No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Being (Grand) Players: Review of Digital Games and their Potential to Enhance Intergenerational Interactions (in press)
Abstract
Recently, there has been growing interest in the way in which digital games can affect intergenerational interactions. Although the existing body of knowledge on intergenerational digital games is quite extensive, a systematic understanding of how digital games can enhance intergenerational interactions is still lacking. This paper reports on the state-of-the-art of current digital games and their utility in enhancing intergenerational interaction. Thirty-six papers published between 2006 and 2014 in English-language publications met inclusion criteria. The review presents sets of recommendations for designing game-mediated environments to enhance intergenerational interaction.
... Given the current state of the knowledge economy and the digital age, leveraging technology to facilitate such collaboration is becoming increasingly crucial for organizations, including startups [1,12,21,22]. For example, video calls can be used to hold meetings, real-time collaborative ideation using digital whiteboards [3,12,22], and physical objects and digital spaces can be mixed to accommodate people with different technology backgrounds [8,12] On the one hand, research on IKS emphasizes the importance of identifying barriers to digital media use for both generations, such as technology selection, complexity, and user background [18,22]. On the other hand, various strategies to facilitate digital knowledge sharing between generations, such as different forms of gamification and competency-based learning, have been vigorously promoted to provide meaningful positive experiences [1,3,14]. ...
... For example, video calls can be used to hold meetings, real-time collaborative ideation using digital whiteboards [3,12,22], and physical objects and digital spaces can be mixed to accommodate people with different technology backgrounds [8,12] On the one hand, research on IKS emphasizes the importance of identifying barriers to digital media use for both generations, such as technology selection, complexity, and user background [18,22]. On the other hand, various strategies to facilitate digital knowledge sharing between generations, such as different forms of gamification and competency-based learning, have been vigorously promoted to provide meaningful positive experiences [1,3,14]. However, there is limited research on the phenomenon of digital platforms for IKS in the context of startup innovation [18,21]. ...
... However, there is limited research on the phenomenon of digital platforms for IKS in the context of startup innovation [18,21]. Existing IKS systems that could assist practitioners in designing IKS systems focus primarily on older adults and grandchildren [3,14,22] and do not consider the principle of meaningful experiences (and gamification) for diverse generations of adults or the principles of IKS about startup innovation in the digital space [18,21]. As a result, there is a scarcity of consolidated normative theories on building an IKS system for learning startup development. ...
Up to four generations are potentially involved in education and workspaces. This means that people of different generations can increasingly learn together and share knowledge virtually in the digital age. Nevertheless, the principles for designing systems to support intergenerational knowledge sharing (IKS) are inconclusive. Our results demonstrate the value of applying design science research methodology to capture design principles for IKS systems. We articulate what design goals should be considered and bring more conceptual clarity to this phenomenon by presenting five design principles: a) positive personalization, b) progressive design ecosystem, c) effectual system design, d) iterative goal reflection, e) coopetitive intergenerational tasks. By reflecting on the design process and formalizing a class of design principles, we contribute to design-oriented IKS systems in the digital age.
... Costa et al. [24] performed a review to identify studies that focused on games to enhance intergenerational interactions. Their findings suggested that games can foster intergenerational interactions by contributing to individual well-being, prosocial behaviours, and the sharing of knowledge, thus enhancing social interaction. ...
... Several of the studies focus on games to foster interaction ( Table 2). As noted by Costa et al. [24] and Zhang et al. [25], this is likely because games bridge the generation gap as they are accessible to both groups, support equal participation, and are an engaging and enjoyable way to interact. A game-based approach is an effective and fun way of creating positive attitudes and connectivity as it allows both age groups to see each other as a peer, playmate, and team member. ...
... A game-based approach is an effective and fun way of creating positive attitudes and connectivity as it allows both age groups to see each other as a peer, playmate, and team member. New games are often the focus of research because of the lack of appropriate existing games [24,109,29,67,45,49]. Pedell et al. [82] state that games are preferred when designing for younger age groups is it avoids the need for the younger gamer to read or write as well as the fun aspect of games facilitates more meaningful interaction. ...
Background
The growing capabilities of technology are enabling increased support for communication and meaningful interactions that span distance, cultures, and generations. Interactions between youth (people younger than 19 years old) and older adults (people over 50 years old) have been shown to provide many benefits for both populations. Technology has a significant potential role to play in supporting intergenerational connectivity, however, little research has been done to specifically explore what role technology might have. This scoping review examines the literature to establish what technologies have been created or used to foster intergenerational interactions to infer overarching themes and propose directions for future research.
Methods
A structured search was conducted through MEDLINE (PubMed), IEEE, CINAHL (EBSCOhost), ACM, and Scopus databases. Identified articles were screened first by title, then by abstract, and finally by full paper screening. Inclusion criteria were: written in English, contained both youth below 21 and adults over 50 years of age, peer-reviewed primary research (e.g. journal and conference publications) or published theses/dissertations, and presented design or use of a technology with the specific intention of fostering intergenerational connectivity. An inductive analysis was performed to identify emergent concepts related to the reviewed literature.
Results
A total of 36, 707 articles were identified; 77 were included in the review after the screening process. Five emergent concepts were identified: 1) Technology for intergenerational connectivity is an emerging field, 2) Interventions are primarily games-focused, 3) Research has been discipline-centric, 4) Lack of consistent vocabulary, and 5) Lack of consistent methodologies.
Conclusions
This review is the first of its kind to scope the body of research related to technology fostering intergenerational connectivity. The breadth of methods reflects the new and multidisciplinary nature of this field and underscores the importance of creating shared approaches and vocabulary to increase knowledge sharing. This, in turn, could support more rapid and targeted progress in this field.
... Some work at the intersection of games, play and technology has shown an alternative [24]. Khoo et al. [25] created Age Invaders, a family-focused, multi-generation, inclusive, age-customized mixed reality game for social interaction and physical action. ...
... The word frequency analysis of 87 comments from the post-play questionnaires resulted in four clusters: social focus (36), comprised of references to partner (24), the other person (6), and myself (6); learning (35), comprised of problems with understanding (24) or the instructions (5), lack of guidance (3), or desire for more training (2); hardware (9), comprised of sensor (5) and detection (4) problems; and challenge (24), comprised of difficulty (19) and hard (5). For the interfaces, 15 preferred the foot, 11 preferred the finger, and 8 liked both equally, with the rest not holding a strong opinion any way. ...
... The word frequency analysis of 87 comments from the post-play questionnaires resulted in four clusters: social focus (36), comprised of references to partner (24), the other person (6), and myself (6); learning (35), comprised of problems with understanding (24) or the instructions (5), lack of guidance (3), or desire for more training (2); hardware (9), comprised of sensor (5) and detection (4) problems; and challenge (24), comprised of difficulty (19) and hard (5). For the interfaces, 15 preferred the foot, 11 preferred the finger, and 8 liked both equally, with the rest not holding a strong opinion any way. ...
Japan is a super-aging society, one marked by a steadily silvering population and shrinking birthrates. Social effects range from a decline in intergenerational homes to new tensions between the generations as elders delay retirement or return to work. Towards improving relations between the generations, two versions of an inclusive, intergenerational game employing “shared action,” or time-movement synchrony, were developed: a finger-based version inspired by medical exercise technology from gerontology and a smart shoe-based version as a familiar form factor. A series of three exploratory studies were conducted with young Japanese adults and elders. Findings suggest that the foot version was most suitable overall and reveal initial, complex effects of age and gender on empathy measures that can inform affective computing initiatives within and beyond the cultural milieu of modern Japan.
... Literature reviews [7,8] explored the possibilities of intergenerational digital gaming in a broad sense, and examined various characteristics of intergenerational digital games. They did not, however, analyze in detail the process of designing intergenerational digital games. ...
... Intergenerational play can serve different purposes, such as fun (leisure), seriousness (learning) or serious fun (see [7,18]). According to Davis et al. [1] intergenerational play could be instrumental in enhancing intergenerational contact, which could be mutually beneficial to grandparents and grandchildren. ...
... So, intergenerational contact has the potential to reduce the prevalence of ageism, and significantly improve the mental and physical health of younger and older persons. Costa and Veloso [7] and Zhang and Kaufman [8] have pointed out the potential benefits at the cognitive level (e.g. the exchange of information, knowledge and skills [2], attitudinal level (e.g. reducing ageist ideas, e.g. ...
In our ageing society, health and social problems of older people are on the rise. A possible way to deal with these issues is to ensure older people remain actively engaged in society by stimulating social interaction with other generations, such as (grand) children. Playing intergenerational digital games could be a way to achieve this kind of social interaction. The present state-of-the-art literature review aims to provide insight into the factors to take into consideration for setting up and conducting the co-design (involving younger and older adults interacting both with one another and with game designers) for an intergenerational digital game. Finally, this paper offers recommendations for the co-design of such games.
... Additionally to the health benefits, Costa and Veloso (2016) highlight that digital games can actively promote "communication, solidarity, and social connectedness between generations" (Costa & Veloso, 2016). Indeed, games may enable social connection among players beyond their relevancy towards health. ...
... Additionally to the health benefits, Costa and Veloso (2016) highlight that digital games can actively promote "communication, solidarity, and social connectedness between generations" (Costa & Veloso, 2016). Indeed, games may enable social connection among players beyond their relevancy towards health. ...
The growing ageing population, combined with the increasing use of information and communication technologies, i.e. online communities, by older adults, has heightened the need to study the challenges and solutions in presenting empathic products that meet the users’ needs, customized to their context. Online news present growing challenges due to new interaction paradigms and games have already demonstrated to be very effective in capturing user’s attention, as well as the adoption of game elements and techniques to non-game contexts - i.e. gamification.
