Implementation and Evaluation of a Serious Game for Working Memory Enhancement

Abstract

The amount of information which can be stored in the human brain is limited and dependent on memory capacity. Over the last few years there has been a trend in training cognitive skills, not only to prevent cognitive decline, which is inevitable as a person grows older, but also to increase or at least preserve mental abilities that will allow a person to function at a higher cognitive level. Memory is one of those key aspects among cognitive skills that has a significant role in a person’s mental performance. Specifically, focus is given to Working Memory (WM), as evidence has shown that it can be increased by applying targeted interventions. An intervention program like this is the main object of this current paper. Using a Serious Game (SG), we designed and created a video game which targets WM training. Its effectiveness was tested and evaluated through an evaluation process where forty people participated in a seven-week training program. Post-results showed that participants had an increase in their WM performance, especially those who had lower scores at the pre-test, while those with high pre-test scores just preserved their initial status. Additionally, all participants agreed that the game is fun and enjoyable to play and that it helps them to increase WM performance.

Effectiveness of a Serious Game Design and Game Mechanic Factors for Attention and Executive Function Improvement in the Elderly: A Pretest-Posttest Study

“…Nowadays, because of the advance of science and technology in video games and smartphones, serious games have become more popular, especially in training and educational areas. They can be used for cognitive training, and previous studies have shown that there are different kinds of cognitive function training that employ serious games [67][68][69][70].…”

Visualization and Interaction Technologies in Serious and Exergames for Cognitive Assessment and Training: A Survey on Available Solutions and Their Validation

“…In the first case, the user is required to handle a device and apply a physical pressure to a surface to trigger events. Whereas, in the second case, [2], [4], [5], [7], [10], [11], [18], [22], [24], [25], [28], [30], [34], [45], [51], [53], [60]- [121] 79 Mobile devices [13], [16], [19], [26], [31], [36], [37], [39], [41], [43], [44], [59],…”

“…As participants could suffer from visual and hearing problems or have troubles with atten- tion, visual scenes have to be as simple as possible and search space should be reduced. During gameplay, simple and immediate data as a countdown timer, the number of remained chances to guess an answer, the current score or achieved goals are often shown to incentive the subject to answer as quickly and accurately as possible [3], [14], [17], [19], [20], [22], [24], [26], [28]- [31], [33], [38]- [41], [44], [49], [50], [52], [53], [71], [72], [79], [83], [96], [97], [99], [100], [106], [109], [115], [120], [124], [125], [130]- [132], [137], [138], [142], [150], [161], [164], [179], [191], [209], [211], [212], [231],…”

“…Mouse and keyboard [1], [3], [9]- [11], [18], [21], [28], [32]- [34], [38], [45], [48], [51], [54], [56], [61], [64], [68], [69], [73], [76], [80]- [85], [90], [91], [96], [98]- [100], [102]- [108],…”

“…Interaction Articles VR Non-Immersive PC Controller/gamepad/3 or 6 DOF sensor [62], [65], [79], [86], [87], [89], [101], [120] Mouse/keyboard [1], [10], [11], [18], [28], [34], [45], [61], [64], [68], [69], [73], [76], [80], [81], [83], [84], [90], [91], [96], [98]- [100], [102]- [108], [112], [114], [116] Hand gesture…”