs old?
Earn compensation while working with game developers and researchers creating playful interactive media.

☞ Click Here to Apply ☜

Team

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    Isabela Granic
    Director of GEMH Lab

    Professor and Chair of the Developmental Psychopathology department in the Behavioural Science Institute; writer; voracious podcast consumer; mother of two upstanding little gamers

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    Professor at McMaster's University & Co-founder of PlayNice Interactive

    Contact
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    Hanneke Scholten
    Co-Director of GEMH Lab

    Researcher, interdisciplinary work and collaboration, wants to understand the how's and why's, loves her high heels and coffee in the morning, walks and talks too fast.

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    Assistant Professor at Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital

    Contact
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    Ken Koontz
    Creative Director of GEMH Lab

    GEEK, Game designer, artist, producer, anime and video game enthusiast, American football player, and as of recently a newb gardener. I'm pretty much always down for new ventures and experiences - O' ley do it!

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    Founder of Koontz Interactive

    Contact
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    Nastasia Griffioen
    Chief Scientific Officer

    Nerd, is fascinated by the brain even more than your average zombie, into etymology and reading, drawn to anything tech-related, especially artificial intelligence. Wants to explore social tech (such as social media) and how these relate to young people's wellbeing.

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    Post Doctorate at University of Twente

    Contact
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    Denise Dicks
    Knowledge Translation Officer

    Design researcher, list maker, photographer and alt print maker interested in the intersection of art and science. In the spring of 2023, I completed my MS in Information Studies at UT Austin where I focused my studies on accessibility and user research and wrote my thesis on accessibility in art museums.

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    Design Researcher

    Contact
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    Bloombox Group
    Community of Rockstars

    A toolkit to create games, products, and services for human flourishing

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    "We're not a Collective..."

    Contact
  • cartoon profile avatar
    Erik van den Berge
    GEMH Sessions Producer

    Game developer, VR-guru, mocap artist, animator, video editor, and all-round problem solver. Avid gamer, movie lover and knowledge sponge.

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    Multimedia Designer at Radboud University

    Contact
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    Joanneke Weerdmeester
    Researcher at GEMH Lab

    Behavioural scientist, lecturer, consultant, gamer, dungeon master, language enthusiast, and lover of all things geeky.

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    Freelance Consultant

    Contact
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    Suhaavi Kochhar
    Researcher at GEMH Lab

    Researcher, PhD candidate, passionate plant mom, fitness buff, people person, suffers from an optimism bias, ESFJ and enneagram type 2. Especially keen on translational science; it's time we burst the bubble!!!

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    PhD-Candidate at Radboud University

    Contact
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    Abele Michela
    Researcher at GEMH Lab

    Phd student working on a training program for Dutch Police incorporating Virtual Reality and Biofeedback.

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    PhD-Candidate at Radboud University

    Contact
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    Aniek Wols
    Researcher at GEMH Lab

    I am interested in how and why applied games for mental health work, with a specific focus on the influence of one's mindset, motivation and expectations.

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    PhD-Candidate at Radboud University

    Contact
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    Tom Hollenstein
    Collaborator

    Associate Professor in Developmental Psychology at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

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    Associate Professor at Queen's University

    Contact
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    Evan Hirsch
    Collaborator

    I work with clients to design ecosystems, adapt bleeding edge research and develop end-to-end strategies that help improve the lives of their patients, practitioners and users.

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    CEO and Co-founder of PlayNice Interactive

    Contact
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    Anna Lichtwarck-Aschoff
    Collaborator

    I am not so interested in *whether* certain interventions work but *how* they work. That is, I am mainly focusing on underlying processes and mechanisms of change across diagnostic categories and different treatment modalities. Mother of two wild boys!

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    Professor of Orthopedagogics at University of Groningen

    Contact
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    Marlou Poppelaars

    I am a Postdoctoral researcher passionate about internalizing psychopathology prevention and the use of technology and innovation for this purpose while stimulating intrinsic motivation. I love to read, cook and bake everything delicious. Working on finishing my dissertation and Two Dots (Level 3682 and counting).

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    Post Doctorate at University of Groningen

    Contact
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    Anouk Tuijnman

    I am a passionate researcher interested in improving the well-being of young people with the use of innovative interventions.

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    PhD-Candidate at Radboud University

    Contact

Affiliates

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At the end of the day we are all a bunch of 1337 nerds trying to use our powers for good ...

and taking over the world, whichever comes first!

┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘      ☜-(ΘLΘ)-☞       ╘[◉﹃◉]╕
3%

Amount of pizza left after a GEMH Lab Game Night

75%

Female Game researchers in the GEMH Lab

100%

F.U.N.

RESEARCHERS

 

How can we help?

We'd love to know what challenges you have or are currently facing working beween Science & Design.


To start a conversation

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PUBLIC

 

How can you play our Games?

If you are interested in learning more about how to access and/or play our games please contact us here so that we can direct your inquiry.


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