This Development Research reports, firstly, the motivations and the context of use in digital platforms by adult learners from the Universities of the Third Age (UTAs), supporting the design and development of a gamification strategy in the context of an online community entitled miOne. To meet this challenge, a literature review centered on the keywords 'Older Adults', 'Gamification', 'Motivation and Engagement' and 'Digital Media' was performed, as well as a questionnaire survey that was administered to 248 people aged 50 and over from 16 different countries. Secondly, a digital artifact was developed, applying gamification to online news, within the miOne online community. This artifact was validated with 6 national newspaper players to understand the challenges posed to the journalistic sector and assess the product’s relevancy to the market. Finally, the proposed solution was tested with 11 participants from Universities of the Third Age.
The results suggest that the developed mechanics and gamification elements can engage older adults with online news on digital platforms. Additionally, these can guide the integration of a gamification strategy in the previously mentioned context. These interconnected elements are: (i) a leaderboard with the most weekly news’ interactions; (ii) levels with different missions and rewards (external and internal to the platform); and (iii) a community-endorsed award system to recognize and validate user-generated content towards news.
... Moreover, digital games can even encourage social interaction and dialogue between older and younger generations (Derboven et al., 2012). As benefits, games are also suggested to foster intergenerational interactions by contributing to individual wellbeing, prosocial behaviours, and sharing of knowledge; providing a communal activity and balancing both users' challenges and their skills (Costa & Veloso, 2016). ...
... According to Gerling and his colleagues (2012), senior citizens' engagement with digital games has a positive impact on their emotional and physical wellbeing. As such, designing games as assistive environments should be customizable (adaptive); and maintain (assist), increase or improve (rehabilitate) the individuals' capabilities (Veloso & Costa, 2016). ...
As the aging population continues to grow, there has been an increasing interest in the subject of gerontechnology. In the specific case of the digital game industry, senior citizens are becoming better consumers due to their purchasing power and free time, so it is important to focus on the role of games to their wellbeing and meet their needs and preferences. However, there is a general lack of information and products that address physical exercise in the interrelationship of cycling, tourism, games, gamification and senior citizens. The aim of this research is to understand the way gamification interventions can motivate senior citizens to adhere to cyclo-tourism. This dissertation reports on the use of the Development Research Method, deploying a broad array of methods, including focus groups, eye-tracking and interviews. A total of 46 participants (7 focus group participants, 8 participants in eye-tracking and 31 cyclists’ interviewees) were involved in this research. Based on the literature review, related work and the insights from each method, a cyclo-tourism digital app entitled Jizo was co-designed and prototyped. Findings indicate that certain gamification techniques and elements can trigger senior citizens’ motivations towards cyclo-tourism, being essential integrative parts of a digital app in this context. The elements highlighted were social relationships, progression, challenges, competition, feedback and rewards, having an important role in pre-, in loco and post- experience. These data support the view on gamification capability to motivate senior cyclo-tourism.
... And this practice can have a number of benefits. For many academics and practitioners alike, gaming can facilitate social interactions between younger and older generations (Costa & Veloso, 2016;, which is important. As outline, the co-playing of video games can strengthen familial connections, reinforce shared bonds, allow adolescents to experiment with different roles and initiate conversations between different age groups that would not have otherwise happened. ...
... Indeed, children in the Western world regularly experience digital media, such as video games and the Internet, on a daily basis . For Costa and Veloso (2016), '[the] last 2 decades have … seen a growing trend toward the inclusion of emerging technologies in domestic spaces' (p. 43; see also Bunz, 2012;De Schutter, Brown, & Vanden Abeele, 2015). ...
Pokémon Go is a hugely popular hybrid reality game (HRG) that allows players to occupy a space that is both physical and digital. Since its release in late 2016, it has been downloaded over 750 million times to date, and it is still played by over 5 million players on a daily basis. This paper reports on two original research projects. The first was conducted between May 2017 and July 2017 and received 375 responses from general Pokémon Go players. The second was conducted between January 2019 and February 2019 and received 159 responses from parents who play Pokémon Go with their children. In the context of our second study, a number of these respondents did not begin playing Pokémon Go because they were interested in it themselves, but rather because of their children’s desire to play this game. Accordingly, for these parents, Pokémon Go facilitated a form of joint media engagement (JME) that enabled them to extend and develop their familial relationships Markedly, our research also found that the game mechanics of this HRG implicitly challenged family hierarchies, as parents were often required to continue playing Pokémon Go at times when their children were unable to join them. In these instances, children effectively outsourced their digital labour to parents who were willing to work in return for extended periods of sociability. This short talk will contextualise these issues through the findings from the first study, which focused on the social, spatial and physical effect of Pokémon Go on players.
... In recent research on intergenerational family entertainment, [8] various strategies for designing technology for the family suggest various techniques that have led to positive social experiences. There have been recent examples of mobile social games attempting to elevate the social experiences through the gameplay [18,19] and play experiences focused on the physical environment and co-players enabled through innovative uses of the sensors and actuators available in smartphones and other mobile devices [32]. ...
... Age Invaders [12], Save Amaze Princess [29], Xtreme Gardener [37]). Resent research suggest guidelines for designing digital games for intergenerational families [8] which includes: prioritizing physical and mixed-reality games, having a player-centered approach and enabling passive/watching play. Interestingly, physical and mixed reality location based games, even if they have not been developed specifically with families in mind, such as Pokémon Go gained recently significant popularity among children and parents alike [39,45]. ...
Smartphones support gaming, social networking, real-time communication, and individualized experiences. Children and parents often take part in digital experiences with distant friends while isolating themselves from co-present family members. We present MeteorQuest, which is a mobile social game system aimed to bring the family together for location-specific game experiences through physical play. The system supports group navigation by mapping screen brightness to the proximity to various in-game targets. Mini-game stages were designed together with interaction designers to encourage physical and social interaction between the players through group puzzles, physical challenges of dexterity and proxemics play. We conducted an exploratory study with three families to gain insights into how families respond to mobile social game features. We studied their socio-spatial arrangements during play and navigation using the lens of proxemics play and provide implications for the design of proxemic interactions and play experiences with families.
... Although research in this domain of game studies has explored younger generations, such as men in their twenties playing first-person shooter games, no study has been identified that examines the effects of flow/immersion by nongamers from Gen X. Additional research pertaining to game and population studies, with an eye to older adult's digital game players, has included: cognition and perception-related responses [27], motivation, usability and playability of digital games [28], intergenerational and collocated gaming, [29][30][31][32][33] game genre preferences, and game design and aesthetics [34][35][36]. While all of these studies have contributed to numerous academic fields (e.g., game studies, HCI, gerontology, gerontechnology, and health sciences) there is a considerable dearth of studies that probe the gaming characteristics of the Generation X age cohort. ...
... [For examples, see [30][31][32][33]68] ...
Despite there being increased attention in recent years to older adults who actively play digital games, it seems that there has been comparatively minimal scholarly focus on the next generation of older adult gamers – Generation X gamers. Although there have been few, current audience studies that examine this population within a gaming context, a temporal perspective reveals another story. Older members of this generation were the first age cohort to be exposed to and engage in video gameplay at an early age (i.e., childhood). With the emerging popularity of video games in the 1980s, this did not escape the attention of scholars. This study provides an overview of those early studies that assessed video game use and its potential (for better or worse) among the older members Gen X. The study themes identified include: health, education, and behavior. In addition, the first studies that identified gaming characteristics of this generation in their formative years emerged in the latter half of that decade. By identifying themes in these early studies, scholars have the potential to track an entire generation’s gaming history and characteristics from childhood to present day. Ultimately, this may glean richer insight into those qualities when they become the next older generation of digital game players.
... Previous studies have explored the nature of kin and non-kin intergenerational digital gameplay, the roles each age cohort plays, and the physical, cognitive and social impacts of intergenerational play on different age groups. Design ideas and processes have been discussed for designing digital games for intergenerational learning and interaction with a primary focus on how the age differences (e.g., old adults' physical and cognitive declines), expertise of each group (e.g., young people as technology experts) and any motivational factors (e.g., the value of social interaction with family members for old adults) could be used to engage the two age groups and maintain their interests [3][4][5][6]. In addition, new digital games have been developed for strengthening intergenerational relationships and learning between old adults and their younger family members, such as Collage [7], TranseCare [8], Age Invaders [9], e-Treasure [10], and Curball [11]. ...
... The bestselling digital game types in 2016 are shooter (27.5%), action (20.5%), role-playing (12.9%), sports (11.7%), adventure (7.8%), fighting (5.8%), strategy (4.3%), and racing (3.3%). The reasons why parents play digital games with their children include: (1) fun, (2) a good opportunity to socialize with their children, (3) monitoring what their children are playing, and (4) enjoying playing digital games as much as their children. Zhang and Kaufman [6] identified five features of intergenerational play: (1) it is the enjoyment of interaction with family members that motivates old adults to play digital games; (2) the interaction among grandparents and grandchildren during intergenerational play is not symmetric and reciprocated; (3) young people usually take on the role of technology tutors or teachers during intergenerational play; (4) the modes of communication may change as the two generations spend more time together; and (5) parents and older children could play an important role in facilitating intergenerational play. ...
... We hypothesise that, one, it could be attributed to children usually being apt with technology, even at a younger age, and grandparents either expecting their superior digital skills, or wanting to empower and nurture them by allowing them to be the "expert". Grandparents often assume mentor roles [49], but within this digital form of distributed play they could assume the role of the less knowledgeable party, allowing grandchildren to become the teacher [1,17,97]. This manifested in grandparents encouraging grandchildren to take the leading role by asking them questions about how to complete specific steps. ...
