JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The design and use of serious video games for children have increased in recent years. To maximize the effects of these games, it is essential to understand the children's experience through playing. Previous studies identified that enjoyment and user experience satisfaction of the players are two of the principal factors that can influence the success of serious video games and the learning of their players. However, the research about the relationship between enjoyment and user experience satisfaction with learning in younger children (8–10 years old) is sparse.

Objective:

The present study examined the relationship between enjoyment and user experience satisfaction with the learning of children aged between 8–10 years while playing a serious video game for health, FoodRateMaster. This serious video game teaches children about the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy foods and how to identify them in their environment.

Methods:

A sample of 60 children (aged 8–10 years) was recruited from a primary school in Mexico. Participants completed 12 individual gaming sessions with FoodRateMaster in six weeks. A food knowledge questionnaire was administered before and after game play to assess the players' food knowledge. In addition, after the gaming sessions, the children's enjoyment and user experience satisfaction were evaluated using the EGameFlow questionnaire and the Game User Experience Satisfaction Scale (GUESS) questionnaire.

Results:

We found significant positive associations between children's posttest knowledge and enjoyment (r(58)=.356, P=.005) and user experience satisfaction (r(58)=.272, P=.035). Posttest children's knowledge was also positively correlated with the subscales challenge (r(58)=.382, P=.003) and knowledge improvement (r(58)=.38, P=.003) of the EGameFlow scale and the subscales narrative (r(58)=.354, P=.006), creative freedom (r(58)=.265, P=.041), and visual aesthetics (r(58)=.315, P=.014) of the GUESS scale. Regression analysis indicated that the EGameFlow scale F(7-52)=2.742, P=.017, R2=.27, and the GUESS scale F(8-51)=2.198, P=.043, R2=.256 significantly predicted the children's posttest knowledge score. The subscales challenge (b=3.96, t52=2.170, P=.035) and knowledge improvement (b=.290, t52=2.059, P=.044) of the EGameFlow scale had significant contributions to predicting children´s learning. None of the subscales of the GUESS scale had a significant contribution to predicting children´s learning.

Conclusions:

The findings of this study suggest that the enjoyment and user experience satisfaction of children aged between 8–10 years were positively correlated with their learning and were significant predictors of it. The dimensions challenge, knowledge improvement, narrative, creative freedom, and visual aesthetics subscales correlated positively with children's learning. In addition, the dimensions challenge and knowledge improvement had significant contributions to predicting their learning. These results are relevant to consider during the design stages of serious games developed for young children's learning purposes.