Impact of game mode in multi-user serious games for upper limb rehabilitation: a within-person randomized trial on engagement and social involvement
Serious games have been increasingly used for motor rehabilitation. However, it is not well known how
different game features can be used to impact specific skills properly. Here, we study how the mode (competitive,
co-active, collaborative) in which a multi-user game is presented impacts engagement and social involvement. We collected data from 20 pairs of community-dwelling older adults (71.5 ± 8.7 years) in a study following a
within-persons design. The participants performed a two-player upper limb rehabilitation game with three conditions
(Competitive, Co-active, and Collaborative modes). Engagement and social involvement were assessed through the
Core Module and Social Presence Module, respectively, from the Game Experience Questionnaire. To infer the impact
of personality and cognitive function, users answered the International Personality Item Pool (short version) and the
Montreal Cognitive Assessment, respectively. Results show that the Collaborative game mode promotes more social involvement when compared to
Competitive and Co-active modes. This result is mostly explained by those participants with higher cognitive skills, and
those that are more extrovert. Extrovert participants feel more empathy and are behaviorally more involved when
playing the Collaborative mode. Also, the Collaborative mode is shown to be appropriate to promote interaction with
participants that previously had a distant relationship, while the Competitive mode seems to be more beneficial to
promote empathy between players with a closer relationship. The Collaborative game mode elicited significantly higher social involvement in terms of Empathy,
Positive Affect, and Behavioral Involvement. Hence, this game mode seems to be the most adequate choice to be
used in multiplayer rehabilitation settings, where social interaction is intended.
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