11/18/2008

Seminar redefines serious fun
Offers Rice students free look at Games for Health

Houston Games for Health Day comes to Rice University Dec. 4, and Rice students and faculty are invited to take part in the daylong seminar for free.

The event at McMurtry Auditorium in Anne and Charles Duncan Hall will bring experts from around the nation to discuss the growing field of games for health, which incorporates everything from popular video games and social-networking sites to custom applications that simulate working in an emergency room.

Topics include a look at Whyville, a social-networking site for preteens that promotes learning and exploration, particularly about nutrition; a talk on social behavior during a virtual plague, called “corrupted blood,” that infected characters in the online “World of Warcraft” game in 2005; an analysis of video games that encourage full-body movement and their promise in promoting fitness among youth; and a seminar about “Pulse,” a game-based, interactive virtual environment that simulates health care facilities, procedures and systems.

The event is free for Rice students and faculty. Those who would like to attend must e-mail a request to bbryant@dmill.com. For all others, tickets are $49 until Nov. 26, $79 afterward, and include lunch and a reception. Tickets are available online at https://www.regonline.com/gfhhouston.

The seminar runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the reception to follow.