Mobile Apps and Games
Odyssey by UPMC
Schell Games & UPMC
Odyssey is an app to help UPMC members make healthy lifestyle changes. With five different programs to reduce stress, stop smoking, lose weight, eat better, and increase physical activity, Odyssey uses gamefied engagement techniques to help you make long-lasting changes for the better. Odyssey shipped for all UPMC members in late 2018, and is available for Android and iOS.
Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium App
Schell Games & Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium
The Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium app is a tool for families to make the most of their visit to the zoo. The app features an interactive map, information on each animal, photo filters, educational games, 360 videos, and learning adventures for zoo visitors of all ages. The app enhances the experiences of visitors both while they’re at the zoo and after they’ve gone home. The Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium app shipped in 2017 on Android and iOS.
Osmo Monster
Monster is an augmented reality educational app and part of the Osmo Creative Set. Using the Osmo system, kids can draw on the whiteboard and have Mo the Monster pull their drawings into his world and use them on his adventures. Monster has won a Gold Parents’ Choice Award, a platinum Oppenheim Award, and critical acclaim from some of the most respected toy reviewers in the country. It is available on iPad, Fire tablets, and iPhone.
Night Shift
Schell Games & University of Pittsburgh
Night Shift was developed with the University of Pittsburgh as part of a National Institute of Health grant to determine if a game can reduce diagnostic errors by doctors and physicians in an Emergency Department . The game places doctors in the position of an ER doctor who must make tricky treatment decisions quickly. The goal is for the game to challenge the diagnostic heuristics of the physician playing and to help them re-evaluate how they think of the “trauma” patient. The game is still in closed-beta testing, but it has already been receiving positive coverage. In December 2017, Dr. Mohan had her research published in The BMJ. The results were positive, with doctors who played the game outperforming those doctors who didn’t. The game is a Bronze winner in the 2018 International Serious Play Awards.
Word Snack HD
Fay Games, Bit Films, & Hampshire College
Word Snack HD is a single player word game set in a diner in outer space. Feed words to hungry aliens, receive points for every word, and turbocharge your score by catering to their alien tastes. Some aliens love short words, others love long ones. Some crave consonants, others can’t get enough of vowels. Word Snack features five different customers to feed and two modes of gameplay, for countless hours of fun. Word Snack HD is available for iOS and Android.