Playing together is crucial to the unique and invaluable bond between grandparents and grandchildren. However, co-located interactions and play can be limited due to time, distance, or pandemic-related restrictions. To facilitate distributed play, we developed MagiBricks, a system comprised of 3D-printed smart toy bricks and baseplates that provide feedback regarding their placement. The familiarity and appeal of toy bricks to both older adults and children make them ideal for intergenerational play. We conducted a within-subjects study with six grandparent-grandchildren pairs. We compared the interactions and perceived connectedness of the pairs while playing over a distance with either i) MagiBricks or ii) identical regular toy bricks. We found that MagiBricks affected communication dynamics, role taking, nature of play, and perception of connectedness during playtime compared to regular bricks, and were unanimously preferred. We contribute design implications for future systems leveraging (smart) tangibles and fostering intergenerational connectedness.
... As digital devices have become a core part of everyday life (Bogost, 2007;Sarachan, 2012), intergenerational games get increased attention in HCI. For example, Costa and Veloso (2016) pointed to the potential of digital games to strengthen intergenerational interactions, such as bridging intergenerational gaps, fostering a sense of togetherness, and stimulating intergenerational awareness. ...
As the population ages rapidly, there is a strong focus on the healthy aging of older adults. A central part of healthy aging is keeping people connected in later social life. Exergames are recommended as one of the coping strategies to help improve health and quality of life in older adults. In our study, we developed an exergame called Social Balance Ball to engage older and younger people to play together, encouraging social interaction between generations. From May to July 2021, we evaluated this exergame in Shanghai, China, performing a user experiment with 18 unfamiliar young-old pairs under three test conditions (virtual player, mediated human player, and co-located human player). To evaluate the exergame, our main findings demonstrated that participants felt significantly perceived social interaction in mediated play and co-located play than in virtual play. Overall, older participants perceived significantly higher social interaction than younger participants. In this study, we contribute (1) empirical research findings on how the Social Balance Ball exergame enhances social interaction in generations; (2) design implications for informing future design and development of social exergames.
... On the one hand, the attention economy has made technoference a ubiquitous phenomenon of our time subsequently spurring academic interest in the behavior (McDaniel, 2015). On the other hand, more inclusive technologies specifically designed for co-use have also proliferated (Costa & Veloso, 2016) meaning that members of different generations, siblings of varying ages and genders, and partners who otherwise share little common activities can find mutually interesting activities by co-using ICT (Coyne et al., 2016;Gomillion et al., 2017;. ...
Information and communication technology (ICT) facilitates communication within families but may also displace face-to-face communication and intimacy. The aims of this systematic review were to investigate what positive and negative relationship outcomes are associated with ICT use in families, and whether and how the outcomes differ depending on relationship type (romantic relationship, parent–child relationship, or sibling). Included in the review were research published in English between 2009 and 2019 studying the effects of ICT on family relationships with quantitative data. 70 peer-reviewed articles (73 studies) were retrieved and categorized based on four types of ICT variables: personal use, personal use in the presence of a family member (technoference), communication between family members, and co-use with family members. Personal use and technoference were mostly related to negative outcomes due to, for example, displaced attention and more frequent conflicts. Romantic partners were especially strongly negatively affected displaying stressors unique to romantic relationships, such as infidelity. By contrast, communication and co-use showed mostly positive effects across all relationship types. In particular, “rich” communication media resembling face-to-face interaction were strongly associated with positive outcomes. We conclude that ICT impacts family relations in different ways, depending on both the type of relationship and type of ICT use. Personal ICT use tends to weaken both parenting and romantic relationships in ways that can partly be mitigated by co-use and communication. Directions for future research include, assessing how often ICT is used in relationship-strengthening versus relationship-interfering ways, investigating causal pathways between ICT use and relationship quality, and focusing on understudied relationship types, such as siblings and grandparents.
... health, sense of security, sociability and participation in society. It is thus necessary to promote digital inclusion (Almeida- Ferreira et al., 2017) and enhance intergenerational interactions (Costa & Veloso, 2016b) through carefully designed interfaces, which enable equal and fair access to digitally available content (Costa & Veloso, 2016c). miOne 1 (cf. ...
... However, more recent research reports diverse findings and shows that digital games can positively affect family relationships by 1) reinforcing family bonds, 2) enhancing reciprocal learning, 3) increasing understanding of the other generation, and 4) reducing social anxiety [22,24,71]. For example, research has indicated that modern digital games can assist in improving inter-generational perceptions [19] and promote positive interaction outcomes [56]. ...
The role of digital gaming on parenthood and parent-child relationships is a common research interest in HCI and CHI PLAY. Yet, how technology co-use, such as co-playing digital games, affords and impacts parent-child relationships is still understudied. Using 20 in-depth interviews of adults who had co-played modern digital games with their parents and/or children, in this paper we investigate parent-child relationships mediated by co-playing modern digital games. We update prior HCI and CHI PLAY research on game-mediated parent-child relationships by suggesting a "democratized" family life and a fading digital divide for families with favorable digital game co-play experiences. We also contribute to HCI and CHI PLAY by providing new perspectives of technology co-use in the context of gaming, such as an important relational tool that parents can use to promote conversations with their child(ren). These insights can further inform the design of future play to better support parent-child interactions during digital game co-play.
... The term 'ageism' has emerged to refer to both the negative attitudes towards older people, and the negative attitudes that older people hold towards young people. Studies [1,2,3,4,5] show that video games can be a cohesion tool that enhances socialization between young and old. In fact, digital games can be individually beneficial for both generations. ...
In this article, we first review the work carried out in the field of intergenerational digital games experiences as well as in the identification of the design factors involved. They are valued according to their applicability to put a common point to generate Intergenerational playful experiences based on digital games for interactive spaces. Starting from that point, “The Fantastic Journey”, a game created to be played in an interactive space where tangible interaction on tabletops, physical interaction with real objects as well as body and gesture interaction is supported, is valued as a possible intergenerational digital game experience. Two play sessions and a workshop carried out with grandparents and their grandchildren have allowed us to elaborate the findings in the literature about the potential and the factors around intergenerational play and have served to legitimize The Fantastic Journey as a true intergenerational digital game experience.
... With the advancement of technology, intergenerational programs that incorporated digital devices to connect younger and older generations seemed to help improve intergroup perceptions and anxiety (Chua et al., 2013). An increasing number of studies have shown that videogames or computer games can be an effective medium to improve intergenerational perceptions when participants of various age groups play together (Costa & Veloso, 2016;Osmanovic & Pecchioni, 2016;Wang et al., 2018;Zhang et al., 2017). ...
Objective: The aim of this study examined young adult tutors’ experience in a
nonfamilial intergenerational program with older adults with diabetes. Intergenerational
Mobile Technology Opportunities Program (IMTOP) is an 8-week intervention designed
to help older adult participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus learn how to monitor their
diabetes symptoms using a mobile app, while allowing college students to interact with
older adults by providing technical support. Methods: Using qualitative purposive
sampling, 146 college students participated as technology support tutors in the IMTOP
program. Results: College tutors improved their understanding of the aging process
and older adults. They developed a newfound appreciation toward the older
generation. With improved empathy for aging populations, their stigmatization of older
adults decreased. Furthermore, positive interfamilial interactions between young and
older participants extended to intrafamilial interactions in college tutors’ families.
College tutors expressed a desire for career development in the aging industry after
graduation. Conclusion: This program improved not only ageist stereotypes but also
kinship and nonkinship intergenerational relationships among young adults. It helped
young adults develop career interests in aging-related industries. Furthermore, a more
structured student-older adult IT curriculum is needed for future intergenerational
programs to better understand the impact on two generations.
... Playing can present benefts for older adults such as improving a sense of well-being [49] or having positive efects on health, such as games for post-stroke limb motor rehabilitation [62]. Playing among grandparents and grandchildren might also positively infuence their social communication [12]. ...
... This emphasis on interactivity and fun were brought into the process independent of the researchers, showing how families adapt the presented process to foster engagement across generations. This further shows recognition that this is a pleasant activity to do together, rather than just a duty, similar to previous works connecting grandparents and grandchildren through video games [15]. Though the ways in which they personalized the activities differed, that desire to exchange knowledge, particularly from grandparent to grandchild, and the initiative displayed by families, was consistent. ...
Language and cultural barriers critically threaten the social relationships between grandparents and grandchildren in immigrant families. Cultural exchange activities, like shared storytelling, can foster these crucial connections. However, existing barriers make these seemingly routine interactions challenging for families to navigate. The resulting intergenerational drift places grandparents at high risk of sustained social isolation from their families. Past works have presented technology-mediated supports for grandparent-grandchild social interactions in non-immigrant families and have found that these interventions do foster stronger connections in both physically close and distant multigenerational families. We explore how to support the specific needs of immigrant families through Magic Thing participatory design workshops with grandchildren and grandparents together in order to reveal the social interactions that would support their cultural exchange. We use the Magic Thing to move the standard dialogic grandparent-grandchild relationship into a trialogic one, creating space for comfortable social connection and storytelling through the shared creation of the design. We find that technology-mediated support of intergenerational immigrant cultural exchange must be designed for this trialogic process, consider the role of expressing values as a form of meta-commentary on a story, and shift the perspective on existing "barriers" to consider how they might foster further engagement.
... Overall, many more directions are conceivable, but who is talking to whom at all? Communicators can be of different ages and include (grand)parents and their (grand)children, siblings, friends, and players from online communities. When older people play with younger people, it could also improve intergenerational communication (Costa and Veloso, 2016) and decrease social anxiety in older people (Xu et al., 2016). Moreover, communicators could increase their interpersonal competences, such as providing emotional support, and thereby reduce their stress and loneliness (Segrin, 2019). ...
