Hello, my name is Michael Bas and I am first of all ceo of Ranj serious games, one of the oldest serious games companies in the Netherlands. But I am also part-time visiting professor for the Technical University Delft. In this function my goal is to bridge the gap between the commercial game development companies and researchers.

I have been working in the digital media and serious games industry for the biggest part of my life. Over time I discovered that developing good serious or applied games incorporates more than just good game design. One also needs a good understanding of the psychological drivers of human behaviour.

I am involved in two of the Persuasive Game Design projects: CRISP G-Motiv and ClickNL Nextlevel. Together with the researchers and the subject matter experts we try to discover which specific game mechanics trigger certain behaviour. By no means an easy task.

In the CRISP-G Motiv project we try to determine which game principles motivate people to cooperate in the work environment. In the ClickNL Nextlevel project we try to translate existing therapies into games.

I consider my role in both these projects as something like a product owner (a term from the agile development method). I will guard the business perspective, the pre-set goals and the overall usability of the product-service.