1. Games, Brains, and Positive Motivation:
How Games Drive Healthy Behavior
Ellen LaPointe
HopeLab | Vice President, Strategic Partnerships
elapointe@hopelab.org

2. A nonprofit R&D organization that
harnesses the power and appeal of
technology to improve kids’ health
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3. our model
research innovation customer input
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4. HOPELAB’S APPROACH
RATIONAL ENGINEERING
Identify behavioral targets
Determine underlying psychology
Develop fun, effective game play scenarios
to address targeted behaviors
Tate R, Haritatos J, Cole S. HopeLab’s approach to Re-Mission. IJLM 2009; 10.1162/ijlm.2009.0003.
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5. re-mission
• 20 levels
• 7 cancer types
• Objectives: kill cells, manage
side-effects and complications
• Weapons: chemo, radiation,
antibiotics, stool softener
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6. PEDIATRICS AUGUST 2008
RE-MISSION WORKS
• Improved treatment adherence
- 16% increase in antibiotic doses
- Blood chemo levels 20% higher
• Improved cancer knowledge
• Greater self-efficacy
Increased belief in ability to control/cope
with cancer
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7. identifying mechanisms of action
Knowledge and learning are
only part of the story
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8. identifying mechanisms of action
? Treatment
adherence
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9. Re-Mission Works – But How?
identifying mechanisms of action
Treatment
Knowledge
adherence
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10. Re-Mission Works – But How?
identifying mechanisms of action
Emotion/
Motivation
Treatment
adherence
Knowledge
Re-Mission Attitudes Study
Jennifer Aaker, Ph.D., Stanford University
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11. identifying mechanisms of action
How does videogame play influence real-life
behavior?
?
Interactivity and Reward-Related Neural Activation
During a Serious Videogame
Brian Knutson, Ph.D., Stanford University
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033909.
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12. identifying the mechanisms of action in Re-Mission
10 min fMRI T2*
Rest
Rest
Rest
Rest
Rest
Rest
Rest
Play
Rest
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13. identifying mechanisms of action
Interactive play Passive exposure
Caudate Caudate
Thalamus Thalamus
Hippocampus Hippocampus
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14. identifying mechanisms of action
the mechanisms of action in Re-Mission
Results
• Game-based interventions can be powerful tools for
activating health-supportive behaviors
• Psychological outcomes (knowledge, self-efficacy)
• Treatment-related behavior (chemo / antibiotic
adherence)
• Interactive game-play has wide impact on the brain
• Learning / knowledge
• Motivation / emotion
• Hippocampal activation may play a role in generalizing in-
Interactivity and Reward-Related Neural Activation game experience to real-life behavior
During a Serious Videogame
Implications
Brian Knutson, Ph.D., Stanford University
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033909. • Psychological “recipe” for game-based behavior change
• Neural biomarkers for optimizing interventions
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15. “deconstructing” re-mission
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18. -mission 2
A SUITE OF MINI-GAMES THAT …
• Meets players where they are
• Amplifies “levers” for positive health behaviors
• Leverages “rational engineering” approach
Supported in part by:
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19. re-mission 2
BUILDS ON PROVEN CONCEPTS TO SUPPORT
SELF-EFFICACY:
• Start easy – make the games accessible to everyone
• Create early success. Celebrate it!
• Gradually introduce challenges that are tough but
surmountable
• Give players access to new weapons/powers as they gain
mastery and difficulty increases
Supported in part by:
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20. re-mission 2
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21. re-mission 2
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22. re-mission 2
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23. re-mission 2
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24. re-mission 2
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25. re-mission 2
Coming in early 2013!
Supported in part by:
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