Physical inactivity and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) signify two pandemics with negative physical, mental, and economic consequences. Younger and older people have not reached the recommended physical activity level for years. Societal restrictions due to COVID-19 additionally reduce opportunities for physical activity, and they increase social isolation. Here, we outline how playing exergames with others (social exergaming) at home could foster physical and mental health and promote communication and discussions on exergaming. Accordingly, we highlight the educational and social benefits of exergaming at home and delineate the concept of Educational and Social Exergaming (EASE). We outline specific benefits and pitfalls of exergaming regarding its physical and nonphysical effects, including educational values of discussing exergaming experiences and related topics. Moreover, we discuss the relevance of practical guidelines for educational and social exergaming at home as well as prospects for future research. Overall, educational and social exergaming could alleviate several detrimental effects of both pandemics on the health and well-being of people of all ages.
... Considering the fact that seniors have a harder time using new input devices, and younger children prefer interacting with tangible items; it would be sensible to take advantage of mixedreality games [54,57]. ...
We live in an aging society, and in the future, we will face an increase in the need for meaningful interactions between young children and seniors. Intergenerational games as a means for providing such interactions will play a major role in upcoming decades, thus having a framework for designers to make such games is crucial. This paper acknowledges that individuals’ preferences play a major role in the type of game they play, but it also discusses convergent factors that help in the creation of such a framework. Having this guide be based on a familiar classification, makes using it easier for game researchers and designers. Therefore, this paper uses genre categorization, which is commonly used by both the industry and the audience. A ranking is assigned to each genre based on how well it satisfies introduced criteria for a successful intergenerational game, in accordance with previous research in this area. Finally, this paper concludes that the best genres for this purpose are action, strategy, and puzzle; it also finds vehicle simulations to be the most inadequate. These findings suggest that using any of these genres or mixing several of them, as the foundation for building a game, results in a more appealing game for a broader range of audience.
... The number of older adults is increasing; it is predicted that older adults will represent 23% to 25% of the total Canadian population by 2036 (1). Intergenerational interaction, specifically the interaction between a grandparent and their grandchild, has mutual as well as individual benefits in both the generations (2). Grandparent-grandchild communication helps in the emotional development of the grandchild, and the grandparents obtain satisfaction and companionship from the interaction (3). ...
... Given the child's reduced need for attention with age, research is needed to examine whether these links between parent ICT use and child behavior problems are observable with older children. It is noteworthy that many school-aged children's parents in our study also mentioned positive effects of technology in the context of family activities; digital devices allowed sharing time and activities such as co-viewing and co-playing (Connell et al. 2015;Costa and Veloso 2016;Subrahmanyam et al. 2001). However, even if relationships between adolescents and parents may benefit from digital technology co-use, it remains an open question for toddlers (Strouse and Ganea 2017) and school-aged children (Yuill and Martin 2016). ...
Mobile devices are widely used throughout parent–child routines and family life. Emerging research suggests several concerns about the effects of their use on children’s socio-emotional development. These concerns have led to a proliferation of prevention messages. The recommendations focus mainly on infants/preschoolers and adolescents, and very little on school-aged children. Despite growing concerns among health and childhood professionals, there are few studies regarding children’s use of digital devices focusing on the developmental period between 6 and 12 years of age. In order to frame guidelines for the use of digital devices in the home, it is important to know parents’ questions and/or difficulties arising from their use. The aim of this study was to question parents of school-aged children (6–12 years) regarding their fears, questions, and concerns relative to digital device use in the home and, more generally, raising children in a digital world. One hundred and forty-seven French parents responded to an anonymous online survey. The questions addressed school-aged children’s digital device use, parental concerns and parental experiences of the place of digital devices in the home. Parent’s reports of their children’s use of digital devices were analyzed as a function of their children’s age, gender, birth order and parent’s sociodemographic characteristics. Results showed that the use of screens by children is a source of concern for 53.1% of parents, while 62.6% of parents consider that the use of information and communication technology in the home affects (positively or negatively) their relationship with their child.
... Our work provides additional support for the importance of an intergenerational approach to game research by tackling the issue from the perspectives of increasing inclusion and diversity, through the processes of co-design (Vanden Abeele and De Schutter 2010;Kaufman et al. 2017;Derboven et al. 2011), situated learning and increasing social interaction by co-playing among different age groups Chua et al. 2013). For review of previous work, see (Costa and Veloso 2016;Zhang and Kaufman 2016b;de la Hera et al. 2017). ...
The aim of this study was to engage older adults in discussions about digital serious games. Using a qualitative exploratory approach, we report observations from more than 100 h of conversations with individuals in the age range 65–90, in a study entitled “Finding better games for older adults” (June 2017–December 2019). Phase 1 (19 older participants, 3 young research students) involved conversations around a quantitative study of cognitive benefits of digital playing (minimum 6 h/person). Phases 2 and 3 involved a focus group in the form of a community class (10 weeks, 2 h per meeting), involving introduction to digital game genres, playing, and discussing motivations and obstacles for current and future play. Cognitive stimulation, emotional distraction and physical therapy were initially stated as the motives for game play. However, with growing familiarity and voluntary exchanges of personal stories between older and younger participants, the cultural significance of the medium of game (especially with story-telling and VR technology) became more important to older adults. More than mechanical inaccessibility, lack of access to the cultural discourse about games presents barriers for older adults. To create a safe, comfortable and accessible space for intergenerational learning and play is of primary importance both for users and designers, should serious games be considered for the future of digital care.
... Coplay has been increasingly addressed in game studies. With this term, the reference goes to experiencing videogames with peers, parents, and family members (Costa & Veloso, 2016), implying that the medium may play a proactive role in domestic and relational wellbeing. Several studies have addressed such a potential in improving communication and social skills across personal backgrounds. ...
... For example, the game's market tends to overlook some proper effects of the ageing process (e.g. reaction time), consequently leading to gaps in the balance between the players' skills and the challenges provided [9][10][11][12][13][14]. ...
Digital games are frequently described as media that can be crucial in strengthening relationships, enhancing cognitive skills and providing social support. Although considerable empirical research on the use of digital games in youth and stereotypes on gender or ethnicity has been widely covered, there have been few studies on age stereotyping in the game context. In addition, this type of stereotype – game-ageism is likely to negatively affect age identity and intergroup communication amongst players, which could hinder to bridge the gap between different generations. Drawn on a literature review, this position paper introduces the concept of game-ageism as an age stereotype that is still set in our game culture. It also seeks to remedy this problem by suggesting an opposite ideological movement – age-gameism that refers to widening the audience of the game industry to all ages. In general, this paper offers a contribution in the field of media and society by highlighting the need for developing games for all ages, encouraging a positive age identity, enhancing intergroup communication and a heterogeneous game culture.
... Intergenerational game creation is scarcely found in the HCI literature. The following recommendations for designing intergenerational digital games were the most cited [4,5]: prioritize physical, mixed-reality games and multimodal interaction; support collaborative storytelling; prioritize peer-to-peer mentoring, collaboration, scaffolding, and learning; enable social interactions, shared context, and meeting places. Pervasive games overcome traditional digital games' drawbacks increasing physical activity and social interaction while maintaining their intrinsic motivation [2]. ...
There is a need to re-design the entertainment systems for the older adults, incorporating the population of this age group into the digital culture. With this aim in mind this work presents an intergenerational experience carried out in an Interactive Space where tangible and gestures interaction are used to participate in pervasive gaming experiences. The experience makes use of a game initially designed just for children but in a very flexible way so that it can be tailored to different players' characteristics. Family groups made up of one or two grandparents and one or two grandchildren have played together The Fantastic Journey fulfilling all the missions either on tangible tabletops, just moving around the space or interacting by gestures. The experience was positively valued by both age groups; they were indeed happy with the opportunity of playing together in a challenging game. Nevertheless, the difficulty of designing engaging experiences for both age groups points to a challenging research area.
... Over the past few years, a considerable amount of literature has been published on the use of games for active ageing and intergenerational relationships [23,24]. Indeed, these studies -e.g. ...
... Literature reviews focusing on other generations or not differentiating between different generations have also been excluded in this position paper; we refer the reader to [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] for more information about this topic. We have also excluded intergener- ational games (see for more information [33][34][35]. ...
Exergames aim at stimulating healthy people or patients needing rehabilitation to do physical exercise to enhance their physical state (e.g., postural balance, muscle power). As older adults generally have more health problems than younger ones, such games could be beneficial to them. Since the introduction of the Wii gaming system by Nintendo in 2006, several literature reviews have been conducted that examine the impact of exergames on older adults’ physical well-being. However, less attention has been paid to the potential impact on their mental and social well-being. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explore what we can learn from previously conducted empirical studies about the impact of exergaming on these kinds of well-being. Although a limited number of literature reviews show that some empirical studies have been conducted around these issues it is not clear that the results are evidence-based. The question remains whether the results can be used by rehabilitation centers and associations for senior citizens to promote exergaming among older adults also for their mental and social well-being. The purpose of this state-of-the-art paper is to present an overview to address this question and to make recommendations about guidelines for the research design of future evidence-based empirical studies.
