Brox Ellen, Konstantinidis Stathis Th, Evertsen Gunn
Norut Northern Research Institute, Tromsoe, Norway.
School of Health Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
JMIR Serious Games. 2017 Jan 11;5(1):e2. doi: 10.2196/games.6254.
Seniors need sufficient balance and strength to manage in daily life, and sufficient physical activity is required to achieve and maintain these abilities. This can be a challenge, but fun and motivational exergames can be of help. However, most commercial games are not suited for this age group for several reasons. Many usability studies and user-centered design (UCD) protocols have been developed and applied, but to the best of our knowledge none of them are focusing on seniors' use of games for physical activity. In GameUp, a European cofunded project, some prototype Kinect exergames to enhance the mobility of seniors were developed in a user-centered approach.
In this paper we aim to record lessons learned in 3 years of experience with exergames for seniors, considering both the needs of older adults regarding user-centered development of exergames and participation in UCD. We also provide a UCD protocol for exergames tailored to senior needs.
An initial UCD protocol was formed based on literature of previous research outcomes. Senior users participated in UCD following the initial protocol. The users formed a steady group that met every second week for 3 years to play exergames and participate in the UCD during the 4 phases of the protocol. Several methods were applied in the 4 different phases of the UCD protocol; the most important methods were structured and semistructured interviews, observations, and group discussions.
A total of 16 seniors with an average age above 80 years participated for 3 years in UCD in order to develop the GameUp exergames. As a result of the lessons learned by applying the different methodologies of the UCD protocol, we propose an adjusted UCD protocol providing explanations on how it should be applied for seniors as users. Questionnaires should be turned into semistructured and structured interviews while user consultation sessions should be repeated with the same theme to ensure that the UCD methods produce a valid outcome. By first following the initial and gradually the adjusted UCD protocol, the project resulted in exergame functionalities and interface features for seniors.
The main lessons learned during 3 years of experience with exergames for seniors applying UCD are that devoting time to seniors is a key element of success so that trust can be gained, communication can be established, and users' opinions can be recorded. All different game elements should be taken into consideration during the design of exergames for seniors even if they seem obvious. Despite the limitations of this study, one might argue that it provides a best practice guide to the development of serious games for physical activity targeting seniors.
老年人在日常生活中需要足够的平衡能力和力量，而实现并维持这些能力需要进行足够的体育活动。这可能是一项挑战，但有趣且具有激励性的运动游戏可能会有所帮助。然而，由于多种原因，大多数商业游戏并不适合这个年龄段。已经开发并应用了许多可用性研究和以用户为中心的设计（UCD）协议，但据我们所知，它们都没有关注老年人对用于体育活动的游戏的使用情况。在欧洲共同资助的项目GameUp中，以用户为中心的方法开发了一些增强老年人活动能力的Kinect运动游戏原型。
在本文中，我们旨在记录在为老年人开发运动游戏的3年经验中吸取的教训，同时考虑老年人在以用户为中心的运动游戏开发和参与UCD方面的需求。我们还提供了一个针对老年人需求定制的运动游戏UCD协议。
基于先前研究成果的文献形成了初始UCD协议。老年用户按照初始协议参与UCD。用户组成了一个稳定的小组，在3年的时间里每隔一周聚会一次，玩运动游戏并在协议的4个阶段参与UCD。在UCD协议的4个不同阶段应用了多种方法；最重要的方法是结构化和半结构化访谈、观察和小组讨论。
共有16名平均年龄超过80岁的老年人参与了为期3年的UCD，以开发GameUp运动游戏。通过应用UCD协议的不同方法吸取的教训，我们提出了一个调整后的UCD协议，并对如何将其应用于老年用户进行了解释。问卷应转变为半结构化和结构化访谈，同时应以相同主题重复用户咨询会议，以确保UCD方法产生有效的结果。通过首先遵循初始协议，然后逐渐遵循调整后的UCD协议，该项目产生了针对老年人的运动游戏功能和界面特征。
在为老年人应用UCD开发运动游戏的3年经验中吸取的主要教训是，投入时间关注老年人是成功的关键因素，这样才能获得信任并建立沟通，记录用户的意见。在为老年人设计运动游戏时，即使是看似显而易见的所有不同游戏元素也都应予以考虑。尽管本研究存在局限性，但有人可能会认为它为针对老年人的体育活动严肃游戏的开发提供了最佳实践指南。
