Often games for health advocates need to remind press and customers alike that games are not a medium only for youth. However, there is no denying how much youth today choose games as their preferred media form, spending many involving and engaged hours with their favorite games. Except, while it would seem like a no-brainer to use games to reach young people about critical health & health care needs, the preference for games by youth is a double-edged sword. Because, for all the attraction of games, there is a lot of expectations that come alongside. For all the experience with games that make it easy for them to dive in, there are many who will quickly point out let alone exploit the flaws in your design. And even if your game is good – how do you reach a market that is not only fickle, but also hard to reach through many common forms of communication. Drop in prodigious amounts of regulation (COPPA anyone?) and other forms of gatekeeping and things go from being “kids love games!!!” to “how on earth is a kid going to play my game?”
The opportunity for games across a host of youth health issues is great, but one that can humble even the most prepared projects. Breaking down the challenges across identifying opportunities, design, and distribution, this roundtable will enable rich discussion by its participants with the goal being everyone learns how to better design health games for youth, and getting them used.