Abstrak Pengguna game online tidak hanya di kalangan anak-anak, akan tetapi dalam lingkungan keluarga juga menyukai bermain game online. Bermain game online tidak selalu memberikan pengaruh yang negatif, hal ini tergantung pada kultur atau kebiasaan dari suatu wilayah atau negara. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan kesehatan mental dalam pelayanan bimbingan dan konseling dengan kecanduan game online terhadap pendidikan anak di lingkungan keluarga. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan jenis penelitian eksplanatif. Pada penelitian ini dilakukan purposive sampling dengan menggunakan responden pada kelompok pengguna game online laki-laki dewasa yang telah berkeluarga. Data dikumpulkan dengan menggunakan angket yang disebarkan luas secara online kepada responden keluarga di Jawa Timur. Data yang diperoleh dianalisis dengan menggunakan perangkat lunak SPSS. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa bermain game online tidak berkorelasi terhadap kesehatan mental dalam pelayanan bimbingan dan konseling pada pendidikan anak di lingkungan keluarga. Kata Kunci: game online, kesehatan mental, lingkungan keluarga
Due to advances in technology and high speed Internet, many young children now have access to a variety of digital game apps and electronic books. This new technology can provide older adults and children a way to interact with one another through activities that are mutually beneficial. The young children learn through shared play while the older adults can increase their knowledge and skill in using digital technology tools. This chapter begins with definitions of digital game apps and electronic books. Next, we provide information about how these forms of digital media can cultivate intergenerational relationships between young children and older adults. We then share obstacles that both groups face when using these forms of digital media and ways to address each challenge. The chapter concludes by identifying key characteristics of effective digital tools and recommends high-quality digital media that young children and older adults can enjoy together.KeywordsIntergenerational bondsDigital game appsElectronic booksebooksStory apps
Türkiye'de, 2012 yılında çıkarılan 6360 Sayılı On Üç İlde Büyükşehir Belediyesi ve Yirmi Altı İlçe Kurulması ile Bazı Kanun ve Kanun Hükmünde Kararnamelerde Değişiklik Yapılmasına Dair Kanun ile kırsal alanları doğrudan etkileyecek önemli değişiklikler getirilmiştir. Bazı maddeleri, 30 Mart 2014 Mahalli İdareler Seçimleri sonrası yürürlüğe giren kanun ile büyükşehir belediyelerinin hizmet sınırları il mülki sınırlarına genişletilmiştir. Köy tüzel kişilikleri ve İl Özel İdarelerinin kaldırılması sonrası kırsal alanların yönetimi büyükşehir belediyelerine ve daha dar yetkilere sahip, sınırları içerisinde oldukları ilçe belediyelerine bırakılmıştır.
Yürürlüğe girmesinin üzerinden 7 yıl geçmiş olmasına rağmen, kırsal alanları ilgilendiren önemli değişiklikler getiren 6360 Sayılı Kanun hakkında tartışmalar hala sürüyor. Kanunun zaman zaman tekrar büyük oranda değişeceği beklentisi oluşmasına rağmen bu gerçekleşmedi. Ancak 2020 yılında torba yasa ile, 7254 sayılı Kamu Malî Yönetimi ve Kontrol Kanunu ile Bazı Kanunlarda Değişiklik Yapılması Hakkında Kanun ile 5216 Sayılı Büyükşehir Belediyesi Kanununda değişiklikler yapıldı. Büyükşehir Belediyesi Kanununda yapılan düzenleme ile kırsal mahalle kavramı mevzuata girmiş oldu. 2021 yılında Çevre Şehircilik ve İklim Değişikliği Bakanlığı tarafından Kırsal Mahalle ve Kırsal Yerleşik Alan Yönetmeliği çıkarılarak değişiklik tamamıyla yürürlüğe girmiştir.
Bu çalışmada; öncelikle 6360 Sayılı Kanun ile getirilen değişiklere yer verilecektir. Kırsal alanlara ilişkin kavramsal duruma yer verilerek yeni düzenleme ve beraberinde getireceği değişiklikler kanun ve ilgili yönetmelik çerçevesinde değerlendirilecektir.
In our country Türkiye (Turkey); There are many businesses that work without rules and supervision, carry high risks, are far from engineering technique and science, and are operated in completely primitive conditions without the supervision and supervision of trained technical personnel. There is a risk of accidents in these businesses at any time, and it is a known fact that accidents are not destiny but can be prevented by taking appropriate precautions (Koçali, 2017). The most basic measures that can be applied in enterprises are to select appropriate personnel who can adapt to the occupational health and safety management and organization that can provide continuous and effective development, to fully comply with the current legal legislation and regulations/standards related to occupational health and safety, to reduce occupational health and safety risks at all levels. To create a management system in which it is defined, evaluated and managed, to ensure and support the formation of a proactive culture in enterprises, to take effective and applicable measures and decisions within the enterprise and to share them with public institutions, unions, society or all other stakeholders, if any, to establish a transparent communication, To carry out studies that improve and develop occupational health and safety performance, including all contractors and suppliers who receive basic practices such as accepting all the issues related to the business as a whole in all its activities can be counted (Koçali, 2018-1)
Within the scope of this study, statistical data, periods of incapacity and number of fatal cases related to work accidents between the years 2012-2020 were obtained from the Social Security Institution. By analyzing the data, the occupational accident weight rates and occupational accident frequency rates for years were determined and compared without making any sectoral discrimination. Occupational accident frequency rate in 2012 was 2,427 compared to one million working hours, and its rate per hundred people was 0.546. In 2020, the frequency rate of work accidents is 10,852 compared to one million working hours, and its rate per hundred people is 2,442. Between 2012 and 2020, the frequency of occupational accidents increased by 447.25%. In 2012, the occupational accident severity rate was 395 on a day basis and 0.32 on an hourly basis. In 2020, the occupational accident severity rate is 568 on a day basis and 0.45 on an hourly basis. Between 2012 and 2020, the rate of work accident severity increased by 43.79% on a daily basis
Games have shown to play a pivotal role as a source of entertainment and social interaction during the COVID-19 outbreak, allowing development and maintenance of positive relationships.
Pokémon Go is a hybrid reality game (HRG) that research suggests is played by families in the context of joint media engagement. Yet, the game interface itself provides little information about how to approach the game. Given this and the fact that many parents play this HRG with their young children, we examine the process of parent online social learning to play Pokémon Go. Drawing on an original study of Pokémon Go conducted between August and November 2019, including a Facebook survey on a non-probabilistic purposive sample, and semi-structured interviews with a range of parents who play this HRG with their children, the aim of this article is to explore parent online social learning as a path to optimising in-game performance. In the main, we found that the frequency with which parents followed tips provided by individuals online related inversely to how well they knew them and was differentially linked to the sources of information parents used. We nuance these findings with insights from the interviews.
This paper describes a tangible interactive prototype, aiming at reducing the risk of falling in older adults and ensure their adherence to the in-home balance training. The design of the prototype derived from our research on the effectiveness of different training modes in balance. An exergame created for this prototype, appealing to youngsters, might result in them (older adults and young people) playing together. This may not only provide motivation to exercise but also a platform increasing communication between two generations, which is beneficial to older adults’ mental health. Therefore, perceiving benefits aforementioned, older adults could get more interested and even develop a long-term habit of playing such exergame. Researches had been done regarding the older adults’ perspective when designing intergenerational games or exergames. Here, our concept focuses on involving both older adults and young people to play the exergame together. In this paper, an experimental plan has been designed to gain insights from young people for better solutions to motivate them to play the game with older adults.
This proposal focuses on the multifaceted interplay between video games, connectiveness, and online communities in a time of emergency; COVID-19 has presented challenges for teenagers, forcing them to re-mediate their interactions with peers. Digital entertainment has been frequently accused to be a bearer of negative attitudes and anti-social behaviors, but there is also relevant evidence about how video games can foster bonding and inclusion. Nevertheless, updated lenses are needed for understanding the impact of the pandemic on playing and vice versa; in other words, video games can become a lens through which we can understand how teenagers and young adults experience and see the world around them, especially during these turbulent times. Moreover, video games are increasingly experienced in multiple ways, from watching live shows on Twitch.tv to discussing games on Reddit; as such, this additional layer must be investigated too for situating the impact of gaming practices on social and individual schemes. This article intends to provide a snapshot of how this medium can be used as a catalyst for social research, looking at its consumption but also at the social halo it conveys. More specifically, an ethnographic approach has been chosen for providing an intensive analysis of how the acclaimed video game Animal Crossing was perceived and used as a socializing tool by a teenager.
As the world population ages, interactions between youth and older adults in everyday life
become more frequent, yet scholars are noting language barriers between different generations across the world. Drawing from social identity theory, a longitudinal field experiment was conducted in Singapore with 50 intergenerational pairs over 3 weeks to investigate effects of language (common vs. no common language) and goal attainment (successful vs. unsuccessful) on interaction outcomes. Results showed that digital gameplay reduced intergroup anxiety and improved intergenerational attitudes, and introduction of common goals circumvented language barriers. The results show that digital games can help to bridge language barriers between different generations of players. Positive interaction outcomes can also be amplified by changing the method of play, for instance by introducing a common goal for players to work towards.
While small and large technological miracles have undoubtedly made our lives easier, they have potentially also made a significant part of our daily social routine obsolete. People live in the same space but rarely spend quality time together, interacting and bonding. One of the solutions to enhance family relationships may lie in the technology itself—video games. Previous research having shown the sociability of video games, and in this study, we examined their potential in creating closer family relationships, especially among different generations. Participants (n = 183) were asked to play video games together over a period of six weeks. Participants completed a modified version of the self-disclosure and relationship closeness inventories before and after the treatment and responded to a series of open-ended questions post-treatment. Results indicate an increase in breadth and depth of self-disclosure, and in relationship closeness in both younger and older adults. Gathering around a novel shared activity, both younger and older adults found new ways of connecting to their family members, whether through more frequent conversations, broader selection of topics, shared subjects, or pure entertainment. The findings suggest that video games can provide a platform for family communication, resulting in the rejuvenation and maintenance of intergenerational relationships.
