The serious moral game uMed is a dialogue-based point-and-click adventure game, in which the player assumes the role of a resident managing a specific patient case. It’s used as a digital learning tool that supports ethics education in medicine. During the course of the game the player takes successive decisions that influence the progression of the game. For many decisions, points in different categories (integrity, empathy, efficiency) are rewarded.
As part of the Digital Health Design Challenge 2024, I collaborated with an interdisciplinary team to enhance individual reflection within the Serious Game uMed: Your Choice. Using a participatory, mixed-methods approach, eight feature concepts were developed. Based on student surveys, lecturer input, and feasibility, three features were prototyped and tested: in-game reflection notes, feedback on point allocation, and a retrospective quick run-through. A Socratic ChatBot for guided reflection was also positively evaluated. Our findings provided valuable insights into how these tools can enhance medical students' learning experiences and reflective practices.
Project lead: Dr. sc. ETH Anita Thomae
Project Team: Tamara Aepli, Meret Jans, Henrik Lebender
Cooperation Partner: Digital Health Design Design Living Lab, USZ Institute for Complementary and Integrative Medicine (IKI), UZH Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine (IBME)
Duration: 07.02.2025 – 07.07.2025
Funding: Digital Health Design Challenge 2024/2025 DHD LL
Game development: Kobold Games
