Adolescent perspectives of BCT’s in a serious game: PEGASO case study
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1
University of Nottingham, Faculty of Engineering, United Kingdom
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2
University of Nottingham, School of Medicine, United Kingdom
Background
A two phased iterative and participatory design process explored the utility and acceptance of BCT’s used within a serious game developed to raise awareness of healthy behaviours in teenagers.
The game play is underpinned by the motivational principles of self determination theory, namely autonomy (responsibility for one’s own actions), competence (gaining mastery through achievement), and relatedness (interpersonal connections with others).
The game being developed and tested presents a virtual dystopia where a ‘zombie virus’ is spreading through the human race. The game player needs to use a combination of skills to progress in the game, with those skills supporting the underlying goals of promoting healthy living to the teenage user population. For example, utilising real world activity monitoring to power the game avatar and to achieve specific goals, and through using their personal awareness of healthy and unhealthy diets game players can contribute to the social goal within the game of working towards a ‘cure’ for the ‘zombie virus’.
Aims
To understand perspectives of the operationalisation of BCT’s within game play and the acceptance, preference and usability of the BCT mechanisms within a prototype game by teenagers in England.
Method
The study is broken down into two phases of work. This is to enable the research team to build on the information elicited in Phase 1 and utilise those results to inform Phase 2 and subsequent game design. This method was chosen to ensure that the target users (teenagers) could review and evaluate the game at different points in the development process and provide opportunity for their perspectives to be integrated into the serious game
Phase 1 – Sixteen teenagers aged 13-16 were recruited for a day long workshop. A structured evaluation of a non-working prototype of the game was presented to the sample population. The prototype game was reviewed by the group as a whole, in a focus group discussion. A semi-structured interview plan was used to elicit teenage views about the visual aesthetic, iconography and proposed mechanics of the game. The focus group method also offered flexibility so that teenagers might be able to explore topics themselves if not included in the semi-structured interview. The participants were provided with a PowerPoint presentation demonstrating the proposed game and its mechanics. Each slide presented different screen shots and represented different elements of the game for the teenagers to comment on and evaluate.
Phase 2 – Ten teenagers aged 13-16 were recruited for a week-long trial of the prototype game (version2). Participants were briefed at the start of the week to ensure understanding of the game play. At the end of the week, the participants took part in a focus group to examine their use of the game, their perspectives of play as part of the BCT’s. Evaluation of the mechanics, aesthetics and usability were also included to assess the teenagers’ motivation to use the game for the duration of the trial.
Results
Phase 1 results showed that teenagers were enthused by the concept of a game which could support their understanding and behaviour in relation to healthy living but which would maintain the element of play and fun as the main motivation for game play. It was perceived that there are challenges associated with this, for example the concept of a ‘zombie game’ were sometimes at odds with the goal of healthy living – that perhaps the zombies should be conceptual representations of poor diet, low activity levels and poor health decisions. Teenagers wanted the game to be less ‘gritty and dark’ in its aesthetics, suggesting that this is perceived to be unhealthy or that there should at least be more differentiation between the ‘night’ and ‘day’ game play models. Teenagers understood the concepts underpinning the promotion of healthy eating in relation to contributing to and finding a ‘cure’, however they struggled to see the motivation for this aspect of game play and considered it less interesting than the combating zombies’ element. This aspect of game play was articulated from the group as ‘boring’ and ‘not very interesting’. So whilst teenagers perceive the link to raising awareness of healthy eating, this intervention needs to be reviewed to improve its interest to the target users. Phase 2 begin to explore this aspect of game play further and provides the teenager users with improved game functionality to explore this BCT. However the full results of this part of the study are not yet available.
The low fidelity technique used in Phase 1 had some limitations to game evaluation, whereby teenagers were enthused but found it difficult to conceptualise the idea of real world physical activity feeding into the game play and their personal game profile. They were unsure about the impact of this intervention on their motivation a) to be active in the real world and b) to play the game. This element is still to be tested and will be trialled with teenagers in the near future.
Conclusions
Teenagers are open minded about BCT use in games. They maintain that the BCT’s should enhance their enjoyment of game play and enjoyment and should not detract from the original remit of the game. They find it hard to conceptualise how data from the real world can be utilised in game play but are willing advocates and enthusiastic about novel technology opportunities to augment game play and mechanics. The Pegaso game is still undergoing development and the participatory approach will ensure that teenage motivations are better understood going forward so that the game can appropriately utilise the BCT interventions for maximum benefit and impact on teenage health and lifestyles.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge support of this work through the PEGASO 610727 FP7 project grant. Although the views expressed are entirely their own. The authors wish to extend their thanks to the teenage participants involved in the PEGASO study and the technical partners for their continued efforts in the development process. It is confirmed that significant contributors to this publication are listed as co-authors of the manuscript.
Keywords:
Behaviour change techniques,
Teenagers,
serious game design,
user-centered design,
Health awareness,
User Experience
Conference:
2nd Behaviour Change Conference: Digital Health and Wellbeing, London, United Kingdom, 24 Feb - 25 Feb, 2016.
Presentation Type:
Poster presentation
Topic:
Academic
Citation:
Lang
AR,
Condon
LA,
Atkinson
S,
Coulson
N and
Cobb
S
(2016). Adolescent perspectives of BCT’s in a serious game: PEGASO case study.
Front. Public Health.
Conference Abstract:
2nd Behaviour Change Conference: Digital Health and Wellbeing.
doi: 10.3389/conf.FPUBH.2016.01.00055
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Received:
27 Jan 2016;
Published Online:
09 Jan 2016.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Alexandra R Lang, University of Nottingham, Faculty of Engineering, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom, alexandra.lang@nottingham.ac.uk