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Flow Experience as a Quality Measure in Evaluating Physically Activating Collaborative Serious Games

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: The measurement of the subjective playing experience is important part of the game development process. The enjoyment level that a serious game offers is a key factor in determining whether a player will be engaged in the gameplay and achieve the objectives of the game. In this paper we report the results of a game design process in which two prototypes of a collaborative exergame were studied. The main aim of the paper is to explore to what extend the measurement of flow experience can facilitate the game evaluation and design process. Alltogether 102 junior high school students participated in two user experience studies and played collaborative exergames designed to teach soft skills. Playing experience was measured with a flow questionnaire, playing behavior was observed and some of the players were interviewed. The results showed that flow experience can be used to evaluate the overall quality of the gameplay and it provides a structured approach to consider the quality of the game. However, flow does not provide detailed information about the shortages of the game and thus complementary methods is needed to identify the causes. The results also indicated that flow experience was independent of gender that supports its use in quality measurement.

Source: International Journal of Serious Games

DOI: 10.17083/ijsg.v1i3.23

Authors: Kristian J. M. Kiili, Arttu Perttula, Antero Lindstedt, Sylester Arnab, Marko Suominen

Institution: Tampere University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Flow Experience in Various Fields

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: European Commission