A Video Game To Help Head Injuries And Brain Injuries?

I’m a huge fan of TED, the Technology, Entertainment, & Design conference.  It’s an annual event that asks some of the world’s most brilliant people to give short speeches on a wide-range of topics.  People pay thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars to attend live, but most of the talks are presented on the TED website.

This weekend, I was listening to NPR’s Ted Radio Hour Podcast, and I heard the story about Jane McGonigal’s Ted Talk.  Ms. McGonigal is a video game designer, and the thesis of her talk was how video games can be used to solve some of the world’s problems.

But the amazing thing about her story is that she has proven it herself.  You see, in 2009, she suffered a traumatic brain injury.  She was on the brink of suicide when she decided to try to develop a video game that could help her recover.   And it did.   Within months of being on the verge of suicide, she was not only able to improve her condition and cope with her limitations, but she was able to develop and present her TED talk.

That game, Superbetter, is now available to all.  It was released in March of this year and is being used by people all over the world to help them deal with their ailments.  You can watch a video of Ms. McGonigal discussing the game here.