Criteria and Guideline for Dyslexic Intervention Games

Abstract

The utilization of game-based interventions is growing as a result of technological advancements, and it has shown to be effective in the treatment of dyslexia and other medical conditions. Games are typically viewed as activities having the essential components of challenge, incentive, and reward. Games were originally created for pleasure, and they can make dyslexic teaching and learning more enjoyable and exciting. Although there are numerous applications available for treating dyslexic children, the inclusion of games and their standards in those applications has not yet been established. Therefore, there is a need for a standard design guideline to be formulated in establishing a guideline for designing and developing games specifically for dyslexic children. This article proposes a design guideline for dyslexic intervention games. Two methods have been employed which are interviews and systematic literature reviews (SLR) to discover the characteristics of dyslexic games. The first set of the criteria was developed through interviews with the stakeholders who are directly associated with dyslexic children. Scopus, the ACM digital library, EBSCO-host, Wiley, and Web of Science (WOS) are the five primary databases used in SLR. 50 articles out of the 551 that were early screened from the five primary databases are qualified to be studied based on the criteria. Only 23 publications could be selected for the study after further screening, which led to the creation of a second set of criteria. These two sets of criteria are thoroughly analyzed, combined, and formulated as a guideline which comprises of four main categories; device and platform, interface, game features, and gameplay. The guideline consists of guidance to be used for designing and developing Dyslexic therapy games with the purpose of assisting Dyslexic children to read. The guideline is believed to be beneficial to many parties especially the educational game developers, therapists, and educationist who are dealing with intervention for Dyslexic children. This study is aligned and significant to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) three and four, Good Health and Well-being and Quality Education respectively.