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Cyclothymia shows us how to deal with a mental health issue through astrology

This is not the first time Kara Stone has talked about mental health through a videogame. Previously, she had us participate in the rituals that her doctor prescribed—taking medicine, breathing exercises, practising absolute somatic control—in MedicationMeditation. Now, with her latest game, Cyclothymia, Stone reveals how she has learned to cope with her swaying moods through astrology. Stone says that cyclothymia, the mood disorder not the game, is something that she feels and goes through. It’s generally considered a milder version of bipolar disorder, meaning that a person with it tends to have periods of euphoria that shift into episodes of…

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I’m Positive aims to reduce the stigma around getting tested for HIV

Pardon me, but let’s start this out with a personal question: Have you been tested for HIV? If you’re aged between 13 and 64 years old then it’s recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that you get tested for it at least once. Time’s a-tickin’. If you’re a little frightened about your physical health right now, that’s good—it means you want to look after yourself and those around you. Do yourself one better and check out I’m Positive—it should prove more persuasive than I, being a free interactive narrative about a guy called Tim as he…

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A video handily explains all the wonderful things videogames do for your brain

It’s well-documented at this point that playing videogames has an effect on your brain. It’s just what effect, exactly, that scientists haven’t quite figured out. Something to do with decision-making and sensory awareness, right? But it’s a step toward appreciating games for what they are—valuable in their own right, without having to be Mavis Beacon snoozefests to gain legitimacy. In that spirit, here’s a new video from GE’s Awareness Campaign, which hopes to illuminate the connections between everyday activities and the human brain. In a statement, Sam Olstein, GE’s Director of Innovation, had this to say: “Gaming and brain fitness can…

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This is the Battle Against Ebola Simulator 2014

Seattle-based med-tech startup Shift Labs held a hackathon last month where a mix of 40 game designers and clinicians collaborated on a simulation that replicates an ebola treatment center in Liberia. The WHO-endorsed simulation could be used to prepare health workers for the rigorous procedural stressors they would face in West Africa, where every action has to be appropriately measured to avoid infection, right down to removing a hazard suit’s gloves (Of which there are two layered sets that both need to be cleaned and purified in chlorine.) The simulation is less geared toward mental and emotional preparedness, which it…

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This asteroid-zapping game might cure cancer

The free mobile game Play to Cure: Genes in Space was created at a madcap game jam hosted by Cancer Research UK to do just that: research cancer. You can get it for Android here and iPhone there and start blasting your way towards a cure. But listen how it works first. The human genome is teeny tiny, but has generated a ton of data, and that’s where this game comes in. By flying through hoops and shooting down space debris, you’re actually helping researchers analyze which sections of the genome cause cancer. I gave it a whirl, and frankly, Starfox…

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Tribeca and Games for Change puts a spotlight on smart indie games

This year, the annual Games for Change festival will be joining the Tribeca Film Festival in lower Manhattan, April 22nd through 24th. You may know Games for Change as the NYC non-profit that promotes do-good games, including small but incredibly important titles, such as Cart Life and Papers, Please.  The film festival that Robert De Niro built has shown a keen interest in games recently, starting with L.A. Noire’s motion-capturing tech, which they highlighted in 2011. Since then, Quantum Dream’s Beyond: Two Souls and Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us have been given the limelight, among others. But up till…

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Nightmare: Malaria makes us wonder if games for change are actually getting good

Nightmare: Malaria is a game with a good cause, namely fighting malaria in Africa. But hold up, Mr. Cynical-pants. Before you dismiss it outright on the grounds that it’s fighting the good fight, I have to say it looks like a compelling experience in its on right—sort of like Limbo with sinister mosquitos instead of that amazing Hitchcockian spider scene.   In the past what we’ve generally cared about with games with positive social messages was the message itself. These games stood out because they subverted bullying, spoke out on illegal immigration, or promoted recycling cans. The game itself, whether…