JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The number of older adult gamers who play mobile games is growing worldwide. Earlier studies have reported that digital games provide cognitive, physical, and socioemotional benefits for older adults. However, current mobile games that understand older adults’ gameplay experience and reflect their needs are very scarce. Furthermore, studies that have analyzed older adults’ game experience in a holistic manner are rare.

Objective:

The purpose of this study is to suggest mobile game design guidelines for the 50+ generation from a holistic gaming experience perspective. Adopting a human-centric approach, this study analyzes middle-aged and older adults’ gameplay experience and suggests practical design guides to increase accessibility and satisfaction.

Methods:

We organized a living lab project “Intergenerational Play Workshop” for a month (8 sessions). In the workshop, 20 middle-aged adults (mean age = 59.1) and 20 older adults (mean age = 74.4) played mobile games of various genres with young adult partners. Using a convergent parallel mixed method design, we conducted a qualitative analysis of dialogue, game diaries, and behavioral observations during the workshop, and a quantitative analysis of the satisfaction level of game elements (audiovisual, interface, agility, goals, character/story, overall, etc.) for the mobile games that they played.

Results:

Based on the identified themes of positive and negative experiences from qualitative data, we proposed 45 design guides under three categories: 1) cognitive and physical elements, 2) psychological and socio-emotional elements, and 3) consumption contextual elements. Our empirical research could reaffirm the proposals from previous studies and provide new guidelines for improving game design. In addition, we demonstrate how existing commercial games can be evaluated quantitatively using the satisfaction level of each game’s elements and overall satisfaction level between middle-aged and older adults.

Conclusions:

We found that previous experience in computers and digital games as well as age-related changes were important factors in shaping the mobile game experience. The final guidelines were presented to game designers to easily find related information and enhance the overall understanding of the game experience of middle-aged and older adults.