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Meaningful Play 2018 at Michigan State University

Session Information

TitleThe Surprising Synergy of Medicine, Games, and VR
Presenter(s)

Noah FalsteinNoah Falstein has been a video game developer since 1980, and was one of the first 10 employees at LucasArts Entertainment, The 3DO Company, and Dreamworks Interactive. He recently served for four years as Google's Chief Game Designer, working closely with their AR and VR projects, before leaving the company to pursue health games opportunities.

As a freelance game designer and producer, Noah has moved from earlier work on entertainment titles to focus primarily on health-related projects using games or game technology. Notable peer-reviewed projects he has contributed to include ReMission from Hopelab (helping teen cancer patients stay on their chemotherapy) and Neuroracer from Dr. Adam Gazzaley's UCSF lab, researching attention training.

He was the first elected chairman of the International Game Developers Association, has published over 100 articles and book chapters, and currently is an Executive Advisor to Akili Interactive Labs (FDA-approved ADHD treatment), and a consultant to Mindmaze (Stroke recovery and other neurogaming applications). He has also spoken at over 200 conferences and universities around the world.

TimeWednesday, October 10, 3:30p-5:00p
LocationMSU Main Library, Green Room, Level 4 West
FormatPre-Conference Event
DescriptionIf you are looking for something to do Wednesday before Meaningful Play, MSU is hosting an AR/VR Symposium and Meaningful Play attendees are invited to the closing keynote, featuring Noah Falstein! NOTE: No additional registration is required to attend this event.

The event is within walking distance of the Marriott and MSU Union. It will likely take you 5-15 minutes to walk from the Marriott or MSU Union. At this event you can also get a jump on the conference by picking up your registration materials early. Arrive between 3:30-3:50 to grab your conference materials.

Below is the description of the keynote:

Game-related treatments have been cleared by the FDA for treatments of addiction, stroke recovery, and physical therapy. In early 2019, for the first time, a full-on video game may well be given de novo clearance by the FDA to be prescribed by doctors to treat children with ADHD, with current testing showing similar effectiveness to pharmaceuticals.

This lecture will review other recent ventures using Virtual Reality to treat a variety of issues including phobias, PTSD, and acute and chronic pain. VR and games are also being used with great success to train caregivers and physicians. Also covered will be a wide range of business, technical, creative, and scientific challenges involved in creating and testing software of this type, and other opportunities for games as medicine that are opening in the near future.

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