ESA HEARTLAND SERIES: Q&A WITH HITPOINT STUDIOS CEO PAUL HAKE
This month, ESA spoke with CEO of HitPoint Studios Paul Hake about the advantages of being located in Greenfield, Massachusetts, and how his studio leverages the surrounding talent pool to focus on the technologies of the future. Read the Q&A.
Showcasing the geographic diversity of the video game industry, the Heartland Series features interviews with video game publishers, developers, and innovators from across America, highlighting the groundbreaking work and innovation they bring to every corner of the nation.
ESA RESPONDS TO WHO'S
PROPOSED DISORDER CLASSIFICATION
ESA issued the below statement in response to the World Health Organization (WHO) announcing its intention to recognize obsessive video game playing as "gaming disorder." “Just like avid sports fans and consumers of all forms of entertainment, gamers are passionate and dedicated with their time. Having captivated gamers for more than four decades, more than 2 billion people around the world enjoy video games. The World Health Organization knows that common sense and objective research prove video games are not addictive. And, putting that official label on them recklessly trivializes real mental health issues like depression and social anxiety disorder, which deserve treatment and the full attention of the medical community. We strongly encourage the WHO to reverse
direction on its proposed action.”
VIDEO GAME IMPROVES ACCURACY OF SEVERE TRAUMA DETECTION
The video game ‘Night Shift’ prepares real doctors for quickly recognizing signs of severe trauma. Photo Credit: @UPMCnews
Playing a doctor on television will not prepare you for diagnosing patients, but playing one in a video game just might. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have found a narrative video game about treating patients with severe injuries better prepares doctors for trauma triage than traditional text-based learning. Between 55 and 80 percent of patients arriving at non-trauma centers with severe injuries are under-triaged (not transferred to facilities that can provide appropriate care). To help physicians better detect signs of severe trauma, Pitt Assistant Professor of Critical Care Medicine Dr. Deepika Mohan created the video game Night Shift in partnership with Pittsburgh-based developer Schell Games. “Each year, 30,000 preventable deaths occur after injury, in part because patients with severe injuries who initially present to non-trauma centers are not promptly transferred to a hospital that can provide appropriate care,” said Mohan. “An hour of playing the video game recalibrated physicians’ brains to such a degree that, six months later, they were still out-performing their peers in recognizing severe trauma.” To test the video game, researchers conducted a trial with 368 emergency medicine physicians who do not work in trauma centers. Half of the participants played Night Shift for
an hour, while the other half studied traditional text materials for an hour. After one month, physicians who had played the video game under-triaged 53 percent of the time and physicians who read the text materials under-triaged 64 percent of the time. The results remained consistent six months after the first test – physicians who played the video game under-triaged only 57 percent of the time and their colleagues who read the text materials under-triaged 74 percent of the time. In their published results, the researchers conclude that, while the real world implications are uncertain, narrative-based video games
have the potential to influence the behavior of physicians.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the ESA Foundation’s annual charity gala Nite to Unite (NTU), an event that honors visionaries in the video game industry and raises funds for scholarships and other critical education and digital learning programs. To learn more, visit the NTU website.
BETHESDA INVESTS IN INDUSTRY'S FUTURE WITH RECORD DONATION
Original Wonder Woman Lynda Carter stars in a tongue-in-cheek video announcing a $100,000 donation by Bethesda Softworks to the ESA Foundation.
With millions watching, Bethesda Softworks announced a $100,000 donation to the ESA Foundation Computer and Video Game Arts Scholarship Program during The Game Awards 2017, the largest single contribution ever made to the program. A tongue-in-cheek video about saving single-player gamers and video games announced the donation. The video featured actress Lynda Carter, known for her role as the original Wonder Woman and her voice work in Bethesda games, and the awards show was streamed on more than 11.5 million devices. Watch the video.
VIDEO GAME HEADED FOR FDA APPROVAL TO TREAT ADHD
Akili Interactive plans to seek FDA approval for ‘Project EVO,’ a first-of-its-kind video game developed to treat ADHD.
Photo Credit: Akili Press Release
Completing a detailed study of its video game designed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Akili Interactive recently announced its plans to seek Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the game as a novel treatment for children and adolescents. Project EVO uses art, music, storytelling, and reward cycles to stimulate the prefrontal cortex, which regulates attention, impulse behavior, and cognitive control. In a randomized, controlled trial of 348 children with ADHD, those who interacted with the game reported a statistically significant improvement in attention span and inhibitory control when compared to children who interacted with a placebo. “We are directly targeting the key neurological
pathways that control attention and impulsivity,” said Akili CEO Eddie Martucci. “We have something that looks and feels and is delivered through a video game, but when someone’s using it, they’re getting a direct physiological activation that will lead hopefully … to cognitive and general clinical improvement.”
More than 2 million people tuned in to watch the Capcom Cup 2017 esports tournament in December, a 45 percent increase in viewership from 2016. (Source: Capcom Fighters)
“Foundational subjects can be taught very effectively through video games in a shorter period of time and at a higher level of mastery. [Video games could be] reducing the time it takes students to graduate and reducing the costs to the students. Because if you can get college credit in four weeks [rather] than 16, guess what? Time to graduate goes down instead of 5 or 6 years [to receive an] undergraduate degree. Maybe we can get back to 4 years or 3 years.” - André Thomas, CEO of Triseum (Source: Kotaku)
Entertainment Software Association
601 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Suite 300 West
Washington, DC 20001
|