Dementia is a progressive syndrome affecting executive and motor functions. Serious gaming (SG) is an emerging treatment. However, its added benefit is difficult to establish since standardized usability evaluations are missing. We apply a recently developed observer-rated scale to determine the usability of two SG scenarios for people with dementia (PwD). Raters watched video recordings of a SG (MobiAssist) played by PwD and a virtual city through which healthy older adults walked. Raters completed the scale for both data sets and gave a prospective rating of VR city used by PwD. Usability was highest for MobiAssist, intermediate for VR city by healthy older persons, and lowest for the prospective rating of VR city used by PwD. The difference between the highest and the lowest data set was statistically significant with moderate magnitude but seems not substantial enough to exclude PwD from cognitively demanding training environments (e.g. VR city).
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 have emphasised the importance of functional attributes and solutions for improving waste recycling in bins, the potential for recycling as an experience has not been explored thoroughly. OBJECTIVES: This study employs the perspective of gamification, environmental psychology and sensory marketing to provide new perspectives on hedonic recycling. METHODS: A focus group design was used to explore how experiential cues may influence cognition, emotion and behaviour 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 be experientially modified to not disturb the waste separation process. These modifications include digital feedback and information of one’s impact on the environment. Other sensory and gamified modifications were discussed with their potential effects on emotion and behaviour in mind. CONCLUSION: A new conceptual framework was developed, which combined mechanics from gamification and sensory cues as experiential cues. This framework was used to explore various different responses. The model indicates potential relationships between recycling and experiential cues that can be empirically investigated.
Citizens’ engagement in their neighbourhood community is pivotal for cities to effectively deal with future transitions. Knowing what is going on and having access to the neighbourhood network are important conditions for this. Although prior research has studied ways to foster information sharing
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 implementationof 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 groupactivity. In conclusion, the recommendations are a novelty and represent a profound guidance in the design and implementation of serious games for people with dementia.
