PhD research with the HEROES game: balance training after a stroke
Recently, Lotte Hagedoorn (Radboudumc) gave our team a sneak preview of her research results with the HEROES game, a game for balance training after a stroke that patients can use…
In the 8D Knowledge Vault, we collect and publish information about human-centered innovation. From problem definition to implementation and long-term adoption — think of it as the innovation journey. It’s complex material, which we’re committed to mapping out in an accessible way together with partners and professionals in the field. Topics include questions like: how do I integrate iterative design into my research proposal? Or: how can I increase the chances of my innovation actually reaching the end user?
By continuously sharing knowledge and experiences, we collectively elevate the sector to a higher level. Would you like to contribute to our Knowledge Vault, or is there a topic you’d like us to cover? Get in touch with Nicole at nicole@8d.nl.
Recently, Lotte Hagedoorn (Radboudumc) gave our team a sneak preview of her research results with the HEROES game, a game for balance training after a stroke that patients can use…
Why do successful serious games often stall after the pilot phase? Together with the University of Groningen (RuG) and DASH (UMCG), 8D is investigating how innovations can be designed from the outset in such a way that they are ready for widespread scaling up.
The European project ‘FAIR GAME’ (Fostering Awareness, Inclusion, and Resilience in Gaming Environments) has officially launched. Its goal is to make child rights and mental well-being a standard part of…
The power of creative interventions, such as games, hardly needs convincing anymore. But what happens once you?ve decided that an intervention is the right approach for your challenge? What is your role as the initiator? How can you already take implementation into account during the development of the game? Or, more practically: how do you make sure your idea for an intervention fits within the framework of a research proposal? Every six months, we publish an in-depth whitepaper exploring these kinds of complex questions. Always created in collaboration with valued partners, freely accessible, and packed with tips and inspiration.
Why do games for healthcare still regularly end up on the shelf, rather than with the end user? We sat down with a researcher, an innovation manager, a physician and a business expert to answer this question. Download the whitepaper for lots of insights and recommendations!
What is the relationship between serious gaming, science and psychology? And why is serious gaming really much more than a game anyway? This white paper is not about games, but about serious gaming as a scientific method for researching (social) tasks!
Procuring a serious game is an art in itself. Buyers of large organizations and developers interact during the process, even though they do not always speak the same language. Use our whitepaper as a guide so that the procedure runs smoothly and the risks are managed as well as possible.
Do you work as a researcher alongside designers or developers, and find it difficult to establish a shared understanding of the research and design process? If so, misunderstandings can quickly arise: choices regarding tools may not align well with the research, or opportunities for knowledge development during the process may go untapped.
We have developed a practical discussion framework that helps to better align research and design. The model highlights where and how these two can reinforce one another. For example, by combining co-creation with citizens with a study into how that involvement affects their views on the subject. This ensures that you are not working at cross-purposes, but are operating from a single shared understanding of the process.
Would you like to discuss collaboration between researchers and designers further, or have you applied the model and would like to share your experiences? Please feel free to contact us at nicole@8d.nl

Sharing knowledge is a collaborative effort. That’s why we regularly organise interactive webinars where we invite partners to share their own experiences with development processes. Our latest addition: the webinar ‘Healthcare, research and serious gaming’. A must-watch for anyone working in the research field!
Delve deeper into the world of speech technology and its application within serious gaming. Speech technology has made tremendous progress in recent years and offers countless opportunities to take the interaction between players and games to a new level.
Interested in the possibilities of serious gaming in healthcare and research, and want to know more about the process of doing PhD research in this field? On July 5, 2023,…