JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Industries such as construction, chemical, aviation, medical and healthcare, have used serious games for safety training. To our knowledge, serious games have not been developed for safety training within the food service industry. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the accommodation and food service industry have the third most non-fatal injury and illness occurrences between 2018 and 2021.

Objective:

Objectives of this study are to 1) Develop a theory-driven serious game for improving safety within a commercial kitchen by teaching the use of kitchen-speak. 2) Validate the implementation of the theoretical frameworks used for game development.

Methods:

KitchenSpeak is a First-Person Character (FPC) game where users respond to in-game prompts to use loud verbal commands when they are approaching another employee’s blind spot. These verbal commands are called kitchen-speak. The SERES framework was used to guide the general game design and development. The RECIPE framework was applied to inform the design of the game mechanics. Gestalt laws of perceptions for graphic design were used to guide the design of the game’s user interface. Two evaluative tests - Alpha and Beta tests were conducted to collect end-user and stakeholder feedback on the implementation of the theoretical frameworks, as well as to collect relevant information for implementation and a future validation study.

Results:

The first three stages of the SERES framework were implemented, as well as the RECIPE framework for gamification, and Gestalt laws of perception for graphics design. The Alpha test suggested that participants agreed that the theoretical frameworks were correctly implemented, however suggestions were also made to modify areas of the game to improve user experience, user interface, and the gamification mechanics. The Beta test suggested that the game takes 5.4 to 8.4 minutes to complete, and users may perceive the game as an easy to play game.

Conclusions:

A theory-driven and evidence-based based FPC game titled KitchenSpeak was developed for teaching the use of kitchen-speak terms in commercial kitchens. Evaluative tests were conducted to validate the implementation of the theoretical frameworks. Future work includes, evaluate KitchenSpeak’s effectiveness in improving kitchen-speak behavior in a commercial kitchen, and KitchenSpeak’s effect on accident reduction in a commercial kitchen. Clinical Trial: Not applicable. For the involvement of human subjects, we received Institutional Review Board approval for our alpha and beta tests, and approval for implementing the game as training tool.