Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35171097›Full record

ArticleJMIR formative research2022

Effects of Game Mode in Multiplayer Video Games on Intergenerational Social Interaction: Randomized Field Study.

Carmen Zahn, David Leisner, Mario Niederhauser, Anna-Lena Roos, Tabea Iseli, Marco Soldati

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR formative research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Carmen Zahn *School of Applied Psychology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Olten, Switzerland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5899-8235
David LeisnerSchool of Applied Psychology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Olten, Switzerland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1697-7014
Mario NiederhauserSchool of Applied Psychology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Olten, Switzerland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2625-6621
Anna-Lena RoosSchool of Applied Psychology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Olten, Switzerland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7853-0330
Tabea IseliSchool of Engineering, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Windisch, Switzerland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0212-0826
Marco SoldatiSchool of Engineering, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Windisch, Switzerland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7043-286X
FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMaintaining social relationships is a basic human need and particularly essential in old age, including when living in a retirement home. Multiplayer video games can promote positive social interactions among players from different generations while playing. Yet, such facilitation of positive social interactions depends on specific game design. To systematically investigate the effects of game design on social interaction between seniors and their coplayers, the game Myosotis FoodPlanet was developed in this study, and the impacts of 3 different game modes on social interaction were compared in a controlled field trial.

objectiveThis study aims to compare the effects of 3 different game modes (competitive, cooperative, and creative) on social interactions (verbal and nonverbal communication) between seniors and their younger coplayers.

methodsThis study was conducted in a Swiss retirement home as a controlled field trial. Participants were residents of the retirement home (N=10; mean age 84.8 years, SD 5.9 years) and played in pairs with their caregivers. Each pair played 3 game modes in random order. This resulted in 30 game sequences of 20 minutes each. A within-subject design was applied with game mode as the within-factor and social interaction as the outcome variable. To assess the quality of social interaction, 30 video-recorded game sequences were analyzed based on an event sampling method.

resultsAnalysis of variance for repeated measurements revealed significant effects: there was significantly more verbal communication in the creative mode than in the cooperative mode (P=.04) with a strong effect size (Cohen f=0.611). An examination of verbal communication revealed more game-related communication in the creative mode than in the cooperative mode (P=.01) and the competitive mode (P=.09) with marginally significant effects and strong effect sizes (Cohen f=0.841). In addition, significantly more biography-related communication occurred in the creative mode than in the cooperative mode (P=.03), with a strong effect size (r=0.707). Regarding nonverbal communication (eg, laughing together), analysis of variance for repeated measurements showed significant differences among the game modes (P=.02) with a strong effect size (Cohen f=0.758). Results showed that there was significantly more laughing together in the competitive mode (competitive>cooperative>creative).

conclusionsThe results show that game mode can be an important factor for shaping the social interactions of players playing together. Compared with other modes, creative game modes can increase verbal communication. In contrast, competitive modes may stimulate more laughing together. This has important implications for game design and the use of computer games to promote social interaction between seniors and their coplayers in practice.

Indexed as

computer gamesgame modeolder adultsserious gamesocial interactionvideo analysis methodsvideo games

Identifiers

PMID35171097
PMCPMC8892273
OpenAlexW4205951645

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.