This study explored the impact of intergenerational play on young people’s perceptions towards old adults. It analyzed how intergenerational play is associated with the three factors of ageism (i.e., antilocution, discrimination, and avoidance). To address the research question, seven research hypotheses were proposed. A total of 150 young people aged between 15 and 30 completed an online survey. To test the research hypotheses and determine the amount of variance in ageism attributable to gender and education level, a series of two-stage hierarchical regression analyses were carried out. The results of regression analyses revealed that the frequency of playing with parents and grandparents and the frequency of playing either against or collaboratively with old family members is not significantly associated with ageism. However, expecting to play with old family members, the quality of intergenerational play, the sense of closeness to old family members due to gameplay, and the enjoyment of playing with old family members were positively associated with young people’s perceptions towards old adults. The findings indicate that young people’s perceptions towards old adults are strongly associated with the quality and enjoyment of gameplay with old family members rather than the quantity of gameplay.
How might social networking game playing affect intergenerational family relationships? Motivated by this important research question, we examined game-based communication patterns among family members. We investigated QQ Farm, one of the most popular online games available on a Chinese social networking site. Participatory observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted with sixteen pairs of Chinese parents and their adult children. Our analysis shows that game-based communication does not replace face-to-face or phone-based communication. Rather, it adds a new layer to the existing family communication patterns, which enriches the other forms of family communication and provides a new means for intergenerational family members to stay in touch. Game playing provides a light-weighted and relaxed environment for intergenerational family members to stay connected. It serves as an “I’m safe and well” message board for family members to stay connected without imposing an undue burden for anyone. Moreover, game playing implicitly conveys caring messages to family members. It becomes a new communicative topic to promote the mutual shaping of online and offline intergenerational family communication.
One of the most significant discussions in convergence culture is whether the introduction of new media stems from the use of old media in new contexts, which often leads to changes in human behaviour. Meanwhile, the demographic ageing phenomenon has also had a significant impact on society and the use of technological devices by different generations has been asymmetric. Therefore, recent developments have heightened the need for a participatory culture and collective intelligence. However, these rapid social and cultural changes are having serious effects on the digital divide, generating an impact on the cooperation or the conflicts that may affect different generations. So far, little attention has been paid to the potential of alternate reality games to encourage intergenerational communication. The aim of this paper is to provide an initial reflection on how Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) can have an impact on intergenerational communication, collaboration and learning. This study focuses on the key terms of alternate reality games, communication, intergenerational learning, the psychological theory of human development and transmedia storytelling.
This paper will focus on intergenerational digital games between grandparents and their grandchildren, which could enhance not only their physical and social well-being but also social bonding between them. The introduction (section 1) will show that this is a topic which has been neglected in digital game research. Therefore, after having discussed the relevance of intergenerational relations in section 2.1, attention will be paid to empirical studies on the motivation of younger and older adults to play digital games (section 2.2) and the impact of age-related difficulties on playing digital games (section 2.3). Finally, the implications for the design of intergenerational digital games will be sketched in section 3.
Global guidelines for physical activity are not being met by most of the world’s youths, adults, and older adults. Family and friends who engage in physical activity across generations derive emotional, social, cognitive, and physical benefits from their interaction. Youths depend on adult assistance to travel long distances, adults are encumbered with obligations to work, and older adults often live more than 200 miles from their extended families. Intergenerational physical activity is difficult because generations are distant and lead busy lifestyles. Remotely played exergames can connect family and friends for intergenerational physical activity. Internet exergaming can help to make physical activity convenient and enjoyable as well as eliminate the effect of distance on playing with family and friends.
The current study aims to integrate the findings of previous research on the use of video games by older adults by applying the domestication framework (Silverstone et al., 1992). A qualitative study was performed with 35 participants aged between 49 and 73, who were targeted purposefully from a larger sample of 213. The analysis revealed how older adults appropriated digital games using pre-existing, public and co-constructed meanings, as well as how such meanings influence the incorporation of digital games in their daily routine. The study also reveals how the transformation of personal meanings into the public realm can be obstructed by social factors. Finally, the usefulness of the domestication framework for this topic of study as well as implications for future research are discussed.
Using the Common-Sense Model of illness representations (Leventhal, Myer, & Nerenz, 1980) as a framework, we investigated impairment-related variables as predictors of young adults' experiences in relationships with ill/disabled grandparents. Undergraduates (N = 153) completed a questionnaire about their relationships with grandparents who lived with cognitive, physical, or psychological impairment(s). The extent to which participants worried about their grandparents' health/wellbeing and their perceptions of (a) the severity of their grandparents' impairments and (b) the degree to which these impairments affected areas of their own lives were predictors. Satisfaction with contact, investment in the relationship, and family strain resulting from the grandparents' impairment served as criterion variables. Results support the utility of examining grandparent health in research on grandparent-grandchild relationships.
The rapid expansion of computer use and Internet connection has the potential to change patterns of family interaction, with conflicts arising over adolescents' autonomy, parental authority and control of the computer. This study applied a conceptual framework derived from family development and human ecology theory to investigate family characteristics related to the likelihood of such conflicts. A secondary analysis was conducted of a special survey of 754 children aged 12 to 17 who used the Internet, and of their parents, performed by Pew Internet and the American Life project. Adolescent–parent conflicts over Internet use proved strongly related to the perception that the adolescent was a computer expert. Families in which adolescents were considered experts in new technologies were more likely to experience conflicts. Parents' attempt to reduce adolescent autonomy by regulating the time of Internet use increased the likelihood of family arguments over the Internet. Intergenerational conflicts over the Internet were higher in families in which parents expressed concern over the potentially negative consequences of Internet use. The implications of the findings are discussed.
This paper reports on a study of how parents and children play several cooperative co-located games with different characteristics. The aim is to contribute to a deeper understanding of how specific game design elements structure the cooperative interaction between parents and children. The results show that the cooperative gameplay between parents and children differs between the games, based on the specific design details of the game. It is suggested that designs where skilled performance of one player is hindered by unskilled performance of the other player can create tension between the players. Thus, game designers of cooperative games wishing to support parent-child interaction have to be aware of these effects and determine how they design the progression in the game related to the balance between players.
Present computer games and digital entertainment do not usually facilitate intergenerational family interactions. According to recent survey results in Japan, there is a high percentage of older people who own and play electronic or computer games, but rarely do they play the games with their family members. It is a positive sign that more older people are participating in the digital games arena, but it would be even more beneficial if they could interact actively with the young family members through gaming activities. This could possibly strengthen family bonding and bridge the gap between older people and youth culture.
This paper presents steps for designing an intergenerational family entertainment system which focuses on physical and social interactions using a mixed reality floor system. The main design goals include: facilitating interactions between users with varied levels of skill in utilizing technology, utilizing the familiar physical motions from other activities to make an intuitive physical interface, and encouraging social interactions among families and friends. Detailed implementation of these steps is presented in the design of our intergenerational entertainment system, Age Invaders. Four main prototype iterations for the system is presented. Our design process is based on User Centered Design and relies on constant involvement of users to understand the key issues and to help make effective design decisions. The results of the study help to focus the refinements of the existing platform from a usability standpoint and also aids in the development of new physical entertainment and interactive applications. This study provides insights into user issues including how users interact in a complex mixed reality experience, which is heavily based in physicality. The use of one portion of the user base which is most proficient with technology before involving the novice users was found to empower novice users to begin to use digital technology.
In this paper, we present results from a qualitative study of collocated group console gaming. We focus on motivations for, perceptions of, and practices surrounding the shared use of console games by a variety of established groups of gamers. These groups include both intragenerational groups of youth, adults, and elders as well as intergenerational families. Our analysis highlights the numerous ways that console games serve as a computational meeting place for a diverse population of gamers.
Older people have been the focus of research for ubiquitous computing applications. While many of these are understandably focused on health and aging in place issues, there is also considerable opportunity to support more playful aspects of life as an older person. We report here on a prototype collaborative game that can be played between an older person and a child. The game is based on a bowling game and makes use of tangible devices, sensors and augmented reality components. We report on the iterative development of this inter-generational play prototype and initial user feedback.
In this paper, we examine the intergenerational gaming practices of four generations of console gamers, from ages 3 to 83
and, in particular, the roles that gamers of different generations take on when playing together in groups. Our data highlight
the extent to which existing gaming technologies support interactions within collocated intergenerational groups, and our
analysis reveals a more generationally flexible suite of roles in these computer-mediated interactions than have been documented
by previous studies of more traditional collocated, intergenerational interactions. Finally, we offer implications for game
designers who wish to make console games more accessible to intergenerational groups.
This study extends and replicates some of Harwood’s (2000) earlier research investigating media use in interactions between grandparents and grandchildren. More specifically, this research extends Harwood’s work by adding the technologies of the cell phone, email, and instant messenger to the media he investigated (face-to-face, written documents, and telephone). Such a study allows finding out whether the availability of new technologies has any effect on the grandparent/grandchild relationship. Sixty-six dyads (N = 132) of grandchildren and grandparents participated in the study, completing a questionnaire on basic demographics, media use, and relational quality. Results show usage divides between grandchildren and grandparents, as well as within the grandparent group. The cell phone and face-to-face interaction are used most frequently in the grandparent/grandchild relationship. Technologies such as email or instant messenger are not used much even across the geographic distance they were designed to overcome. Follow up tests to a significant ANOVA did not show significant results for medium type chosen based on who initiates contact. Face-to-face remains the strongest predictor of quality inter-generational relationships, followed by use of the cell phone, the landline phone, and email (in that order). Findings are discussed in light of both media richness theory and the social influence model.
