Get out the grill.

At the core of every health game should be great content; there should be real meat there.  And appropriately so, Great Game Tenet #3 is: a great health game has great substance.  Some would say this is easy since, for the most part, health games have a learning or behavior-changing goal already established.  The content is already there which makes substance a topic that’s less than crucial to discuss.  I tend to disagree.

The struggle between solid content and great gameplay.

As serious health game designers, we do a lot of talking to researchers and clinicians about health games.  Many have never even heard of the concept.  And for those that have, they envision Tetris with fruit.  I briefly explained this struggle on my other blog in an article called “So What’s A Fun Health Game Anyway?” It was one of my first posts on Monster’s Blog because I think this struggle between solid content and great gameplay is often ignored.  Health games are tricky because they must marry health and gameplay.  Sounds simple but for any of us that have created one we know that’s not the case.  At Archimage and Playnormous, we always try to emphasize that a Tetris game mechanic using apples and bananas instead of blocks is not really a health game.   That’s all fun with no real health content.  On the other hand, health games shouldn’t just be health content shoved down a player’s throat with no consideration for the aspect of fun.  There needs to be a balance between the two.  So, in reality, a health game must have two pieces of great substance:

1. Great gameplay–what the player does over and over again must be fun.
2. Great content–what the player is learning or experiencing must be worth learning or experiencing.

Health games that do it well.

Two games I think marry meaty content with fun gameplay are Rice University’s CSI Web Adventures.  Based on the hit tv show Crime Scene Investigators, these National Science Foundation-funded adventures teach students all about forensics while immersing them in rich storyline.  Catch the bad guy by collecting evidence, interviewing suspects, and performing scientifically-accurate forensics techniques.  Even as an adult, I found these games to be fun, challenging, and a great learning experience.  Want a special treat?  Play through Case Two: Burning Star to see yours truly as the popstar victim, Freebird.  Yes…me!

Recommended readings.

• healthGAMERS What Makes a Great Health Game Great – Part 1
• healthGAMERS What Makes a Great Health Game Great – Part 2
• Ragan, J. (2006) Play Mechanics that Make Gaming Great