INTRODUCTION: Serious games is an effort to combine the engagement and motivation from games with some sort of utility beyond mere entertainment.
OBJECTIVES: The objective of this paper is to revisit ...and analyse six projects to explore the design space for serious games and derive design guidelines for serious games.
METHODS: We analysed our project portfolio to identify a set of projects which satisfied well-established guidelines for design science research. By analysing these projects as well as their outcomes we generated a set of design principles for serious games.
RESULTS: The results from this study is a conceptualisation of the design space for serious games and seven design principles.
CONCLUSION: By explicating the game design component in serious games and relating it to the utility dimension we add to the understanding of the serious games from a game perspective, which is relevant to any development effort intending to use the persuasive and motivational power of games.
INTRODUCTION: Recycling is not commonly perceived as hedonic, fun or experiential. While previous studies haveemphasised the importance of functional attributes and solutions for improving waste ...recycling in bins, the potential forrecycling as an experience has not been explored thoroughly.
OBJECTIVES: This study employs the perspective of gamification, environmental psychology and sensory marketing toprovide new perspectives on hedonic recycling.
METHODS: A focus group design was used to explore how experiential cues may influence cognition, emotion andbehaviour when recycling waste in bins. Four focus group discussions were employed and analysed thematically.
RESULTS: Findings show that while utilitarian attributes were most critical for participants, there are solutions that can beexperientially modified to not disturb the waste separation process. These modifications include digital feedback andinformation of one’s impact on the environment. Other sensory and gamified modifications were discussed with theirpotential effects on emotion and behaviour in mind.
CONCLUSION: A new conceptual framework was developed, which combined mechanics from gamification and sensorycues as experiential cues. This framework was used to explore various different responses. The model indicates potentialrelationships between recycling and experiential cues that can be empirically investigated.
This paper presents the findings from a study of advergame design elements paying particular attention to cross-cultural consumer attitudes towards advergames and sponsored brands. From a thorough ...literature review, an integrated framework for advergames across cultures (CAKE) has been designed, composed of game design elements, brand perspectives and cultural characteristics. Utilising the CAKE framework, 40 mobile advergames from Brazil and the UK were studied through a content analysis, followed by an interview of 22 game players from both countries. Our findings illustrate a cultural difference in the attitudes towards advergames and preferences regarding familiar and popular elements inside the advergame. It is felt that the CAKE framework may prove itself suitable for the development of cross-cultural design in advergaming and future research in the area. Implications for advertisers, designers and developers are discussed.
This paper investigates the usability of the RAGE component-based software architecture (RCSA). This architecture was designed to support serious game development by enabling cross-platform reuse of ...game software components. While the architecture has been technically validated elsewhere, this paper studies the perceived usefulness and ease of use of the architecture in practice. An extensive questionnaire based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was administered to 23 software and game developers that have been creating RCSA-compliant game components or integrating these in actual serious games. The results show that developers are generally positive about the usability of the architecture and that the architecture helps them to do a better job in less time. It turns out that developers effectively use all communication modes that are offered by the architecture, most frequently those based on the component´s APIs and the bridge pattern. Some issues were reported, but could be easily addressed. Most developers reported that they have well understood the effectiveness of the architecture and indicated to keep using the architecture in future projects. The outcomes of this study show that the architecture opens up new opportunities to the cross-platform reuse of advanced game functionalities in serious game projects, to reduce production efforts and to advance the domain of serious games at large.
Dementia is a progressive syndrome affecting cognition, motor abilities and behavior. Serious games are an emerging treatment alternative but benefits have not been found for people with dementia ...yet. One reason may be that serious games were not well adapted. The purpose of this article is to give informed recommendations on the design and implementation of serious games for people with dementia that future studies can apply and thus may find significant effects. The methodology applied was deriving information from existing literature in combination with experience from personal work in the field. Main findings are: implementation of well-contrasting icons; first-person game perspective; gesture control; personalized game content; combination of only one cognitive and one motor skill; implementation as supervised group activity. In conclusion, the recommendations are a novelty and represent a profound guidance in the design and implementation of serious games for people with dementia.
