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International Conference on Entertainment Computing

ICEC 2012: Entertainment Computing - ICEC 2012 pp 235–242Cite as

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Game Design for Older Adults: Effects of Age-Related Changes on Structural Elements of Digital Games

Game Design for Older Adults: Effects of Age-Related Changes on Structural Elements of Digital Games

  • Kathrin Maria Gerling19,
  • Frank Paul Schulte20,
  • Jan Smeddinck21 &
  • …
  • Maic Masuch20 
  • Conference paper

Part of the Lecture Notes in Computer Science book series (LNISA,volume 7522)

Abstract

Recent studies report various positive effects on elderly persons playing digital games. Yet, games are rarely designed with an elderly user group in mind. In this paper, this issue is addressed by providing an overview of common age-related changes followed by a summary of game design considerations for senior audiences. The impact of age on game design is discussed based on an analysis of the most important structural elements of games. The analysis shows that age-related changes in users’ cognitive and physical abilities affect the use of games on multiple levels, making the complexity of games and interrelations between different game mechanics a crucial factor when designing for older adults.

Keywords

  • Game design
  • older adults
  • accessibility
  • design recommendations

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Saskatchewan, 110 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C9, Canada

    Kathrin Maria Gerling

  2. University of Duisburg-Essen, Forsthausweg 2, 47057, Duisburg, Germany

    Frank Paul Schulte & Maic Masuch

  3. University of Bremen, Bibliothekstraße 1, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Jan Smeddinck

Authors
  1. Kathrin Maria Gerling
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  2. Frank Paul Schulte
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  3. Jan Smeddinck
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  4. Maic Masuch
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Technologie-Zentrum Informatik und Informationstechik (TZI), Universität Bremen, Postfach 33 04 40, 28334, Bremen, Germany

    Marc Herrlich

  2. Digital Media, TZI, University of Bremen, Germany

    Rainer Malaka

  3. Abteilung für Informatik und angewandte Kognitionswissenschaften, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Forsthausweg 2, 47057, Duisburg, Germany

    Maic Masuch

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© 2012 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing

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Cite this paper

Gerling, K.M., Schulte, F.P., Smeddinck, J., Masuch, M. (2012). Game Design for Older Adults: Effects of Age-Related Changes on Structural Elements of Digital Games. In: Herrlich, M., Malaka, R., Masuch, M. (eds) Entertainment Computing - ICEC 2012. ICEC 2012. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7522. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33542-6_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33542-6_20

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-33541-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-33542-6

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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