Hi everyone! I just wanted to give you guys a quick heads-up that I’ll be giving a keynote presentation at the sixth annual Games for Health Conference in Boston next month.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Games for Health Conference, it is an event that’s held in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio, which focuses on funding ideas that may lead to significant breakthroughs in the future of health and health care. The conference creates opportunities to develop innovative solutions that empower individuals to better manage their personal health. I’m honored and excited to take part in the event so I thought I’d give you a sneak peek at some of the things I plan to talk about.

The title of my talk is “The Mind-Body Experience of PlayStation Move – Relationships between Gaming, Play, Exercise, and More.” I plan to discuss the development of PlayStation Move, with a focus on what I call “somatic gratification” (I didn’t coin the term, but I think I’m the first to apply it to video games). In short, I’ll be talking about how the physicality of an interface can connect the body and the mind to really enhance an experience. Sometimes, the interface is only a means to an end, but often, the interface becomes an integral part of the experience. I’ll be analyzing the similarities and differences this has for gaming, for play, and for exercise, and why different interface choices may be appropriate for each domain.

I’ll also be talking about the design of PlayStation Move, highlighting why many of the design choices are the way they are. Many of the seemingly arbitrary stylistic choices are not cosmetic; they are actually functionally and ergonomically important. Finally, I’ll share my thoughts about the subtle yet profound differences between a true position-sensing device vs. a motion-sensing device, and describe some of the applications that are enabled as a result of having position information.

If you happen to be attending the event, be sure to say hello. To learn more about the Games for Health Conference, be sure to check out the Games for Health site.