Study: Video games can help cut surgical errors

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- A new study suggests that people preparing for surgery ask their doctor: "Have you played your video games today?"

Surgeons who warmed up by playing video games like "Super Monkey Ball" for 20 minutes immediately prior to performing surgical drills were faster and made fewer errors than those who did not, said Dr. James "Butch" Rosser, lead investigator on the study slated for release Wednesday.

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YOUNG AND WIRED

Computers, cell phones, video games, blogs, text messages -- how will the sheer amount of time spent plugged in affect our kids?

Article

Healthy Eating & Exercise Game Gets Award, Upgrade

[05.12.06]

Article

NoteNiks.net, creators of the Healthy Eating & Exercise CD-ROM, have announced that the software has been selected as a recipient of the Institute for Childhood Resources Dr. Toy Smart Play/Smart Toy Product of Excellence Award for 2006.

The CD-ROM, which debuted earlier this year in partnership with
software design veterans NoteNiks.Net, is the first piece of
educational software that teaches children ages 3 – 8 the importance of selecting healthy foods and keeping active.

Following a similar award from iParenting Media, the NoteNiks.Net team has just released upgraded (v.1.1) release of the Healthy Eating CD that offers an all new class curriculum which helps educators and parents alike share healthy eating lessons with their children both on the computer and off.

"The Healthy Eating CD is more than just a product for our company. It is a cause. Every one of the developers on the team has kids in the age range of these games and we take this product offering very seriously," says Yon Hardisty, partner in NoteNiks.Net, "We have seen the power of pairing simple game mechanics with healthy messages. It is a strong partnership and the kids love it. The team is constantly taking in feedback from parents, educators, and kids in order to allow this product to evolve. Look for even more in the future as we add new games, curriculums, and services."

By Simon Carless
May 12, 2006 05:00:00 PM PT

Computer Game Accessibility

As the casual games market starts building steam, accessibility is becoming more and more of an issue as the target audience for the AAA developers grows out of a niche market. Recently, Gamasutra published an article on game law that deals with accessibility in games entitled Game Law: Everybody Conga.

In particular, it notes two laws that come into play for game developers. The first is about when game developers must pay attention to accessibility concerns:

So, if there is any potential government sale of your game or technology in your business model, you had better pay attention to making it universally accessible. Section 508 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 requires accessibility on all electronic media sold to the government.

The second is about when game developers can benefit from voluntarily adding accessibility controls to their games. Apparently, there's a tax credit of up to $5K to add, say, closed captioning, to your casual games.

For more information, there is also a game accessibility web site.