Playful Design for Activation: Co-designing serious games for people with moderate to severe dementia to reduce apathy

Research finds that 90% of nursing home residents with dementia suffer from apathy, which negatively influences their physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being. The goal of this project-grounded research is to develop a product-service system that stimulates nursing homes residents, living with moderate to severe dementia, to reduce their apathy. This thesis entails three preceding studies to inform the design project. A systematic literature review that addressed empirical studies that measured the effects of environmental stimuli on the level of physical activity of nursing home residents living with dementia. A qualitative exploration of the social environment of residents in nursing homes to explore the effect of the social aspects on their participation in daily and leisure activities. And a literature review to determine which play experiences can be expected to be suitable for persons in different stages of Alzheimer’s disease. During a co-design process the Active Cues Tovertafel was designed together with the people with dementia, their relatives and carers making use of a ‘Wizard of Oz’ prototype. We developed six serious games for the Tovertafel, which projects playful interactive light animations on existing dining tables in the nursing home environment. The games were evaluated on their effect on the apathy of the residents with moderate to severe dementia during a small-scale study and the results show significant improvement in physical activity. Moreover, the results also indicate improvements in social interaction, happiness, and reduction of anger, fear and sadness. In sum, the present study shows that co-designed serious games can play a beneficial role in the dementia care context.Applied Ergonomics and Desig

Workshop: Playful design for Alzheimer's disease

This workshop aims to bridge the gap between game-, and product design and the theoretical knowledge of the field of neuropsychology. During the workshop we will design playful experiences to stimulate older persons with Alzheimer’s disease, in order to delay disease progression. Knowledge concerning the progressive course of neuropathology of the disease can substantially contribute to the design of suitable games, or playful products, for this user group. In view of the increasing population of older persons with Alzheimer’s disease, the design of relevant games or playful products by well-informed designers will benefit this group and is urgently needed.Industrial DesignIndustrial Design Engineerin

Persuasive Game Design: A model and its definitions

The following position paper proposes a general theoretical model for persuasive game design. This model combines existing theories on persuasive technology, serious gaming, and gamification. The model is based on user experience, gamification design, and transfer effects.Industrial DesignIndustrial Design Engineerin

Play Experiences for People with Alzheimer’s Disease

Little is known about the experience of people with dementia while playing games. This might be a reason why hardly any games are specifically designed for this group. We aimed to determine which play experiences can be expected to be suitable for persons in different stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Twenty-two play experiences were related to the neuropathology that is characteristic of the different stages of dementia: earliest, mild-to-moderate, and severe. This literature overview is based on euroimaging, neuropathological, and clinical studies. We found that for all older persons with AD, egardless of disease severity, the play experiences sensation, relaxation, and reminiscence are likely to be suitable. The play experiences nurture, sympathy, fellowship, expression, humour, eroticism, subversion, and challenge may be appropriate only for those in the earliest and mild-to-moderate stages of AD. The play experience exploration is most likely not suitable, irrespective of the stage of AD. For the remaining play experiences we did not find sufficient evidence to draw conclusions. We conclude that the choice of play experiences in game design for older persons with AD is dependent on disease stage. Current recommendations may contribute to tailor-made games that are suitable for different persons with AD.Industrial DesignIndustrial Design Engineerin