Games Beyond Entertainment does exactly what it says on the box. This is a conference where the serious aspect of gaming and development is taken to the extreme. Although most of the presentations so far in this week-long event have been by individuals who admit to being gamers, for them the business of gaming is not about pointless activities. For the minds being exposed during Games Beyond Entertainment Week, the game has to appeal to human motivation and the desire to provide solutions.

Yesterday, Day 2 of the event focused  on emerging markets and communities. Three distinct threads were woven throughout the sessions: game accessibility for those with chronic or lifelong disabilities, the use of mobile games for purposes beyond entertainment and the opportunities that virtual worlds can provide in the field of healthcare.

Three tracks featuring 42 speakers and starting at 9:00am and finishing at 6:30pm?

If that’s not a serious gaming conference, I don’t know what is.

The presentations were a mixed bag of styles that used phrases such as “extrinsic motivation,” “self-determination theory,” “behavioral coping,” “breath therapy” and “human-computer interaction to demonstrate the adaptation of gameplay dynamics.” This was a day when the slightest lapse in concentration was not permitted, never has the term “serious games” been more apt.

As you would expect from the vast pool of talent in the Boston area, there has been a strong local presence during the first two days of the conference. Our friends at SCVNGR made an early appearance — the fun and excitement that a physical scavenger hunt can bring was highlighted as a healthy alternative to sitting on the couch and texting your friends. SCVNGR’s John Valentine believes that mobile games are addictive and fun, claiming “that’s where the health field needs to go” and his presentation highlighted the links between healthy behavior and the power of game dynamics that doesn’t limit social gaming to the mind-numbing likes of Farmville.

MeYouHealth, based in Boston’s South End, look towards games mechanics as the reason for engagement in healthcare products. Formed in 2009 (as a wholly owned subsidiary of Healthways Inc.), the company believes the desire to increase well-being is a prime motivator for utilizing games. Trapper Markelz, Director of Product at MeYouHealth, understands that most people are motivated by exploring, achieving, socializing and competing, and comments that “games get you going, that’s what they do well.” Markelz says he believes that daily small actions (as part of an ongoing game) can create healthy behavior that will enhance our “total life experience.”

This desire for total life experience was demonstrated by representatives of the University of Santa Cruz, Calif., who have adapted the drumming activity from Rock Band to allow the visually impaired to play the game. By using color-coded vibrating devices attached to the arms and feet, Rock Vibe, as the product is called, can be played by those with either reduced vision or even the blind, and the technology is not just limited to the drums as there are plans to add the rest of the gaming hardware (with the exception of vocals) to the research project. Sadly, this project is still in the Alpha stage, although I am sure our friends at Harmonix would be intrigued to see their signature game being used as a means of providing increased accessibility.

This international conference has attracted a pool of serious gamers who are concerned not so much with the entertainment aspect of gaming but instead the benefit of reducing the obstacles to life though the adoption of healthy behavior.

Games may traditionally be all about “fun and excitement”, but the very nature of Games Beyond Entertainment is to showcase the advantages that gaming dynamics can bring to our lives. Health and well-being can sometimes be overlooked in this fast paced existence, but by playing a video-game for as little as ten minutes per day, we may all to get to live just that little bit longer.

To learn more about Games Beyond Entertainment Week, be sure to check out yesterday’s post on Day 1 of the week-long conference. Games Beyond Entertainment Week wraps up on Friday, May 28.