Level Up

People have blamed video games for a laundry list of societal ills – according to some alarmist headlines, they’re responsible for everything from social isolation, to youth violence, to shortening our attention spans. But at York University, researchers are harnessing the power of video games for good. 

Far from being a distraction, the right games can be powerful learning tools. School of Nursing Professors Celina Da Silva and Eva Peisachovich (PhD ’14) are working to develop a series of virtual simulation games to help nursing students build empathy and tackle challenging situations in a safe, controlled environment. “They’re designed for more than pure entertainment,” Da Silva says.

Peisachovich focuses on simulated-person methodology – a teaching technique that crafts realistic scenarios using either real-life or virtual actors. The goal of this approach is to help nurses-in-training learn how to respond to situations and crises that might arise on the job. This allows them to test their skills in a stressful yet low-stakes way. But for Peisachovich, the biggest advantage of using simulated-person games is that they invite students to develop emotionally. For example, some games reproduce the frustration stroke patients might feel when trying to communicate with a care provider, or the distress a parent could experience when receiving a diagnosis for their child. 

“Nursing is about how students interact together,” she says. “It’s about experiencing different perspectives while making empathy-driven decisions.”

For Da Silva, who studies gamification – the principle that elements from games can be incorporated into other aspects of daily life to make them more engaging – watching her students light up while using educational video games in the classroom was a revelation. “That was my aha moment,” she says. “I realized that students loved it.”

Research has shown that video games can aid with memorization and engagement. Gamified learning triggers the brain’s dopamine reward system, Da Silva says, which causes students to feel a rush of joy as they play. In turn, this helps them retain more of the new information they’re taking in.

In order to help democratize virtual learning, Da Silva and Peisachovich helped develop a platform called Moirai. This virtual learning tool allows educators to customize video games for different courses, from surgical training to military tactics, without extensive coding knowledge. 

In addition to education, York professors are also turning video games into mental health resources. Psychologist Yvonne Bohr in the Faculty of Health is part of a research team collaborating with communities in Nunavut to create games that help equip Nunavummiut youth with mental wellness skills. 

The idea came from a similar project in New Zealand directed toward young Maori people. Initially, the researchers presented the original version of the game to their Inuit partners, who found the play mechanics engaging – even if the New Zealand imagery was baffling. “In retrospect, I would say that was not entirely appropriate for the context,” Bohr says. 

But the game delivered on its promise. So the team, working closely with a council of Inuit youth, started developing a version that spoke to the experience of life in Nunavut. They also outlined a new set of outcome goals that were better tuned to the communities. The result is called the Virtual Qaggiq, a project that delivers useful, culturally specific mental-health resources to Inuit youth in the form of a mobile game. 

The youth council and their research partners are currently putting the finishing touches on the Virtual Qaggiq, which will start trials this summer. Far from alienating young people, this digital space aims to bring them together and empower them. “We have young artists on our team, and musicians,” Bohr says. “They’re very, very committed to making this as authentic as they possibly can … it’s just been a joy working with that team.” ■