Strategy design of reach-avoid game: Geometric modeling and USV implementation

Expressions of learner agency in virtual inquiry: Linking agency and evidence-centered game design

The impact of competition mechanisms on primary school students' digital game-based mathematics learning.

Exergames Revisited: A Narrative Review and Classification Framework for Application-Specific Design.

Toxic behavior is a pervasive issue in multiplayer online games, affecting both player and community wellbeing. Prior research has focused largely on communicative abuse, overlooking the situated nature of toxicity in gameplay. The current study addresses this gap by analyzing 1137 publicly available Reddit posts from four team based competitive games: League of Legends, Marvel Rivals, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, and Rocket League. Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation and manual review, nine themes were identified, including smurfing, AFK behavior, role conflicts, targeted harassment, misogyny, and ineffective moderation. Overall, findings show that competitive and social structures interact with game design to shape toxic behaviors in online games. We also demonstrate that topic modeling can extract meaningful themes from player-generated text, while highlighting challenges such as game-specific terminology, and overlapping topics. These results emphasize the need to consider game design, player behavior, and community norms when developing interventions to reduce toxicity.

Exploring the motivations behind collaboratively dishonest behaviour, is often done using dice-rolling experiments, where coordinated cheating increases participant pairs' earnings. Here we present a preregistered dice-rolling experiment that investigates how participants' dishonest (cheating) behaviour is influenced (i) by the dishonest (cheating) behaviour of their experimental partners and (ii) by by-product altruism (or cost-free charity) that is a direct consequence of a monetary reward in this experiment. We studied a 2 × 2 factorial design of the dice-rolling game, with the presence or absence of (i) a cheating partner and (ii) by-product altruism. Following the game, participants filled out the Moral Foundations Questionnaire and the Social Dominance Orientation questionnaire. We found that without the opportunity of cost-free charity, cheating was not detectable, independent of the cheating behaviour of the partner. However, the opportunity of donating to a chosen charitable foundation (cost-free charity) significantly increased the level of cheating. We found that the relationship between the degree of dishonesty and the measured psychological traits is complex and, in some cases, contradictory. Our results do, however, confirm that participants with a stronger moral integrity were less likely to cheat. Our results showed that the level of collaborative cheating to obtain a monetary benefit is significantly increased by participants' perception of acting in a socially beneficial way as a by-product of their unethical behaviour.

Overview Games have the potential to engage a wider public with archaeology, but popular products also continue to perpetuate misconceptions about the past. One potential solution is for archaeologists, heritage professionals, and historians to act as consultants in the process of game design. However, there has been little published about what consultation involves, particularly with the understanding that games with archaeological themes often rely heavily on colonial narratives, as well as stereotypes that affect descendant communities. In this digital review, I draw on my experiences as an archaeologist and cultural consultant within the tabletop games industry to highlight how representation, expertise, and positionality are considerations for any scholar who is solicited for consultation on a commercial product. I also address the unpaid, underpaid, and emotional labor that lurks within an industry reliant on personal passions and work characterized as fun. I conclude with recommendations that focus on reducing harm in the present while playing with the past.

As the population continues to age, and gaming continues to grow as a hobby for older people, heterogeneity among older adult gamers is increasing. We argue that traditional game-based accessibility features, like simplified input schemes, redundant information channels, and increased legibility of digital user interfaces, are limited in the face of this heterogeneity. This is because such features affect all older adult players and, therefore, are designed generically. We introduce artificial intelligence-although it has its own limitations and ethical concerns-as a method of creating player-based accessibility features, given the adaptive nature of the technology. These features may help to address a unique assemblage of accessibility needs that may accumulate through age. We argue that existing AI technologies can build upon extant accessibility design techniques to improve digital game accessibility for heterogeneous older adults. We adopt insights from gerontology, human-computer interaction, and disability studies into the digital game design discourse for older adults, and we contribute insight that guides the integration of player-based accessibility features to supplement game-based counterparts. The accessibility of digital games for heterogeneous older adults is paramount, as the medium offers short-term social, emotional, psychological, cognitive, and physical benefits that support the long-term goal of aging well.

