Persuasive Game Design Research Articles

In-store assortment training to the distribution manpower of dairy companies using gamification

The aim of this study is to design and implement an e-learning course for distributors of fast-moving consumer goods using gamification. In the first step, the components of the in-store assortment are extracted using a systematic literature review, and customer preferences in each of these factors were determined as users’ opinions of 387 customers. In the next step, the game is designed based on the persuasive game design (PGD) model, and the mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics (MDA) of the game were determined by an experts’ panel, and a mobile app is designed as a learning tool. In the following step, the designed game was carried out by the distributors and the game prizes are awarded to the winners. Finally, the effects of the gamified e-learning are evaluated using the IMI questionnaire and analyzing the players’ points. Findings show that enjoyment, perceived competence, effort importance, pressure tension, perceived choice, and usefulness of this course are significantly higher than average. Besides, the average of points gets higher during repetition rounds while the dispersion of the points gets lower. As a result, it seems that gamification could be a valuable alternative to learning operational tricks for marketing staff, especially distributors.

Captology in game-based education: a theoretical framework for the design of persuasive games

ABSTRACT Research relevant to Captology in education is in its infancy. Despite its relative newness, a dearth of literature exists on the subject that addresses the design of a persuasive game for educational purposes. Up to this point, the literature does not include any instructional design theories or theoretical frameworks that can be used specifically to design a persuasive game for educational use. This paper provides a theory-driven framework to guide instructional and game designers through the process of persuasive game design in education. The framework was developed based on multiple theories in learning, motivation, psychology, communication, as well as in other related disciplines. The framework covers the attitude-to-behavior process in designing persuasive games comprehensively: starting with strategies of designing a persuasive message and moving to principles of sending the message, which is followed by addressing the player’s motivation, ability, cognition, and metacognition when receiving the message, and ending with the conditions that surround the player’s behavior change due to the attitude. Research-based suggestions for the design of persuasive games for educational purposes are provided.

Effects of a Personalized Fitness Recommender System Using Gamification and Continuous Player Modeling: System Design and Long-Term Validation Study.

BackgroundGamification and persuasive games are effective tools to motivate behavior change, particularly to promote daily physical activities. On the one hand, studies have suggested that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work well for persuasive game design. On the other hand, player modeling and recommender systems are increasingly used for personalizing content. However, there are few existing studies on how to build comprehensive player models for personalizing gamified systems, recommending daily physical activities, or the long-term effectiveness of such gamified exercise-promoting systems.ObjectiveThis paper aims to introduce a gamified, 24/7 fitness assistant system that provides personalized recommendations and generates gamified content targeted at individual users to bridge the aforementioned gaps. This research aims to investigate how to design gamified physical activity interventions to achieve long-term engagement.MethodsWe proposed a comprehensive model for gamified fitness recommender systems that uses detailed and dynamic player modeling and wearable-based tracking to provide personalized game features and activity recommendations. Data were collected from 40 participants (23 men and 17 women) who participated in a long-term investigation on the effectiveness of our recommender system that gradually establishes and updates an individual player model (for each unique user) over a period of 60 days.ResultsOur results showed the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed system, particularly for generating personalized exercise recommendations using player modeling. There was a statistically significant difference among the 3 groups (full, personalized, and gamified) for overall motivation (F3,36=22.49; P<.001), satisfaction (F3,36=22.12; P<.001), and preference (F3,36=15.0; P<.001), suggesting that both gamification and personalization have positive effects on the levels of motivation, satisfaction, and preference. Furthermore, qualitative results revealed that a customized storyline was the most requested feature, followed by a multiplayer mode, more quality recommendations, a feature for setting and tracking fitness goals, and more location-based features.ConclusionsOn the basis of these results and drawing from the gamer modeling literature, we conclude that personalizing recommendations using player modeling and gamification can improve participants’ engagement and motivation toward fitness activities over time.

The Design and Application of Game Rewards in Youth Addiction Care

Different types of rewards are applied in persuasive games to encourage play persistence of its users and facilitate the achievement of desired real-world goals, such as behavioral change. Persuasive games have successfully been applied in mental healthcare and may hold potential for different types of patients. However, we question to what extent game-based rewards are suitable in a persuasive game design for a substance dependence therapy context, as people with substance-related disorders show decreased sensitivity to natural rewards, which may result in different responses to commonly applied game rewards compared to people without substance use disorders. In a within-subject experiment with 20 substance dependent and 25 non-dependent participants, we examined whether play persistence and reward evaluation differed between the two groups. Results showed that in contrast to our expectations, substance dependent participants were more motivated by the types of rewards compared to non-substance dependent participants. Participants evaluated monetary rewards more positively than playing for virtual points or social rewards. We conclude this paper with design implications of game-based rewards in persuasive games for mental healthcare.

