Abstract
Pokémon GO is a location-based game that caused hype around the globe in 2016. Its primary objective is to “Catch’em All”, meaning to catch all available Pokémon. These are virtual creatures distributed in the real world and the player has to walk around and catch them. Various game-design elements such as fighting against other Pokémon or hatching eggs by covering a predefined distance promote physical activity. In this paper, we present the results of an online survey (N = 124) that investigated whether Pokémon GO persuaded players to walk more and in particular which game-design elements had the highest influence on walking behavior. Results show that Pokémon GO persuades people to leave the home and increase exercise. Game-design elements such as catching as many different Pokémon and completing the Pokédex are more persuasive than fighting and competition challenges.
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Meschtscherjakov, A., Trösterer, S., Lupp, A., Tscheligi, M. (2017). Pokémon WALK: Persuasive Effects of Pokémon GO Game-Design Elements. In: de Vries, P., Oinas-Kukkonen, H., Siemons, L., Beerlage-de Jong, N., van Gemert-Pijnen, L. (eds) Persuasive Technology: Development and Implementation of Personalized Technologies to Change Attitudes and Behaviors. PERSUASIVE 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10171. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55134-0_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55134-0_19
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