The use of games as tools for learning has been a paradigm of great interest for over fifty years. Several terms have emerged to describe disciplines that study and apply this paradigm. Many of these ...terms may be synonymous or have overlapping uses or have multiple definitions within different disciplines. The literature was surveyed for the definitions terms relating to this paradigm. Their working definitions and relationships are discussed. Through both a survey of the literature and a novel variant of sorting activity, the Item Definition Semantic Sort (IDSS). It is shown that individual item definitions do not semantically cluster together by corresponding term. This indicates both a lack of consensus on terms’ definitions, and of clarity between terms. The umbrella term Games in Learning (GiL) is coined to integrate the disciplines and products within this design paradigm. Games in Learning is defined, “Research and work involving the use of games, in whole or in part, as tools to improve motivation, engagement, and/or understanding in learning”. The rationale for the term is elaborated, and the major functional divisions found within.
We present a game for training main mathematical operations for elementary school students, mainly for the third and fourth-grade. The learning mechanisms used in the game were included in the game ...mechanics. The target audience evaluated the game and the results were positive, both in the gameplay and in the learning. Three groups were used to evaluate the learning: one control group that did not play the game, another group that played it in the school and the third group that played at home. The last two groups were used to compare the use of the game in scholar and in the home contexts. The first group was used to compare to the groups that played the game. The results showed that the use of the game has a positive effect on the improvement of the mental calculus rapidness of the players. The statistical analysis of the data showed a significant reduction of the time from pre- to post-test and Cohen’s d value was used to evaluate the magnitude of the effect for each group analysed. Besides, we also observed that playing the game at school or at home has similar results. Therefore, the game can be an effective educational tool for students and teachers.
This work presents the “Blexer” (Blender Exergames) system for therapeutic exergames designed for people with physical dysfunctionalities. The users control the games with corporal movements, ...captured by the Kinect® sensor. Games incorporate an amplifying functionality that enhances the immersive feeling. Via the medical platform “Blexer-med”, clinicians configure the games individually for each patient. On the user’s PC, the middleware “Chiro” is used to transmit configuration data and results between the games and the web platform. Opposed to similar approaches found in literature, our system does not rely on pathology specific mini-games but focus on the design of generic “Full-Play” games, with a complete and compelling gaming environment. The principles of eight Core Drives defined in the Octalysis framework have been applied in the design of the first prototype game “Phiby’s Adventure” presented here. It contains four generic exercises useful for daily training.
This paper describes "Following the Cuckoo Sound'', a responsive floor system designed to train blind children in walking straight. Its characteristics and potentialities are evaluated in the ...framework of the guidelines of instruction and assistance to blind children defined by two government agencies. Veering data analysis confirm the validity of the game in correcting both the initial orientation error and the errors in the step direction and provide further insights about veering and its relationship with walking speed and participants' clinical or experiential conditions. Moreover the system provides an engaging sensorial experience which fits not only the orientation and mobility programs but also other areas of the curriculum for blind children such as sensory efficiency, recreation and leisure, and education in the use of technology.
Support dementia carers in game Liu, Noreena; Wills, Gary; Ranchhod, Ashok
EAI endorsed transactions on serious games,
09/2018, Letnik:
5, Številka:
16
Journal Article
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Dementia is an important public health priority. Caring for a person with dementia can be very challenging. A better understanding of dementia is important for both patients and carers. The main ...objective of this research was to help to improve the quality of interaction between dementia patients and carers. The aim of this research is to investigate how games could support dementia carers through, initially developing a conceptual framework. The research analysed 10 existing games within health education. Game content, such as Game play, Avatar portrayal, Gameworld graphics, Sound/Music and Storyline, were examined in order to help family members who may be carers. This paper discusses the different ways in which various aspects of games could be used to help and support dementia carers from their own perspectives.
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