User-Centered Design: An Effective Approach for Creating Online Educational Games for Seniors

To be effective, development of online educational games for older adults should be rooted in a user-centered design (UCD) process. This design approach is derived from computer ergonomics, in which the needs, expectations, and characteristics of users are taken into account at every stage of development. This differs from other approaches in that it seeks to adapt the product (in this case, an online educational game) to the needs and preferences of the end user rather than imposing characteristics imagined by the product’s designers. In this chapter, we present the UCD process which allowed us to identify areas for improvement during the modelling phase (through testing a mock-up of the game on paper), the prototype phase (testing a limited version of the programmed game) and during implementation of the final version of the game (online testing of the full game). In our experience over the past 25 years, our online educational games have normally required two or three iterations to finalize a game’s design. The results of the approach show that UCD considerably reduces the costs inherent in game design and development while ensuring a high degree of player satisfaction.