This demo showcases a lightweight conversation template designed to help students prototype short, character-driven interactions within Answer Campus, an ongoing academic game series. By writing inside an established game world using a prebuilt Unity framework, students can sidestep common early blockers in game development: scope creep, technical uncertainty, blank-page paralysis, etc. and instead focus on tone, branching structure, and relational outcomes. This demo was piloted as a two-week narrative design sprint where students created original conversations for existing characters, drawing on a shared character bible and game assets. Post-mortems revealed that the template supported both technical and narrative growth, allowing students to explore authorship, collaboration, and emotional design.

Background: Although cutaneous melanoma diagnoses are rising, morbidity and mortality can be reduced through early detection. This investigation seeks to improve melanoma identification accuracy, attitudes, and intentions among a lay population by comparing the effectiveness of different melanoma identification training strategies and the effect of real-time decisional feedback on a melanoma identification task. We developed an innovative, game-based approach and hypothesize differences among frequently used melanoma identification training modalities (i.e, the Asymmetry/Border/Color/Diameter [ABCD] rule, the Ugly Duckling Rule [UDS], and a modality that combines them both, ABCDF (where the F stands for 'funny looking "), and investigate differences in types of immediate feedback on a melanoma identification task. Methods: We conducted a national online randomized experiment to test a 4 (melanoma training strategies: ABCD, UDS, ABCD-F, control) x 3 (feedback: Dermatological, Dermatological + Motivational, control) factorial design on melanoma identification, skin cancer beliefs (perceived susceptibility, severity, response efficacy, self -efficacy), attitudes, and prevention intentions. Results: ABCD training (p < .001) and UDS training (p = .05) resulted in significantly higher melanoma identification than the control. All training types resulted in significantly higher self-efficacy than the control (p = .02). Both Dermatological (p = .02) and Dermatological + Motivational feedback (p = .01) elicited significantly lower melanoma identification than the control condition, although this effect may be due to differences observed among participants who received UDS training. There was a significant main effect of feedback on self -efficacy (p = .002), where both Dermatological and Dermatological + Motivational feedback elicited higher levels of self-efficacy than the control. Conclusions: Our results suggest that game-based ABCD and UDS training strategies could increase melanoma identification accuracy. Real-time feedback reduced accuracy, but was associated with increased self-efficacy related to melanoma detection outcomes.

10564 Background: Cutaneous melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer. Several studies have shown that early melanoma detection is associated with decreased mortality through self-examination and dermatology full-body skin exams. ABCD rule and the ugly duckling sign (UDS) are used to identify melanomas, but little research has explored the comparative efficacy of these approaches. This investigation compares the effectiveness of different mole identification training strategies and explores the effect of real-time feedback on decision-making. Methods: We developed an online melanoma identification game that tests differences between training types and expert feedback on mole identification. This online RCT tests a 4 (training: ABCD, UDS, both, control) X 3 (feedback: standard, motivational, control) factorial design on melanoma identification, skin cancer beliefs (perceived susceptibility and self-efficacy), and skin cancer prevention intentions. Standard feedback included expert evaluations of moles, whereas motivational feedback added statements grounded in fear appeals theory to encourage skin self-examination. An online research panel service was used to recruit 1025 US adults. Participants were randomly assigned to condition, completed a pretest, participated in the game intervention, and completed a posttest. Gameplay incorporates the same mechanics as Tinder (swipe left on benign moles and swipe right on malignant moles). Results: In total, participants reviewed 48 moles, 12 of which were melanomas. We used two-way ANCOVA for the analysis. ABCD training resulted in significantly higher melanoma identification than the control ( p =.011). Every training type resulted in significantly higher self-efficacy than the control ( p =.007). Additionally, there was a significant main effect of feedback on self-efficacy ( p =.001), where both standard and motivational feedback elicited significantly higher levels of self-efficacy than the control condition. Around 88% of participants intend to conduct skin self-exams and wear sunscreen. Conclusions: Our data suggests that “Whack a Mole” is an efficacious tool for melanoma training. ABCD and UDS training with interactive feedback are important to improve accuracy and ability for melanoma identification.

Hustling Health Care is a strategic board game that uses real world insurance claim price data. The game aims to teach players the actual cost of health care in the United States through play. Each player takes on the role of an insurance company. They play the game by selling plans to patients and paying claims. The players try to avoid bankruptcy while keeping their patients happy and healthy. To allow access to wide range of hospitals, including ones in their local area, players will be able to print new sets of cards for use in the game through a website. Knowing what claims have been paid for and how much each person paid for them gives players an advantage, so the better the player is at the game, the more informed they are as a health care consumer. Games that use real data represent a new frontier for educators, as playing to learn challenges conventional teaching methods.