Impact of Game Mode on Engagement and Social Involvement in Multi-User Serious Games with Stroke Patients
The use of novel technologies for rehabilitation has
been intensely researched in the last decades. As technology
evolved, it has become usual to exploit virtual reality and
serious games as tools for motor and cognitive rehabilitation.
However, despite the increasing use of games in rehabilitation,
evidence of the impact of their use in multi user settings
remains scarce. To our knowledge, there are no comparative
studies on stroke patients assessing the specific benefits of
Competitive, Cooperative and Collaborative gaming modes for
motor rehabilitation. In this study we propose to use a
multiplayer motor rehabilitation gaming system, and evaluate
the impact that these different game modes can have on
patient’s engagement and social involvement, and also to
research the influence that different motor and cognitive skill
levels can produce in those three different multiplayer settings.
To that end, we developed a multiplayer setup – using tangible
objects and a large screen interactive table – for upper limb
rehabilitation purposes. We implemented a game that, while
keeping the same basic mechanics, can be played on the three
different multiplayer modes (Competitive, Cooperative and
Collaborative). We performed a preliminary study with 11
stroke patients, and results show that behavioral involvement
and positive affect is promoted more effectively with the
Collaborative mode, specifically with participants with less
motor and cognitive difficulties.
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