Video games saved Z's life, and they will save yours too. They play a major role education, environmental sustainability, business operations, scientific research, and ending world hunger. At the age of 18, Zhenghua Yang (Z) was diagnosed with a severe blood disorder that caused him be hospitalized for two years.

Zhenghua Yang (Z) is an entrepreneur, speaker, researcher, and the founder of the value-driven video game development company, Serenity Forge (http://serenityforge.com). Having built his first computer at the age of 6 and programmed his first video game at the age of 10, Z wanted more and began exploring gamification, developing his first meaningful game in 2000. Since then, Z had created video games that saved peoples’ lives by preventing suicide, taught kids rocket science without them knowing, and inspired gamers to turn enemies into friends. Z holds many awards in business and design; his games have reached fans around the world and have been exhibited at museums such as the Smithsonian Institution.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx