Engaging Pictograms! A Methodology for Graphic Design in Enhancing Player Engagement

Abstract

In the graphic design of serious games, player engagement is an important consideration. We propose a new approach towards aiding the graphic designer to consider the major factors relevant to player engagement. This article describes a method for creating effective graphical content for serious games that takes into account the impact of complex pictograms on player engagement and on the learning process. We show how we applied our method to the design of a serious game for mobile phones aimed at Nepalese women in rural areas with low literacy skills. Initial results from case study suggest that our method helps designers to improve the design and the logic behind their use of imagery to the extent where the need to use text in the game's user interface was removed.