Exploring Design Guidelines of Mobile Exergame for Older Adults

Abstract

Mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, offer a wealth of opportunities for older adults to stay connected and engaged with the world around them. One of the most exciting applications of mobile devices for older adults is mobile exergames. Mobile exergames can make exercise more fun for people of a certain age especially older adults, which may inspire them to participate in more physical activity. However, current mobile exergames are not designed for the gameplay experience of older adults or to meet their expectations, and design guidelines primarily target the younger population. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore the design guidelines recommendation for designing mobile exergames for older adults using two main methodologies. First is the literature survey followed by the semi-structured interview. Database such as SCOPUS and Google Scholar were used to identify relevant articles in literature survey. A total of 20 articles were included in the final process of qualitative analysis. The interview was conducted in a series of separate sessions with 10 people aged 56 and older. After conducting a thematic analysis on the data, nine design principles were discovered. From these design principles, 20 design guidelines are derived, which provide valuable guidance for the development of the mobile exergame for older adults in general. The recommended design guidelines discovered in this study may be important considerations for game designers who aim to develop mobile exergames for the older adult populations.