Key factors that influence the UX of a dual-player game for the cognitive stimulation and motor rehabilitation of older adults

Abstract

In this work the results of a usability and user experience (UX) evaluation of a serious video game for the cognitive stimulation and motor rehabilitation of the upper limb of the elderly are presented. The serious game includes features that allow (i) performing cooperative therapy exercises between two patients, (ii) remote session configuration therapy, and (iii) monitoring/analyzing the sessions' results by the therapist. An evaluation of the game with 16 older adults provides evidence about how the tool is perceived by participants, who embraced it as stimulating, useful, usable and even fun, and which impacts in therapy compliance and acceptability by the elderly. In addition, through an in-deep analysis of the participants' performance and observed emotions, as well as on their self-report, we determined which engagement attributes are present in the game. Finally, we also found evidence that suggests that the participants' skill level and the game difficulty level rather than just a good performance on the game, are key factors that influence their enjoyment and frustration.

Assessing Emotional Expressions During a Cycling-Based Initiative for Older Care Home Residents Using Video-Based Recordings

“…The Facial Expression Coding System (FACES) (Kring & Sloan, 2007) is a validated measure of facial expressiveness used with diverse populations including children, healthy older adults (Borrego et al, 2021) and people with dementia (Oliver et al, 2020).…”

An analysis of clinical outcomes and essential parameters for designing effective games for upper limb rehabilitation: A scoping review

“…Most of the games were designed using Unity software (n = 6). 18,20,23,25,29,30 Unreal Engine 4.20, 3ds Max, Substance Designer, 21 Blender, 26 and Microsoft Visual C++ 32 were other software used to design rehabilitation games. Some studies also used pre-designed games (n = 4).…”

“…Robots (n = 3) 17,23,34 and smart wearables (n = 3) 26,28,32 were two types of technology that were used for the rehabilitation of upper limb disabilities along with games. Moreover, seven studies 18,20,24,26,31,33,35 provided their rehabilitation services as telerehabilitation.…”

“…Most of the studies were done in Canada (n = 4, 19%) 24,27,31,36 and México (n = 3, 14%), 18,20,29 respectively. Turkey, 19,33 Taiwan, 25,30 Malaysia, 28 and China 34 were the only Asian countries that focused on upper limb disabilities rehabilitation games.…”