Discover how serious gaming is revolutionizing research and get inspired. In this blog, we highlight innovative projects where game development intersects with scientific inquiry. Learn how co-creation, prototyping, and even educational board games are transforming data collection and target group participation within the research field. Whether you’re exploring behavior change, knowledge transfer, or engaging target groups, our examples showcase the immense potential of using design principles as a research tool.

This article addresses common questions on integrating serious gaming into your research project. Learn how co-creation and iterative processes can improve data collection and increase the chances of your research results benefiting people and society.

Due to the considerable interest from agricultural education, Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences decided to produce additional copies of the board game “To Table” and also link a usage course to it. On Thursday, December 1, the first students got to work with the game.

In collaboration with educational partners from Romania, Cyprus, Estonia, and the Netherlands, 8D Games is working on the “Growth Game” – an innovative way to promote the growth mindset among primary school students. The game, inspired by the theory of renowned psychologist Carol Dweck, is expected to be launched in the spring of 2024.

AI+Hospital brings healthcare professionals together to discuss the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the hospital. Over the past year, over 200 healthcare professionals from 20 countries have played the game – and its impact appears to extend far beyond the walls of the UMCG, which initially had the game printed in a small edition.

The Center for Language and Speech Technology at Radboud University Nijmegen and the game company 8D Games collaborated to investigate the possibilities of speech technology within games that promote reading and speaking skills. During the project, the game concept and functional prototype DigiJuf was developed and tested at various stages with children in elementary schools.

As an employer or manager, how can you contribute to better inclusion of people with autism in the labor market? The European project ASES revolves around this question. Within the consortium, we are developing a game that teaches managers how to take ASD into account during a job interview.

Software Engineer Sietse Hoekstra talks about the application of geodata in games, using the edugame The Lost Collection as an example. What are the possibilities of this combination?

Over the past few years I have had the opportunity to participate in a number of Erasmus+ projects. For those unaware; projects under the Erasmus+ programme are aimed at solving…

Cross-continental game development: how does it work and what can we learn from each other? Let’s have a chat about this with Giel Hekkert (8D Games) and Eyram Tawia (Leti Arts). They are currently working on Shkorey, an informative game about sexual health, pregnancy and birth care.

So who are these people who build bridges between science, technology and social issues? That is what we will be asking a number of partners in the near future. Lise Beumeler – PhD researcher at
RuG Campus Fryslân – kicks off the interview.