Considering Design Concerns in Games for Physical Rehabilitation

Abstract

In this paper we explore the claim that games for physical rehabilitation are too often developed from a rehabilitation-centered perspective. In order to investigate this, a comprehensive analysis scheme was developed based on a literature overview of both rehabilitation and game design. The scheme allowed us to perform a quantitative document analysis of 21 publications concerning games and game systems for physical rehabilitation. The results show that all publications had a focus on rehabilitation, but only a minority (n=5) strongly included game design concerns. Some design concerns were more prominent then others, including those relating to ‘challenge’, ‘tactical game play’, ‘compelling graphics’ and ‘input devices’. ‘Social play’, ‘conflict’ and ‘graphical quality’ were also found, but to a lesser extent. Elements like ‘narrative’, ‘audio feedback’ and ‘free play’ were underemphasized in all publications. We conclude that the claim is true to a certain degree. A majority of the games and game systems lacked a focus on game design. At the same time, some did, however, take certain design concerns into account.