One of the posts I wrote before my blogging hiatus concerned the principles of serious gaming. Since they are not set in stone, many other researchers have written up their own ideas as to what should be included in a game. Some of these ideas, however, fit neatly into one of the principles of serious gaming, so I'm going to organise the ideas in some other papers I've read under these categories.
Storylines/Characters
If you want to keep players hooked in your game, you need to create an immersive environment. It is important, for instance, to create authentic activities; brownie points if these activities allow for engagement with other learners. One way to create an immersive, engaging environment is to use a first-person point of view, where objects are obscured from view and encountered as the learner moves through the environment. Immersive 3D environments allow players to interact first-hand with virtual objects so that concepts can be approached as "1st-person nonsymbolic experiences" rather than as "3rd-person symbolic experiences. Virtual reality (VR) is also positively associated with active engagement and motivation. VR enhances neural reorganisation and optimises rehabilitation outcomes, with moderate evidence supporting use of VR for balance and motor skills. There is also weak evidence for the use of VR for upper extremity skills, joint control, gait and strength.
Another important aspect of the game environment, as you can tell from the heading, is the inclusion of a storyline of some sort. Storylines give some kind of context for learning, and "cutscenes" can help to provide feedback. It would also be good if the storyline could be partially constructed by the player, for instance allowing them to make choices. Interactive choices may also help players to bond with their characters, and help link the characters to their environments. (Choice is another one of the five principles of serious gaming.)
Goals
It is also important to provide clear goals that players can work towards, with unambiguous feedback. Ideally, there should also be relatively few consequences for risks, supporting players' natural curiosity. Continuously offering new and challenging task-oriented goals can also help to maintain players' interest in the game.
Levels of Difficulty
As well as providing different levels of difficulty, it is also important to provide different scenarios for players to test their skills. In rehabilitation games targeting motor control, it may be important to vary the types of movements that are needed, with a mixture of easier and harder movements. Such variation may help prevent fatigue and loss of motivation.
Individualisation
Individualisation is very important in designing rehabilitation games as disability affects different people in different ways. As such it is important to tailor the difficulty level to each player, so that they may achieve a "flow state interaction," characterised by deep concentration and a sense of control and satisfaction in response to challenges that are matched to their skills. One way to individualise the gaming system is to amplify the effects of movements as necessary (i.e. allow a small movement to achieve a large in-game effect) so as to avoid discouragement in players.
Other Considerations
Another important consideration is the hardware used. For instance, Kinect sensors are relatively affordable and are generally useful for exercises at home. However, Kinect sensors have limitations in detecting fine movements and rotations. They may also have problems detecting the movements of wheelchair users due to metallic reflections.
Yet another important consideration is the incorporation of "hooks," which are things that require players to make decisions and encourage them to keep playing. "Hooks" can include action hooks, which are basically choices of some kind (e.g. quests); resource hooks, which may include trying to accumulate ammunition or wealth; tactical hooks, which require players to make decisions about resource allocation and so on; and time hooks, which are actions that have to be completed within a certain time frame.
References
- Dickey, MD 2005, 'Engaging by design: How engagement strategies in popular computer and video games can inform instructional design', Educational Technology Research and Development, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 67-83.
- Eckert, M, Gomez-Martinho, I, Meneses, J, Martinez, JF 2017, 'New Approaches to Exciting Exergame-Experiences for People with Motor Function Impairments', Sensors (Basel), vol. 17, no. 2.
- Ravi, DK, Kumar, N, Singhi, P 2017, 'Effectiveness of virtual reality rehabilitation for children and adolescents with cerebral palsy: an updated evidence-based systematic review', Physiotherapy, vol. 103, no. 3, pp. 245-258.
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