Wunderpille Games!?

Video games are fascinating. Therefore it is not surprising that their motivational potential has been discussed in various disciplines. (Serious) Games for Health are specifically designed for the health-care industry and aim to have a positive effect on users – either physical or psychological. For example, games are used to create incentives for more physical activity, they are used in medicine for therapy purposes, or they can evoke behavioral changes or make outsiders understand illnesses such as depression. However, a game per se does not make a person thin or fat, smart or stupid, healthy or ill. It is an interplay of mission goals, content, technology, and how contents are conveyed to achieve the goal. Knowing the tension between the fast-moving games industry and sluggish, restrictive health care, we show how we can make use of games in health care and how we can establish them (commercially). With that said, we see games as a medium with high potential but also with challenges and limits.