The gaming sector has been a driving force for innovation across industries. Look no further than recent What The Tech guests Roll Games and TinyRex for proof: Some of the technologies having the greatest impact on our real world today (see: AI) were cultivated (at least in part) for gamers.
While gaming has undoubtedly helped accelerate technological innovation, have we truly understood the costs? That is: With gaming environments becoming more engaging than ever, how are they affecting the mental health of users?
And how are users finding care?
Answering these questions and providing support is at the heart of Dr. Ewa Antczak’s mission. Along with being a registered psychologist and author of several research papers on social advertisement, she is also Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Felixa Games.
At Felixa, Ewa and her team are developing an AI engine that can be implemented into existing video games to monitor, track and analyze behavioral markers for players. The AI engine will evaluate biological factors including eye movement, facial expressions and tone of voice while gathering information from wearables to paint a picture of a player’s well being.
It’s a nascent but important tech that holds a lot of promise, with the potential to give game manufacturers insights they need to support the mental health of customers, while giving players in the gaming community a safe and secure environment to learn about and deal with their mental health struggles.
Why gaming and healthcare go together
Dr. Ewa Antczak discusses why gaming and mental healthcare go hand-in-hand, offering a convenient source of relief in the environments that users are already populating to unpack and deliver meaningful treatment.
Dr. Ewa Antczak explains how Felixa Games aims to break down stigmas within the gaming industry (and really everywhere) related to mental health and the impacct that virtual environments have on players’ well being.
Dr. Ewa Antczak talks through the history of mental health and how breakthroughs throughout the past have led to where we are today. This includes how technology has accelerate both good and bad phenomena in the field of mental healthcare, which sits at the heart of Ewa’s startup’s mission.
Watch the full interview with Dr. Antczak on Boast’s Youtube Channel here, and subscribe to the What The Tech podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts.
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