The Purpose of Play

Abstract

Play presents a popular pastime for all humans, though not all humans play alike. Subsequently, Human–Computer Interaction Games research is increasingly concerned with the development of games that serve neurodivergent 1 players. In a critical review of 66 publications informed by Disability Studies and Self-Determination Theory, we analyse which populations , research methods, kinds of play and overall purpose goals existing games address. We find that games are largely developed for children, in a top-down approach. They tend to focus on educational and medical settings and are driven by factors extrinsic to neurodivergent interests. Existing work predominantly follows a medical model of disability, which fails to support self-determination of neurodivergent players and marginalises their opportunities for immersion. Our contribution comprises a large-scale investigation into a budding area of research gaining traction with the intent to capture a status quo and identify opportunities for future work attending to differences without articulating them as deficit.

PigScape: An embodied video game for cognitive peer-training of impulse and behavior control in children with ADHD

“…Lately, computerized gaming has started to be leveraged for ADHD treatment and monitoring. Indeed, gaming that is fun yet educational and skill-building could complement traditional intervention schemes or serve as a stand-alone mean of ADHD rehabilitation and diagnostics [11]. Examples of useful gamified interventions for children with ADHD could focus on the recognition of patterns of problems and managing own thoughts, behaviors, and emotions (e.g., learning how to concentrate on a task, think about consequences of own actions, etc.…”

Disconnected from Reality: Do the core concepts of the metaverse exclude disabled individuals?

“…Gerling & Spiel levy the accusation that Virtual Reality (VR) tends to prioritize an ideal 'corporeal standard' and neglects to properly attend to the needs of alternatives in its design. Facebook's Oculus technology is an example of this standard, being designed around normative cognitive, spatial and kinetic capabilities [42]. There are some studies to corroborate this with practical facts; for example one by the Disability Project, who stated that the tools in use for many VR games using Oculus Technology did not even include height adjustments, reinforcing the notion of an ideal body type as a pre-requisite for use [47].…”

Share the Experience, Don’t Take it: Toward Attunement With Neurodiversity in Videogames

“…Regardless of their specific target, all studies center around the effect that games can have on people with a specific psychiatric diagnosis. This focus is reflective of the ways in which a significant part of current empirical research instrumentalizes neurodivergent participants for goals that are not necessarily in their own best interest (Spiel & Gerling, 2020). Spiel and Gerling are critiquing from a player perspective and specifically call out the lack of attention to neurodivergent ways of playing.…”

“…2 Both videogame design and game research on neurodiversity primarily work from a top-down approach and are rather limited to either an educational or a medical setting. As Katta Spiel and Kathrin Gerling argue, these games often have the explicit goal to “either address specific characteristics or attempt to cure individuals from neurodivergent traits” (Spiel & Gerling, 2020, p. 3). A focus on the specific instrumental uses of videogames overlooks their potential to provide more insight into the dynamic reality of neurodivergent lived experience, with potentially harmful consequences.…”