World of Warcraft and Microsoft Kinect: the progress continues

Here’s a great video showing the use of the Kinect to play World of Warcraft using a software framework called FAAST. After the initial demo there’s some useful discussion by the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies on its potential applications.

Those applications are something discussed here regularly: rehabilitation and physical activity. Imagine the impact of the technology shown in the video for someone who plays a dozen or more hours of an MMO each week? Let alone someone with a chronic disease or multiple lifestyle risk factors.

Anyway, have a look for yourself:

For my interest in clinical simulation, these developments are of particular interest. Truly effective simulation is likely when health practitioners are physically able to replicate tasks. With my crystal ball in hand, I can’t see that being any more than five years away.

World of Warcraft Addiction: send in the field teams

Wow-July2009 The UK’s Telegraph newspaper has run a very interesting article on the issue of addiction and World of Warcraft.

The key quote for me from the article, from Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Richard Graham:

He has called on Blizzard Entertainment, the company that makes World of Warcraft, to waive or discount the costs associated with joining the game so that therapists can more easily communicate with at-risk players in their preferred environment.

It’s not an unusual perspective in addictions, but I have some doubts in the efficacy of it in relation to World of Warcraft. If the aim is purely initial engagement, then this could be a successful approach. It’s unlikely the intention is to provide actual treatment, As mentioned by Dr Andrew Campbell in his recent interview with me, there’s not a lot of evidence to support treatment within what is the primary stimulus for the issue.

At the end of it, it’s also hard to imagine Blizzard coughing up a bunch of free accounts for practitioners – it’d potentially be a PR nightmare. Also, the health professionals may stand out a little if they don’t understand the dynamics and social etiquettes of the game. Of course, the only way they can do that is by spending time in-game. Perhaps there needs to be a Blizzard-sponsored WoW training program for health professionals?