The Role of the Researcher in Making Serious Games for Health

Background

Validation research on a serious game for health is an attempt to evaluate whether or not the game intervention is able to have a measurable impact on an outcome. With a serious game for health, this outcome is assumed to be related to health. It is not about how satisfied the user is with the serious game for health, how much fun he or she has playing it, or whether or not the person understands how to use the game software and navigate it successfully. This type of research is usually considered to be usability research. Validation research is also not about how many copies of the game are distributed or bought although this certainly plays a part in how much of an impact the game can have on outcomes. Game usability and sales may have play a role in the ability of a serious game for health to impact health outcomes, but they do not represent validation research as we are using it here.