Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University, Mount Lawley, Western Australia.
School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia.
Aust N Z J Public Health. 2022 Oct;46(5):682-688. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.13287. Epub 2022 Aug 4.
To explore perceptions of alcohol and other drug (AOD) education and digital game design preferences among Australian adolescents with the goal of identifying key factors to promote engagement in an AOD serious game for Australian secondary school students.
Semi-structured focus groups were conducted with 36 adolescents aged between 13 and 18 years. Qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis.
Participants described heightened engagement with AOD education that incorporated relatable and relevant real-life stories and interactive discussions. They also expressed a desire for learning to focus on practical strategies to reduce AOD harm and overcome social pressure to use AOD. Participants highlighted the importance of incorporating relatable characters and context-relevant scenarios in promoting engagement, and identified social elements, player choice, and optimal challenge as important game design considerations.
A focus on meaningful realistic scenarios, relatable characters, relevant information and practical skills may promote high school aged students' engagement with AOD educational content. Game designs incorporating social elements and decision-making opportunities may be conducive to promoting engagement and enhancing learning.
Findings from this study can be used by researchers and game designers for the development of future AOD serious games targeted at Australian adolescents.
探索澳大利亚青少年对酒精和其他药物（AOD）教育以及数字游戏设计偏好的看法，以期确定促进澳大利亚中学生参与 AOD 严肃游戏的关键因素。
对 36 名年龄在 13 至 18 岁之间的青少年进行了半结构式焦点小组讨论。使用主题分析对定性数据进行了分析。
参与者描述了他们对包含相关和现实生活故事以及互动讨论的 AOD 教育的高度参与。他们还表示希望学习侧重于减少 AOD 危害和克服使用 AOD 的社会压力的实用策略。参与者强调了在促进参与度方面融入相关角色和背景相关场景的重要性，并确定了社会元素、玩家选择和最佳挑战是重要的游戏设计考虑因素。
关注有意义的现实场景、相关角色、相关信息和实用技能可能会促进高中年龄段学生对 AOD 教育内容的参与度。融入社会元素和决策机会的游戏设计可能有助于促进参与度和增强学习效果。
本研究的结果可被研究人员和游戏设计师用于开发针对澳大利亚青少年的未来 AOD 严肃游戏。