Cognitive impairment, a growing public health issue linked to aging, is often accompanied by depressive symptoms in older adults. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of gamification in improving depressive symptoms in older adults with cognitive impairment. Randomized controlled trials investigating the effectiveness of gamification in improving depressive symptoms in older adults with cognitive impairment were included in this study. Methodological quality of included studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool version 2, while overall certainty of the evidence was evaluated through the GRADE system. Data synthesis was conducted using meta-analysis for quantitative data synthesis, complemented by narrative synthesis where appropriate. 21 randomized controlled trials involving 1,385 participants were included in this study. Gamification was modestly but significantly effective in improving depressive symptoms of older adults with cognitive impairment (standardized mean difference = -0.92, 95% CI = -1.25 to -0.60, p < .00001). Subgroup analyses based on different depression scales, forms of gamification interventions, intervention durations, and gamification design elements showed that the interventions may reduce depression scores compared with the control condition. The evidence level for depression scores as the primary outcome was rated as moderate. Gamification shows promise as a supplementary intervention for reducing depressive symptoms in clinical settings. Future studies should focus on optimizing intervention design and ensuring real-world applicability. Identifying key features linked to symptom improvement can guide the development of more effective therapeutic tools.

BackgroundPlanning deficits are a common and functionally significant executive function difficulty in children with autism, affecting everyday activities such as organizing tasks, prioritizing goals, and monitoring progress. Traditional neuropsychological assessments often lack ecological validity and may not capture these skills in real-world contexts. Serious games offer promising alternatives by simulating everyday scenarios and enabling observation of planning behaviors during interactive tasks. However, most existing systems focus on training rather than theory-driven assessment, and are rarely evaluated for usability before deployment with children with autism.ObjectiveThis study aimed to design and evaluate ShopAutiPlan, a supermarket-based serious game intended to assess executive planning skills in children with ASD by conducting a formative expert evaluation before its use in clinical or research settings. The evaluation sought to identify usability strengths and limitations, ensuring that the system aligns with planning theory and accommodates the unique needs of autistic users.MethodsA theory-driven design approach grounded in the Hayes-Roth cognitive model of planning was used to map planning subcomponents—including goal formulation, strategy generation, sequencing, execution, and monitoring—to in-game tasks and logged behavioral metrics. A cross-sectional, formative expert-based usability evaluation was conducted using inspection and think-aloud protocols. Six domain experts (2 psychologists, 2 human-computer interaction researchers, and 2 game developers) participated in individual evaluation sessions. Usability assessment was guided by ASD-specific usability heuristics, and experts completed the System Usability Scale (SUS). SUS scores were summarized using descriptive statistics, and qualitative feedback was analyzed through deductive coding mapped to heuristic categories.ResultsAcross experts, 45 usability issues were identified, spanning cognitive accessibility, feedback clarity, realism, and technical performance. Severity ratings varied according to disciplinary perspectives: psychologists highlighted cognitive load, sensory accessibility, and task clarity, whereas developers focused on system responsiveness, interaction consistency, and technical reliability. The overall SUS score (mean 70.4, 95% CI 45.2‐95.7) exceeded the standard benchmark of 68, supporting the acceptability of the system and complementing the qualitative findings from the heuristic evaluation. Recommendations from the evaluation informed iterative refinements to interface design, interaction flow, and task representation to enhance alignment between planning constructs and user experience.ConclusionsTo the best of our knowledge, this study introduces the first shopping-based serious game specifically designed to assess executive planning skills in children with autism. Unlike many existing autism-related serious games that primarily focus on intervention or training, ShopAutiPlan adopts a theory-driven assessment-oriented design grounded in a cognitive model of planning and supported by gameplay-based behavioral measures. By integrating cognitive theory, serious game design, and interdisciplinary usability evaluation, the study proposes a structured framework for developing ecologically valid digital assessment tools that may complement conventional neuropsychological approaches in autism research and clinical practice.

