Funding programme

ICT 2014 – Horizon 2020

Topic

ICT 21 – 2014: Advanced digital gaming/gamification technologies

Topic description

Specific Challenge: Digital games and gamification mechanics applied in non-leisure contexts is an important but scattered industry that can bring high pay-offs and lead to the emergence of a prospering market. Digital games can also make a real change in the life of a large number of targeted excluded groups, enhancing their better integration in society.  This requires however the development of new methodologies and tools to produce, apply and use digital games and gamification techniques in non-leisure contexts, as well as building scientific evidence on their benefits – for governments, enterprises and individuals.

Scope: Research & Innovation actions: Multidisciplinary research experimentations and collaboration on advanced digital gaming technologies and components (including game engines, emergent narrative, virtual characters, interaction systems and alternative human-machine interfaces, 3D, textures, models for simulations, game design, learner profiles, emotional models, etc.) produced by and for the traditional digital game industry but applied into wider scenario of use in non-leisure contexts. Activities must lead to the creation of a repository of core reusable, open components to enable publishers and game producers as well as user organisations and individual programmers to build specific games applications in non-leisure contexts. Application scenarios will focus on learning and skills acquisition in formal and informal education, in workplace learning and in policy making and collective social and public processes.

Project Description

Serious games for health and people with disabilities

The main aim of this proposal is to develop a framework of serious games that can help to improve the quality of life of EU citizens who have severe disabilities or special needs. The primary challenge of this project is the development of the main key components of the proposed framework (such learning and skills acquisition in formal and informal education).

Helping people with diseases involving movement difficulties for controlling keyboard and mouse or game consoles, improve diagnostic techniques, improve social life and networking, provide training and development to medical staff and careers, better healthcare and wellness, improve social engagement of EU community. The adaptation of existing technology presents a big challenge to achieve the integration of the technologies and knowledge that are available in EU societies.

Project Impact

• Create a multidisciplinary group to design and validate Serious Games
• Provide a  new range of serious games products in the market
• Define indicators to measure the effectiveness of Serious games to people at risk
• Transfer Technology and Knowledge to SMEs

Beneficiaries

The following category of EU citizens will benefit from the proposed framework:

• Children with Autism, dyslexia or attention deficit disorder
• Adults with neurodegenerative disorders that affects cognitive and memory function or physical rehabilitation: Alzheimer’s disease ,  congenital double Athetosis, multiple sclerosis
• Adults and children: management of Obesity
• Elderly People
• People with Mental disorders (to be specified)

Gaming Devices

Serious games could be developed to cover a wide range of technological devices:

• Kinect
• iPad
• smartphones
• wearable sensors
• time of flight cameras
•  touch screens

Partner sought

Countries

Any

Expertise required

We are looking for SMEs, which would be able to contribute in knowledge transfer of the developed technology to the market, pilot new methodology and tools and contribute to the game development. 

These companies have to be from an ‚entertainment gaming’ sector. 

Role:    

√ Technology  development               √  Training

√ Other (specify): Games Development

ORGANISATION TYPE: 

√  SME/ SME association    √ Other private actor

Please reply to

Professor Qasim Mehdi               Q.H.Mehdi@wlv.ac.uk

Tatiana Panteli                               t.panteli@wlv.ac.uk