A cookbook method for Persuasive Game Design

Despite the growing interest in persuasive game design, there have been few methods which cover the complete process of game design that designers could draw upon in their practice. In this paper, the Persuasive Game Design method(PGD) is presented as a non-directive approach for designing persuasive games including a practical hand-out. To better fit with the practical constraints encountered in game design, this method adopts a “cookbook” approach. A set of essential PGD components and tools are provided from which game designers can choose from, given their specific context and resources. Designers first consider the game design steps(“dishes”) to use in creating their game and in each step, select which components(“ingredients”) to take into account and tools(“utensils”) to use. The proposed method, based on our experience as persuasive game researchers and design practitioners, is further refined using feedback from professional game designers. The paper concludes with a case study illustrating how to put the meal into practice. Overall, the method provides a useful contribution to the existing research domain by combining knowledge from game theory, game design and design methodology to create a structured yet flexible approach which covers the complete persuasive game design process for researchers, students and practitioners.

Selecting Persuasive Strategies and Game Design Elements for Encouraging Energy Saving Behavior

Design for sustainable behavior has become more important for product or service design considering environmental sustainability in the use stage. The goal of this work is to specifically help design for encouraging energy-saving behavior in selecting effective persuasive design strategies and game design elements by considering users’ differences. The work begins with screening commonly employed persuasive strategies based on literature and the analysis of existing cases in design for energy-saving behavior. Secondly, a questionnaire survey is conducted to investigate the possible demographic differences on the persuasiveness of the selected persuasive strategies. Thirdly, the selected persuasive strategies are mapped to twenty-nine useful game design elements via an affinity diagram method. The results could help designers choose effective persuasive strategies and game design elements for different user groups. At the end, an illustrative example is presented to show the application potential in design for energy-saving behavior.

Warm-Up Your Audience Before Dancing With Them

Audiences of dance performances often want to participate, but when given the possibility to do so may feel restrained. Persuasive Game Design methods were used to enhance audience participation by providing the audience with a gamified warm-up. The warm-up was designed to resolve the inhibiting factors for audience participation (e.g., social inhibition, cognitive, and physical preparedness) by using game elements imitation, fantasy, and social team building. In a between-subjects design ( N = 96), the effect of a gamified warm-up preceding a dance performance on audience participation during the dance performance was tested, focusing on the observed participation rate, intensity, and willingness, as well as on the audience experience of participation. Analyses showed a significant increase in participation rate, in participation intensity, and in reported liking of the participation. It is concluded that persuasive game design can be applied effectively to increase audience participation. Future research on the generalizability of the findings to other domains and on the isolated motivational effects of warm-up components is discussed.

Validation of Serious Games

The application of games for behavioral change has seen a surge in popularity but evidence on the efficacy of these games is contradictory. Anecdotal findings seem to confirm their motivational value whereas most quantitative findings from randomized controlled trials (RCT) are negative or difficult to interpret. One cause for the contradictory evidence could be that the standard RCT validation methods are not sensitive to serious games’ effects. To be able to adapt validation methods to the properties of serious games we need a framework that can connect properties of serious game design to the factors that influence the quality of quantitative research outcomes. The Persuasive Game Design model [1] is particularly suitable for this aim as it encompasses the full circle from game design to behavioral change effects on the user. We therefore use this model to connect game design features, such as the gamification method and the intended transfer effect, to factors that determine the conclusion validity of an RCT. In this paper we will apply this model to develop guidelines for setting up validation methods for serious games. This way, we offer game designers and researchers handles on how to develop tailor-made validation methods.

게임의 긍정적 역할과 인식변화를 위한 기능성 게임의 개발에 관한 연구

ABSTRACT Serious games have many potentials to facilitate positive social change on communities and individuals. However, there have been few researches to study this issue in Korea. In this paper, therefore, we developed a persuasive game based on persuasive game design principles to provide an ordinary person with experiences of the blind so that they communicate, understand, and harmonize. We did surveys before and after 20 players played the persuasive game. We found that a persuasive game might have positive impacts on social change literacy partially.Keywords : Serious Game, Game Based Learning, Game for Change Received: Jan. 27, 2014 Accepted: Feb. 14, 2014 Corresponding Author: Sung Hyun Cho (Hongik University)E-mail: scho@hongik.ac.krISSN: 1598-4540 / eISSN: 2287-8211Ⓒ The Korea Game Society. All rights reserved. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.otg/licenses/by-nc/3.0), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.