EU-Funded PlayMancer Project Targets Serious Health Issues

The European Union is funding development of PlayMancer, a project aimed at improving serious games technology within the health sector. PlayMancer titles are built with focus on accessibility, and many are intended to be played by patients suffering from a particular illness or disability. Potential games could help ease pain in patients, teach them facts about their illnesses, and assist in rehabilitation. Speaking to the website ICT Results, Playmancer project manager Elias Kalapanidas describes the initiative as a step forward health-related serious games. "We want to build actual games, serious games, around serious health-related problems like bulimia and chronic pain," said Kalapanidas. "Using gaming in this way is really breaking new ground." Kalapanidas continues: "It's not just about developing the most fun and interactive games, or targeting particular groups. We want to seriously improve the accessibility of games, making them playable by all kinds of people, including the disabled." PlayMancer recently demonstrated a number of its products at the Vienna Science Fair. The project is expected to see a worldwide release after testing ends late next year.