Speaker
Speaker Info
- Name
- Sander Bakkes
- Organization
- Utrecht University
- Country
- The Netherlands
- Biography
- Dr. Bakkes is an Assistant Professor at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He contributes to the field of personalised game interventions. In this field, (psychologically-grounded) user models are utilised to automatically tailor a game intervention to the individual user; to the end of enhancing the player experience and optimizing intervention efficacy & adherence. Also, he investigate the positive effects of play on (mental) health, and considers himself an expert on game design. His expertise is in game AI, procedural content generation, player experience modelling, game design, and play. He has authored around 75 publications for leading scientific journals, peer-reviewed international conferences, and a seminal book series. For Utrecht University, he has developed the courses Game Design and Playful Learning.
- Photo
Presentation Info
- Title
- How Pinball Play Supports Wellbeing
- Summary
- Much is known about play (i.e., playing) being essential for healthy child development and for learning social-emotional skills. Naturally, these benefits also apply to adults -- though adults generally play less and less. But, did you know that there are strong indications on pinball play being supportive for (mental) wellbeing?? At Utrecht University, we are proud to host the 'Play Lab' with among others two modern pinball machines! Currently, five research lines investigate the positive effect on (1) Play & Self-Disclosure, (2) Play & Social Anxiety, (3) Play & Experiencing Failure, (4) Play & Eye Gaze, and (5) Play & Stress Resilience (EEG experiments!) -- the first results of which we are happy to share with the Games for Health Europe audience.
- Keynote