THE
HARD PROBLEM STUDIOS (中文)
In
2020 THE HARD PROBLEM STUDIO is founded at National Yang-Ming
University, Taiwan, as a not-for-profit game developer focusing on the
pedagogy for medical/dental education using electronic games.
We focus
on the hard problem.
What is the hard problem?
The way of teaching medicine and dentistry is changing. A teacher's
lecture may be placed by search engines and a surgeon's demonstration
may be replaced by video streaming. Still, the nature of medical/dental
practice is there - to approach humans. Interaction with patients and
clinical teams will always be the fundamental element of healthcare.
Can this 'human factor' be taught? We try to solve this hard problem by
playing games. Let students learn about the world by gaming.
About us
As
the founder and the designer of the studio, Dr. Chia-Shu Lin was a
former dentist of general practice in Taiwan. He is now a teacher at a
dental school and also a researcher of behavioral and brain sciences.
Dr. Lin has been a dry-bone of PC games, witnessing the early days of
SimCity, Civilization, and Might and Magic. All the games here are free
to play by students and free to use by teachers for pedagogical
purposes. All the games are made by Dr. Lin himself via RPG Maker. (Start to play here)
News &
Announcement
[Award] 2023.3 Dr. Chia-Shu Lin's MOE Teaching Practice Research
Program receives the distinguished award (Official
Reports from the MOE)
[Publication] 2023.1 Research
findings of the MOE Teaching Practice Research Program (Evaluation of a
digital game for teaching behavioral aspects of clinical communication
in dentistry) has been published by BMC Medical Education (Q2 in
EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES)
2022.8 Dr. Chia-Shu Lin
is granted Fellowship of the Higher
Education Academy (FHEA) - Great thanks to the Center of Higher
Education Accreditation for Teaching (HEAT), NYCU, for their help and
support
2021.7 Dr. Doog, could you handle this for me? is
founded by the Ministry of Education
Teaching Practice Research Program: Teaching behavioral science and the
humanities to dental students - a new model of context-based learning
via electronic games
Teaching
activities/Invited speech
2023.1.12 NYCU Certificate in Learning and
Teaching in Higher Education (CLTHE) Program: Design Interdisciplinary
Courses
[International conference] 2022.10.26 QS
Asia Pacific Summit (online) symposium speaker: Can the Issues of
Doctor-Patient Relationship be Taught by Playing Electronic Games?
2022.10.22 Shuangho Hospital Teacher
Training Course: Post-COVID-19
Innovation of Educational Technology
2022.10.20 2022 Online Learning Summit
Taiwan: Brain, Behaviour, and
Dentistry
2022.9.15 Cathay General Hospital Teacher
Training Course: Game-based learning of dentist-patient
interaction in clinical context
2022.9.1 New Faculty Orientation, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung
University (NYCU): Innovative
Teaching Methods
2022.8.20 Far Eastern
Memorial Hospital Teacher Training Course: Post-COVID-19 Innovation of Educational
Technology
2021.11.21/28 NYCU Liberal Arts College: Student
Workshop for Abnormal Games
2021.10.16 International Symposium of Medical Education Taipei Veterans
General Hospital: Teaching
behavioral science and the humanities to dental students - a new model
of context-based learning via electronic games
2021.5.5 NYCU Teacher
Community of SDG, Educational Tehchnology, and Innovative Teaching
Stratgies: Teaching
behavioral science and the humanities to dental students - a new model
of context-based learning via electronic games
2022 Fall: Graduate
Seminar, Department of Dentistry, NYCU
2021 Fall:
Behavioral Dentistry,
Department of Dentistry, NYCU
List
of our games
(just click and play!)
Game 5
Scholar Things
PLAY
(20-30
minutes to play) It's the time to welcome our new graduate students!
Three students from different backgrounds gather together to explore
the mysterious institute: Ci-Eslin National Laboratory. What monsters
and nightmare are waiting for them? Can they meet the challenge with
supernatural power or scientific methods?
(30-40
minutes to play)
You have a dream, don't you?
As a junior teacher in the university, you want to achieve something
big. Will you work alone?
Or, will you work as a team?
(10-15
minutes to play) In the year 2075, all the universities in Taiwan have
been merged into a single university: the Planet Central University
(PCU). The PCU is ranked as No.1 in the Earth and the whole galaxy,
well, of course.
The students from the PCU are not ordinary students but
'supreme-dents'. Now, please help these supreme-dents to re-discover
the true value of university education, which has been buried for many
years.
Game 2
Dr.
Doog, could you handle this for me?
PLAY
(educational version)
Well,
no matter what you do, there are always some patients shouting at you.
No matter what you try to do, there are always things screwed up. But
no worry. Dr. Doog is watching you!
Features
- A text adventure with stories and
choices made by you.
- 30-40 minutes to play per run
- Try different choices for each run and
see their influences
- 17 scenarios of true interaction with
dental patients in a local clinic
- There is no cat but a dog!
Game
1
NEKO:
Tale of an Apprentice
PLAY
What if everyone has the same superpower to
be a good dentist?
Do you really think that you've got that superpower? What about
telepathy to read patients' minds? If you're endowed with that kind of
superpower
- Will that be a gift or a curse?
Features
- An electronic short story about the dental practice, ethics, and
business.
- Very short length: just 20-25 minutes to play.
- A story that inspires students to think about their future career.
- There is no dog but a cat!