Lessons Learned Building Games with Health Impact

Bradley Tanner, MDHealthImpact.studio

Chapel Hill, NC

Create a Winning StrategyCreate a Winning Strategy● Recognize the unique challenges associated

with creating a game that seeks to have impact● Identify strategies to avoid time and dollar

wasting efforts and the win game creation game

Bradley Tanner, MD, MEBradley Tanner, MD, ME● Physician by Training – Psychiatry and Obesity

Medicine ● Studio Head, HealthImpact.studio● 20 years experience in NIH funding and running

a small business● Specialty: Skills development and behavior

change ● Online training -> simulations -> games

HealthImpact.StudioHealthImpact.Studio● Goal: Create games that can

impact health. ● Strategy: Start from an

interesting game concept and add health impact on top.

● Technology: Immersive Headset-based VR and 3D

● Game Engine: Unity● HealthImpact Focus: Obesity

and Quality Food

Games and Intended ImpactGames and Intended Impact● Food Fight! Kids practice rejecting (throwing)

unhealthy food and accepting healthy food in a variety of environments (Cafeteria, Food Court).

● Grocery Hunt: Young adults practice selecting healthy foods to add to their pantry/fridge.

● Hunger Battle/Inside the Brain: The role of brain in hunger and satiety.

● Future: Cooking skills, meal preparation, hosting, and presentation. Exercise/Fitness

Food FightFood Fight● Focus: Food Acceptance & Rejection

The Asset Store: The Asset Store: Friend or Foe?Friend or Foe?

● Incredibly inexpensive for what you get● Functionality (code) and image assets● Some with motion● High quality and usable● Easy and quick to integrate● Difficult to further customize● Not (exactly) what you wanted● Some graphics are too complicated and

may tax the power of the computer.

Custom AssetsCustom Assets● Tuned to the game context

and purpose● Higher quality● Problems

– Graphic artists care a lot about how good it looks

– Expensive ($$) and time consuming

– Defining “done” is hard– Updated graphics need to be

reintegrated

EnvironmentsEnvironments● Custom Made 3D Environments

Asset ChallengesAsset Challenges● Assets from the store are inexpensive, simple

and great for prototyping to show to customers and other stakeholders or an early demo

● But they aren’t enough● Assets vary widely in their quality, ability to

scale and ability to synchronize with each other.● Custom assets are far more expensive to

produce● Graphic assets can quickly become a labor of

love and an exercise in perfection

Game MechanicsGame Mechanics● Watch people play● Don’t explain● Ask questions!● Are they struggling?● Are they confused?● Why does it do that?● Who wanted this?● Does it make sense?

““Cool” FunctionalityCool” Functionality● A way to ignore bad mechanics (video)

TutorialsTutorials● Explaining How to Play the Game

Tutorials and GameplayTutorials and Gameplay● An easy solution – just tell them what to do● Problems

– Varying Game Skills– Varying VR Skills– Varying Controller Skills– Not fun– Poor First Impression– Time Consuming to Create

● If you have to explain it, it’s too hard!

Grocery HuntGrocery Hunt● Grocery Shopping Skills for Young Adults

Grocery Hunt ProblemsGrocery Hunt Problems● More Asset Lessons

– cheap and easy to implement– Not quite right for the purpose.

It’s really a convenience store not a grocery store – No vegetables

– First player did not aim correctly

– Foods varied in size and quality– Strange Proportions

● Tutorial – confusing purpose

GameplayGameplay● Functionality with impact is harder to integrate

than “cool” functionality – need strict control

Inside the BrainInside the Brain● Exploring Neuroanatomy and Neuroactivity

Where is the Game?Where is the Game?● Cool graphics can seem “good enough”● Beware the desire to move back to didactic

mode

Complicated GraphicsComplicated Graphics● Implementation is time

consuming● Increased communication

effort.● Developers: It’s hard to

understand limitations of graphics (e.g., transparency)

● Artists need to work with Unity and understand code.

● Do you understand graphics?

Graphics vs. CodeGraphics vs. Code● Where is the intelligence?

BurntOutBurntOut● Human Interaction and Assessing Stress

Stunning GraphicsStunning Graphics● VERY expensive and time consuming

People and 3DPeople and 3D● Are they in Sync?

Adding in HumansAdding in Humans● Photorealistic backgrounds

create an immersive experience

● Creating 3D Photorealistic people is more challenging

● Emotions in 3D people -> even more complicated

● 3D people that move and “express” changing emotions is the stuff that movies are made of.

TestingTesting● Internal testing is key but coworkers are often

unwilling to bring up problems● Include stakeholder input early and often

● Seek input from a wide range of players

● Seek a variety of skill, age, technical background, and game orientation

TeamworkTeamwork● Stay Agile or stick to a

plan?● Varying skills need to work

in concert● Coordinate the project –

both the technology and the people

● A supportive team is good● But can lead to an echo

chamber and sugar coating

Staying on TrackStaying on Track● Being Agile demands

regular sprints, meetings, and tight control over the project

● Schedule regular release dates for accountability and to ensure meaningful progress.

LessonsLessons● Use Asset store for prototyping● Custom assets are essential but can take the

project off track in terms of time and $$$● Tutorials often attempt to hide a bad game● Mechanics must be relevant and functional● Human elements are a challenge● Be Agile AND highly involved● Get input and establish accountability points

Have Fun!Have Fun!● Don’t get

bogged down with frustrations

● Remember why you came up with this crazy idea

● Take a break and play your game!