Teaching Sustainability One Card at a Time. How Game Design Can Build Better Engagement, Commitment, and Action

Educational technologies, particularly serious games, offer potential solutions by providing interactive and risk-free learning environments for wound care. Therefore, the objective is to develop a serious game with adequate validity evidence for nursing students' learning in the prevention, assessment, and treatment of wounds. This is a methodological study conducted in 3 stages: development of the game based on a scoping review and an educational game design model, content and appearance validation by 35 experts, and evaluation of playability and satisfaction by 73 undergraduate nursing students. Data analysis considered the Content Validity Ratio, adopting the critical value of 0.314. The Wound Game was developed in 3 levels (prevention, assessment, and treatment of pressure injuries), with a simulated clinical environment and immediate feedback. Validation identified the relevance of the content and appearance. In the students' evaluation, the game was well accepted, with medians of 5.0 for concentration, challenges, autonomy, skills, control, objectives, feedback, and knowledge improvement. The Wound Game demonstrated potential as an innovative and effective tool for teaching wound care, promoting the assimilation of self-reported knowledge, which translates into improvements in students' critical thinking and decision-making.

HighlightsWhat are the main findings?This study categorized 20 user demands for a VR-based pelvic floor training system into specific Kano attributes.Personalization features were identified as primary satisfaction drivers, while exercise guidance and data accuracy represent baseline requirements.What are the implications of the main findings?VR may offer theoretical advantages through ‘spatial biofeedback’, potentially enhancing proprioceptive awareness during pelvic floor training.Integrating serious game principles into VR rehabilitation tools may support user motivation and anticipated training adherence.Background: Poor adherence and monotony in home-based pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) often lead to suboptimal rehabilitation outcomes. Serious games using virtual reality (VR) may improve training motivation and precision. This study aimed to explore user demands for a VR pelvic floor rehabilitation training system with game-based features. Methods: A Kano model-based questionnaire was developed and distributed to patients receiving PFMT. The survey assessed 20 demand items spanning five dimensions: system operation, exercise guidance, personalization, device use, and interaction. Traditional Kano categorization and an optimized mixed-method classification were used to identify core demand attributes. Satisfaction and dissatisfaction indices were also calculated. Results: A total of 112 valid questionnaires were analyzed. Using the Kano model, 20 demand items were classified as attractive (n = 7), one-dimensional (n = 5), must-be (n = 6), or indifferent (n = 2). Personalization-related demands were mainly identified as attractive attributes, whereas exercise guidance-related demands were primarily classified as must-be or one-dimensional attributes. Satisfaction Index (SI) values ranged from 0.27 to 0.64, and absolute Dissatisfaction Index (DSI) values ranged from 0.34 to 0.71. Optimized Kano analysis identified nine mixed attributes. The questionnaire demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.96). Conclusions: Participants demonstrated positive willingness to adopt a game-based VR system for PFMT, with diverse needs identified across functional and motivational dimensions. These findings suggest that integrating immersive, personalized, and gamified design features may hold promise for enhancing user engagement and anticipated training adherence, though direct evaluation of clinical effectiveness awaits future prototype-based studies. The identified demand priorities provide structured, evidence-informed guidance for the user-centered design of serious game–oriented VR pelvic floor rehabilitation systems.

This design-based research study examines how the Go-Show-Flow-Glow (GSFG) framework supports elementary students’ engagement with ISTE Standards for Students through participatory game design. Twenty-three third-grade students designed educational games about the Dust Bowl during a five-day implementation. Thematic analysis of 540 coded instances revealed differential engagement across ISTE Standards: Innovative Designer dominated (34%), followed by Knowledge Constructor (16%) and Creative Communicator (14%), while Digital Citizen received minimal attention (<1%). Findings indicate structured classroom design, such as the GSFG framework, can support standards-based learning while maintaining student agency, contributing empirical evidence that design constraints scaffold rather than limit elementary students’ creative engagement.

