Open AccessExtending the Behavior Change Wheel Program Planning Model to Design Games for Health (Preprint)
Author(s) -
Michael C Robertson,
Tom Baranowski,
Debbe Thompson,
Karen Basen-Engquist,
Maria C. Swartz,
Elizabeth Lyons
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
jmir serious games
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2291-9279
DOI - 10.2196/29964
Subject(s) - behavior change , cognitive reframing , applied psychology , health promotion , psychology , game mechanics , experiential learning , psychological intervention , behavior change methods , preprint , nudge theory , human–computer interaction , computer science , management science , social psychology , medicine , engineering , public health , mathematics education , nursing , world wide web , psychiatry
Background Games for health are a promising approach to health promotion. Their success depends on achieving both experiential (game) and instrumental (health) objectives. There is little to guide game for health (G4H) designers in integrating the science of behavior change with the art of game design. Objective The aim of this study is to extend the Behaviour Change Wheel program planning model to develop Challenges for Healthy Aging: Leveraging Limits for Engaging Networked Game-Based Exercise (CHALLENGE), a G4H centered on increasing physical activity in insufficiently active older women. Methods We present and apply the G4H Mechanics, Experiences, and Change (MECHA) process, which supplements the Behaviour Change Wheel program planning model. The additional steps are centered on identifying target G4H player experiences and corresponding game mechanics to help game designers integrate design elements and G4H objectives into behavioral interventions. Results We identified a target behavior of increasing moderate-intensity walking among insufficiently active older women and key psychosocial determinants of this behavior from self-determination theory (eg, autonomy). We used MECHA to map these constructs to intervention functions (eg, persuasion) and G4H target player experiences (eg, captivation). Next, we identified behavior change techniques (eg, framing or reframing) and specific game mechanics (eg, transforming) to help realize intervention functions and elicit targeted player experiences. Conclusions MECHA can help researchers map specific linkages between distal intervention objectives and more proximal game design mechanics in games for health. This can facilitate G4H program planning, evaluation, and clearer scientific communication.