Understanding the Effect of Existing Positive Relationships on a Social Motion-based Game for Health
Karina Caro, Yuanyuan Feng, Timothy J Day, Evan Freed, Boyd Fox, Jichen Zhu · 2018
In this paper, we present the iterative design of StepQuest, a Fitbit-based social motion-based game for health (MGH) to sustain physical activity (PA) and support extended play. We conducted two 6-week user studies (n=24) to evaluate the effectiveness of the game to promote PA for an extended period of time as well as the role of existing social relationship. Our findings indicate that a pre-existing positive relationship (e.g., friendship) has a positive impact on players' PA levels when they play a social MGH, compared to strangers, and that this effect was amplified when more gameplay actions were available. However, our results also show that overall PA levels declined for both groups in week 4, and that pre-existing social relationship and a variety of gameplay actions are not enough to sustain long-term motivation for PA. Based on these results and drawing from game design literature, we present a list of design implications including less-discussed key topics such as game balancing.