In recent years, the gaming industry has truly embraced the use of psychology in digital games. But what about the other way around? What about using games in psychology?

Physical games and game mechanics have been used in psychology for hundreds of years, so why are digital games to address emotional health not more pervasive? Two in five young people will have at least one chronic disease, such as cancer, diabetes, or asthma before they are 24. Of those with chronic conditions, 60 per cent also have psychological issues. Psychological issues are often preventable but often don’t get enough attention before serious problems develop. The focus is typically on the “visible” problem. This ultimately can complicate treatment and prolong recovery.

Last year, Rosemary spoke about the game Shadow’s Edge that she just launched weeks before Pocket Gamer Connects. Shadow’s Edge was specifically designed to build resilience in teens and young adults who face chronic or serious illness. This year, Rosemary will provide a unique perspective of the past year’s successes, the challenges of bringing a serious game to market, and discuss the extensive research conducted to make the product evidence-based. Rosemary will present results from the Big Data market study that mined over 14 million conversations of teens with health or emotional challenges online. And, for the first time, Rosemary will discuss the findings of the academic study conducted with Lurie’s Children’s Hospital in Chicago and close to 200 cancer patients over the space of a year. Rosemary will discuss learnings from the studies and how they impact the game going forward.

Audience takeaways from this keynote include hearing from our experience in bringing a free mobile game for emotional health to the market and growing your audience for a serious game. The audience will see real-life feedback from teens around the world learn from our experience through research.

Location: Date: January 21, 2020 Time: 3:00 pm - 3:20 pm photo-Rosemary-Lokhorst Rosemary Lokhorst