Intergenerational social mentoring, a mentoring system on social medium between the elderly and the young, will be the one of the platforms for the elderly to make use of their potential. The elderly could have more chances to communicate their knowledge and experience accumulated through their life to the next generations, and the young could try more challenges under the wisdom of crowds. Such systems should 1) have senior-friendly interface, 2) support the rich context-aware communication, and 3) blur some intergenerational gaps. In this paper, we propose “T-echo”, a new trial system for intergenerational social mentoring. T-echo is based on the two concepts: “growing gamifictaion” and “calendar-based interface.” The field study 15 elderly joined showed that the calendar-notebook interface was friendly for the elderly and have rich contexts for mentoring. Furthermore, growing gamification could be a good mediator between the elderly and the young.
"This interesting, easy-to-read book provides a comprehensive framework for considering communication and aging in the context of biology, sociology, and psychology. This thought provoking book is strongly anti-ageist. It could serve as a broad overview for anyone interested in the myriad of issues related to communication and aging." —CHOICE“Understanding Communication and Aging achieves a nice balance between the facts of growing old, the social forces that shape that process, and the communication factors that connect these two domains. With attention to both research and everyday applications, the text is thorough and inviting. I am delighted that a user-friendly, undergraduate text has finally been produced in the field of communication and aging. This book deserves to be an instant and sustained success.”—Sandra Metts, Illinois State UniversityCovers the broad area of communication and older adulthood: The book examines key topics such as interpersonal and family relationships in old age, media portrayals of aging, cultural variations in intergenerational communication, and health communication in old age.Shatters the myths and stereotypes of aging: The book’s orientation and perspective is on “healthy” living and aging. This anti-ageist approach encourages readers to reexamine their views on aging and become fluent at defending and promoting an anti-ageist ideology.Provides concrete examples: While taking a theoretical approach, the book includes coverage of applied issues such as health communication and age-related prejudice and discrimination.
Purpose: Intergenerational play is highly phatic and does not specifically aim to exchange facts or information, but act to strengthen the social bonds4. The shared activity is an opportunity for older and younger participants spend time together and build rapport. This paper explores the design of novel interactive physical and cultural play systems that take advantage of opportunities for fun and leisure, as a mean to facilitate intergenerational communication. Method: Following Fallman's "Design-oriented Research"1, the research prototype is a vital part of the research process. In this research, the development of the two different play systems were means to test and uncover underlying design principles that would be useful in designing play systems meant for intergenerational use. With this in mind, we must also take into account that our field of research is not focused on the human alone, but also the role of the machine in mediating communication. Previous entertainment systems address the differences between elderly and children by designing different roles for them. This research explores the potential for symmetrical interaction between elderly and children by putting them on a level playing field. Results & Discussion: An interactive floor platform is designed to transform the living room into a gaming space, where grandparents and grandchildren can engage in physical play, while parents can join in the game remotely through the Internet2. The need to balance difficulty between the users is further explored using the Tap Tap Hearts game. The results show that players who engaged with a play system that adopts dynamic balancing have a more positive game experience, compared to engaging with a play system that does not require balancing. A cultural play system is designed to allow grandparents, parents, and children to share and learn Asian cultural elements through fun interactions with a virtual Confucius. There are three emerging themes from this intergenerational play research: Play provides an opportunity for intergenerational communication; intergenerational users prefer to engage in social play; and user experience is enhanced when the system matches the ability of the user. The results from both physical and cultural play studies suggest that intergenerational communication is sustained by the fun afforded by such play systems. Verbal language, paralanguage, and kinesics communication occur frequently between the intergenerational users when they are engaged in a social play using the systems.
Improved health and extended life expectancy have provided opportunities for more adult grandchildren to interact with their grandparents. Applying an ecological perspective, the current study examined demographic, personal, and environmental factors associated with close grandparent–grandchild relationships. Participants were 470 young adults aged 18–27 (M = 20.16). Adult grandchildren's perceptions of their relationships with their favorite/close grandparents were examined retrospectively in three stages (childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood). Predictors of grandparent–grandchild closeness include grandparent–grandchild contact frequency, grandparents’ education levels and general health, and personality traits. Path analysis revealed intertwined directional effects of these predictors of grandparent–grandchild closeness.
Increasing interest is being directed toward the role of grandparents and their influence on children's development and welfare. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the literature and resources which may be used by family life educators and counselors to help grandparents enhance their relationships with their grandchildren and families strengthen the extended family network. The symbolic, indirect, and direct influences of grandparents and the impact of grandparental influence on children are discussed.
Based on a study of individuals playing online social network games (SNG), this article focuses on the opinions and practices of people who play Facebook games with family members. Gameplay is contextualized in terms of (1) the structures of SNG (which shape gameplay in specific ways) and (2) via the norms and expectations for family leisure activities and relationships (which shape the social interactions in specific ways). The study offers an in-depth understanding of social network gameplay within the context of existing family – rather than friend – networks; as issues of trust and obligation come to the forefront through family ties. This study illustrates that SNGs offer new spaces for purposive leisure for families that transcends geographical boundaries.
Intergenerational learning (IGL) has been identified as a viable way to help organizations deal with the problems an ageing worker population brings with it. Information and communications technology (ICT) in its many forms can be utilized to support IGL. This paper investigates the requirements for a game that would help raise stakeholder awareness for IGL, and allow individuals to practice skills related to it. By interviewing members of the European Union (EU)-funded SILVER-project we aim to find out suitable contexts, interventions and mechanisms that allow us to design such a game. Based on the interviews we found out that the game should be easily contextualized so that it works in—or is easily adapted to—different countries and cultures. For example sports or nature could be such contexts. As for mechanisms and interventions we found out that there are many possibilities. We conclude that such a logical combination of mechanisms and interventions that support the selected context must be chosen.
Aging diversity in organizations creates potential challenges, particularly for knowledge management, skills update and skills obsolescence. Intergenerational learning (IGL) involves knowledge building, innovation and knowledge transfer between generations within an organization (Ropes 2011). Serious games refer to the use of computer games in raising awareness about educational topics, acquiring new knowledge and skills by enabling learners to engage and participate in situations that would otherwise be impossible to experience (Corti 2006). Although learning with the use of serious games is similar to traditional learning in several cognitive respects, there are noted differences in the learning style and structure of learning using serious games. The success of learning using serious games lies in the actual involvement of a participant playing the game, which in turn, creates increased cognitive links with real-life situations allowing the individual to make relevant associations, to use mnemonic strategies with the facilitation of multi-dimensional educational aids (e.g., visual, auditory). Some of the beneficial aspects of learning with the use of serious games include the elevation of several cognitive skills, which are directly or indirectly implicated in the learning process. Among them are attention and visuo-spatial abilities, memory and motor skills. However, several barriers have been noted that fall into two general categories: a) health issues (e.g., cognitive strain, headaches) and b) psychological issues (e.g., social isolation, emotional disturbances). Since the training conditions are learner-centered and highly determined by the individual, there is increased need for evaluating the learning outcomes using specific success indicators. Examples of games that are designed to facilitate IGL are scarce, while there are no examples of IGL games in most EU countries. The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the current literature of theories on learning through serious games in adults and the elderly with reference to the cognitive mechanisms implicated, benefits and barriers in learning using new technologies in different generations. Secondly, this paper reviews the existence of serious games designed to facilitate IGL in Europe, as well as the characteristics of serious games in raising awareness that could be used to facilitate IGL. In doing so, specific focus is placed on the development of success indicators that determine the effectiveness of serious games on raising awareness on IGL.
We used to think that video games were mostly for young men, but with the success of the Nintendo Wii, and the proliferation of games in browsers, cell phone games, and social games video games changed changed fundamentally in the years from 2000 to 2010. These new casual games are now played by men and women, young and old. Players need not possess an intimate knowledge of video game history or devote weeks or months to play. At the same time, many players of casual games show a dedication and skill that is anything but casual. In A Casual Revolution, Jesper Juul describes this as a reinvention of video games, and of our image of video game players, and explores what this tells us about the players, the games, and their interaction. With this reinvention of video games, the game industry reconnects with a general audience. Many of today's casual game players once enjoyed Pac-Man, Tetris, and other early games, only to drop out when video games became more time-consuming and complex. Juul shows that it is only by understanding what a game requires of players, what players bring to a game, how the game industry works, and how video games have developed historically that we can understand what makes video games fun and why we choose to play (or not to play) them.
Online learning activities between grandparents and grandchildren are a promising solution for those, who live geographically separated or cannot meet face-to-face. Up to now, little is known about the characteristics these activities should have. In order to find out about the challenges that arise when designing an intergenerational online learning activity we analyzed children's preferences and needs, as well as those of grandparents. Investigating both perspectives ensures that the children benefit best from the activity itself and their grandparents' support. As the identified challenges mainly refer to the general set-up of learning activities, we also discuss a design concept illustrating how to meet the challenges.
The effectiveness of a game-based cognitive training intervention on multiple abilities was assessed in a sample of 39 older adults aged 60–77. The intervention task was chosen based on a cognitive task analysis designed to determine the attentional and multi-modal demands of the game. Improvements on a measure of attention were found for the intervention group compared to controls. Furthermore, for the intervention group only, initial ability scores predicted improvements on both tests of attention and spatial orientation. These results suggest cognitive training may be more effective for those initially lower in ability.
This article examines territorial negotiations concerning gaming, drawing on video recordings of gaming practices in middle-class families. It explores how private vs public gaming space was co-construed by children and parents in front of the screen as well as through conversations about games. Game equipment was generally located in public places in the homes, which can be understood in terms of parents’ surveillance of their children, on the one hand, and actual parental involvement, on the other. Gaming space emerged in the interplay between game location, technology and practices, which blurred any fixed boundaries between public and private, place and space, as well as traditional age hierarchies.