Serious games are emerging as innovative tools in medical education, yet their adoption in anatomy teaching remains limited due to educator hesitancy, institutional constraints, and design challenges. This qualitative study explores the perspectives of anatomy educators on digital serious games and proposes a framework for their implementation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten anatomy educators from the University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospital. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed four overarching themes: conceptual understanding of serious games, perceived utility in teaching and learning, factors influencing adoption, and design of serious games. While participants recognized serious games as potentially effective and engaging learning tools, they expressed concerns regarding stigma, time constraints, and a lack of evidence on efficacy. A novel finding was the ethical recommendation to exclude cadaveric specimens from game content to preserve donor dignity. Participants also emphasized the importance of inclusive design to accommodate diverse student needs and ensure equitable learning. Based on the themes generated, a framework for implementing serious games was proposed, integrating components of curriculum alignment, educator support, and student-centered design. The framework highlights the importance of stakeholder involvement, including student buy-in, institutional support, and gradual familiarization to overcome adoption barriers. This study contributes to the growing discourse on educational innovation in anatomy by offering practical guidance for ethically and pedagogically sound integration of serious games into curricula. It also calls for broader institutional support and evidence-driven design to support meaningful implementation.

The character strength of gratitude has many positive effects and is increasingly promoted in educational interventions. Delivering gratitude interventions through digital technology can increase scalability and enhance children’s motivation to understand and express gratitude. Additionally, co-design with children from the target population has the potential to create more usable and educationally effective solutions that fit better with children’s everyday experiences. We conducted 2 studies, one based on 3 prototyping sessions with 10 children and the other based on 3 usability sessions with a separate sample of 8 children, in the design of a mobile game to teach Colombian preadolescent children about gratitude, based on an existing non-digital intervention. Study 1 focused on the development of design principles to guide the subsequent development of the app, while Study 2 aimed to show that the game could be both fun and educational. Children found the game usable and fun, according to both the System Usability Scale and qualitative interview and focus group questions. They saw potential for learning about gratitude, but also suggested changes that were incorporated into the final design, including simplifying the conceptual language used and introducing new visual design and interaction elements. We also incorporated a real-world activity outside the game to reinforce children’s learning of diverse gratitude expressions. The design principles we developed were shown to be relevant to children’s experiences across both studies. The benefits of transdisciplinary, child-centered work to integrate economically deprived children’s feedback in designing culturally relevant character education tools are discussed.

In medical and anatomy education, serious games (SGs) are increasingly recognized as promising pedagogical tools. Educators seeking to adopt SG may choose whether to build games or buy commercially available serious games (CASGs). However, exploration of the commercial market remains scarce as existing reviews focus on bibliographic databases. This study aimed to explore the commercial market for SG aimed at medical education and analyze the pedagogical underpinnings of SG for anatomy education. An environmental scan was conducted across five search areas targeting digital interactive games intended for healthcare professionals. Out of 4330 potential games identified, 1585 CASG for medical education were included after screening and eligibility assessment. Subsequently, 879 CASG for anatomy education were systematically evaluated against 15 pedagogical principles adapted from instructional and game design frameworks. Data extraction, scoring, and statistical analysis explored the presence of pedagogical principles and influencing factors. Findings show that the commercial market offers a range of CASG for medical education, primarily targeting knowledge acquisition in human anatomy for undergraduates. Most SG were quiz-based, designed for single player, and lacked affiliation with academic institutions. Systematic analysis of CASG for anatomy education shows few incorporations of pedagogical principles with in-game feedback and game rules being most common, while principles supporting engagement, adaptivity, and collaboration were scarce. In conclusion, while the commercial market offers SG for anatomy education, their educational potential remains constrained by limited pedagogical depth, which may limit their potential as pedagogical tools. These findings suggest opportunities to develop pedagogically robust games in anatomy education.

Feedback, competition, and cooperation: Behavioral effects of gamification elements in individual and team settings.

Comparison of a gamified versus standard virtual reality simulator to teach ultrasound-guided regional Anaesthesia: A randomised controlled trial.

Experiences and perceptions of escape room-based learning among nursing students: A systematic review and meta-synthesis.