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Video Games for Positive Aging: Playfully Engaging Older Adults

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Internet of Things for Human-Centered Design

Part of the book series: Studies in Computational Intelligence ((SCI,volume 1011))

Abstract

One of the biggest challenges in the near future will be finding strategies to promote positive aging, that is, aging with a high quality of life with respect to both mental and physical health. Video games appear to be one of the most appealing interactive technologies for empowering older adults and assisting them to overcome health issues. As underlined by recent studies, computer games can improve seniors’ quality of life in several areas, including training of cognitive abilities, relaxation, socializing, and motivating healthy behaviors such as physical activity. Their capability to engage people is especially useful in clinical settings, enhancing patient adherence to therapy exercises, perhaps even more so when they can employ recent advances in Extended Reality, Internet of Things, and Tele-Health. Furthermore, emerging domains, like Digital Health, offer revolutionary ways to make games more effective, ubiquitous, adaptive, and personalized, empowering the user-centered (and senior-centered) design of these systems. Within this context, this chapter discusses the role of video games to foster positive aging, analyzing how they can enhance mental and physical health in the elderly population.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research and Development, SimTec MD Inc., Lethbridge, Canada

    Sasha Blue Godfrey

  2. Rehab Technologies Lab, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy

    Giacinto Barresi

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  1. Sasha Blue Godfrey
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  2. Giacinto Barresi
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  1. University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

    Sofia Scataglini

  2. Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

    Silvia Imbesi

  3. Polytechnic of Coimbra, ESTGOH, Rua General Santos Costa, Oliveira do Hospital, Portugal

    Gonçalo Marques

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Godfrey, S.B., Barresi, G. (2022). Video Games for Positive Aging: Playfully Engaging Older Adults. In: Scataglini, S., Imbesi, S., Marques, G. (eds) Internet of Things for Human-Centered Design. Studies in Computational Intelligence, vol 1011. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8488-3_18

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