Intergenerational research examining grandparents' influences on grandchildren has a long history and has attracted expanded attention in the context of population aging. Grandchildren's influences on grandparents have remained relatively under-researched. This study draws on qualitative research of social aging in a multiethnic population of women in urban New Zealand to examine grandchildren as a resource for social integration of older people. The study uses data collected in interviews with young old women and presents the grandparents' perspective. Data analysis indicates three recurring categories of influence for integration: grandchild-grandparent socialization, social support provision, and social engagement facilitation. Outcomes for grandparent integration at multiple levels are indicated. A comparison of experience across ethnic groups shows both similarities and differences. The findings point to grandchildren as a potentially significant source of influence on grandparents. Implications for aging and intergenerational research and policy in support of social and societal integration of older people are considered.
In this ethnographic study of family life, intergenerational video and computer game activities were videotaped and analysed. Both children and adults invoked the notion of a digital divide, i.e. a generation gap between those who master and do not master digital technology. It is argued that the digital divide was exploited by the children to control the game activities. Conversely, parents and grandparents positioned themselves as less knowledgeable, drawing on a displayed divide as a rhetorical resource for gaining access to playtime with the children. In these intergenerational encounters, the digital divide was thus an interactional resource rather than a problem.
Gesture-based games offer lucrative opportunities to engage users across all segments of the population. However, this requires that associated features go beyond mere expectations to meet the needs and requirements of diverse audience groups. Focusing on designing games for healthy older adults, we present a study exploring the usability and acceptability of a set of three gesture-based games. Designed for a large projection screen display, these games employ vision-based techniques that center on physical embodied interaction using a graphical silhouette. Infrared detection, accompanied by back-projection is used to reduce the effects of occluded body movements. User evaluations with 36 older adults were analyzed using a combination of pre- and postgame questionnaires, direct observations and semi-structured group interviews. The results demonstrate that while all the games were usable, they varied in their physical and social engagement, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. In particular, items associated with physical wellbeing were rated highly. During the discussion, we highlight strengths and weaknesses of our findings, including related interaction and application features.
In this paper, we report on the findings of an acute trial in which we evaluate the design of a novel gesture-based game. 60 younger and older players, divided into three separate group-types: (i) Young-Young, (ii) Old-Old, and (iii) Young-Old, took part in the study. The primary aim of this work was to evaluate the communicative and cooperative behavior of same-age and mixed-age pairs, with secondary interests in their perceived ease-of-use of the game. A mixed-method approach was used, comprising of direct observations, a post-game questionnaire and paired interviews. Our results identified noticeable differences between the group-types, with the Young-Old showing more physical cooperation, as compared to the same-age groups. The work elaborates on how the young and old differ in expectations and perceived interaction, and concludes with some recommendations for future research.
The author explores the ways in which games can be used to instruct, inform, and educate. The first chapter discusses games in a general manner. The next five chapters present the use of games for improving education, for guidance in occupational choice and training, and for solving problems and decision making in physical and social sciences, government and industry. The last three chapters are devoted to the analysis of games as a thinking tool, to game designing, and to the evaluation of the cost effectiveness of games and their future. Three of the four appendixes discuss the use of games in educational planning. The author indicates that games are effective teaching and training devices for students of all ages and in many situations, because they are highly motivating and can communicate effectively concepts and facts about many subjects. (PT)
This study examined grandparents' reports of their use of three media—face-to-face, telephone, and email—in geographically separated relationships with grandchildren. Grandparents used telephone and email more frequently than face-to-face communication. There were no sex differences in frequency and satisfaction with the three media. Email use was examined in depth due to the dearth of research on its use. Grandparents who reported that they and their grandchildren were equally likely to initiate email were more satisfied with its frequency and quality than those who reported primary responsibility for email communication. Satisfaction with telephone communication predicted relational quality.
Elderly computer novices received 1-on-1 e-mail training, which enabled them to communicate electronically with elementary school-aged pen-pals. A traditional intergenerational visiting program was conducted concurrently. Program evaluation revealed that the intergenerational visiting program was rated favorably by 88% of the participating seniors and the intergenerational e-mail program was rated favorably by 57% of the seniors. Yet, only 6 (out of 23) seniors expressed interest in continuing to e-mail their pen-pals beyond the program period. While technology may never take the place of human contact for some seniors, increased computer support as well as arranging for e-mail pen-pals to meet in person might help boost the popularity of this form of intergenerational communication.
The idea that video gaming is for the ‘whole family’, to be played in the communal space of the living room, has gained momentum since the release of Microsoft Xbox, Sony Playstation and Nintendo Wii. This article addresses the growing popularity in family-centred video gaming in the British context by examining the design, promotion, instatement and use of this new media technology in the home. Research on the domestication of media technology is drawn on to examine the social impulses and conditions under which family-centred video gaming is introduced in the home as a domestic leisure activity. In response to parental anxieties about children’s disengagement from family life through new media use, industry-led claims that video gaming can foster family harmony are appealing. Representations of family gaming in the Wii commercials are analysed in relation to the findings of recent independent surveys on emerging patterns of gaming between parents and children. Policy issues emerge about the potential social and educational benefits of family-centred gaming and assumptions about them made in surveys and government-commissioned reports. Important questions are raised about the family dynamics of video gaming and children’s potential to benefit from this family-centred media entertainment in diverse family contexts.
Augmented games, aim at promoting social interaction between participating players, as this is considered a major characteristic of any good multi-player game. In this paper, we discuss two related case studies where we investigated various options for enhancing the gaming experience through augmented tabletop games for children and older adults. Later on we also executed an intergenerational case study to inform intergenerational game design where children and elderly played together. Our findings indicate that the use of tangible play in combination with a guessing element in a tabletop game does indeed facilitate social interaction and adds to the aspect of fun. Our results also indicate that senior citizens found the electronic tabletop version of the game to be more immersive and absorbing, as compared to a static paper version. Analyzing the non-verbal behavior of both older adults and children, it was concluded that players were socially more engaged with their opponents than with their team members. This effect was more pronounced in the case of children. We also discuss some implications for social game design that can be deduced from the qualitative feedback provided by our participants.
Mediated intimacy is the phenomenon where humans use technologies to express, share, or communicate intimate feelings with each other. Typically, technologies supporting mediated intimacy encompass different characteristics than technologies designed to solve specific work-oriented tasks. This paper reports on the design, implementation and initial evaluation of Virtual Box. Virtual Box attempts to create a physical and engaging context in order to support reciprocal interactions with expressive content. An implemented version of Virtual Box is evaluated in a location-aware environment to evaluate the design ideas according to mediated family intimacy.
Long-distance families are increasingly staying connected with free video conferencing tools. However research has highlighted a need for shared activities for long-distance family communication. While video technology is reportedly superior to audio-only tools for children under age 7, the tools themselves are not designed to accommodate children's or families' needs. This paper introduces four design explorations of shared play activities over video conferencing that support family togetherness between children and remote adult family members. We build on research in CSCW and child development to create opportunities for silliness and open-ended play between adults and young children. Our goal is to scaffold interaction across distance and generations.
How do online games impact intergenerational family relationships? To answer this question, we investigated QQ Farm, the most popular online game available on a popular Chinese social networking site. We conducted observations and semi-structured interviews with sixteen pairs of Chinese parents and their adult children. Of the sixteen pairs, seven lived locally; nine pairs lived remotely. The findings of this study suggest that online games provide common conversational topics among local family members and enrich family time. Online games with well-designed shared virtual spaces can also help enhance remote families' awareness of each other's real-life activity. For future intergenerational games, we recommend a game design that requires minimal effort, has a 'healthy' theme, and provides features, such as an activity log and message board, which help maintain game based family communications.
Intergenerational players are online game players of different generations within an extended family. We investigated intergenerational play between older parents and their adult children in the popular Chinese social networking game QQ Farm. We identified game features that encourage intergenerational play. To do this, we conducted online observations and semi-structured interviews with nine pairs of Chinese parents and their adult children. The results of this study suggest that an online game for intergenerational play needs to consider a range of factors, including social and occupational responsibilities, gaming interests, and gaming expertise among extended family members. The data suggests that intergenerational online games may generally benefit from the following features: (1) low entry barrier, (2) appealing game theme, (3) online interactions that extend real-life relationships, (4) low time commitment, and (5) asynchronous play. We have also found features which may have unique appeal to Chinese intergenerational gamers.
The design goal of the Age Invaders system is to make a mixed reality interaction platform that can facilitate meaningful social interaction with players, from many backgrounds and demographics, at appropriate levels of physical exertion for their age. This paper discusses a multidisciplinary approach to analyzing the user experience and reassessment of the context of use of the Age Invaders system. This paper tests the effectiveness of the system in promoting the intended design goals and the results show strong support for intergenerational interaction using digital technology. Additionally, the results of the study help to focus the refinements of the existing platform and development of further novel games and interactive applications for this mixed reality system, and provide insights into the user in complex mixed reality experiences.
This paper presents a study of a computer game designed for the elderly, allowing them to train their memory while playing
the game. The game supports both a single-player and a multiplayer mode, in which the elderly can play with their friends
or family using an embedded video chat application. The main question that is addressed in this paper is how the elderly gamers’
experience is influenced by the possibility to communicate directly with the other players. The study presents a comparison
of the game experience and appreciation of older users and their (grand)children playing the game together, with or without
the video chat application. Most importantly, the study shows that the added value of video chat is not limited to social
contact, but that it also provides opportunities for the younger generation to assist the elderly during the game. In conclusion,
the paper points out some intergenerational game design implications, and some future research suggestions.