Fine Tuning the Persuasion in Persuasive Games

Persuasive games are a relatively new phenomenon, and hold promise as effective vehicles for persuasion. As yet, however, there are few set rules guiding how to design persuasive games to be interesting, compelling, and effective. Furthermore, little theory exists that guides their development from a persuasive technology (PT) perspective. The results of a recent pilot test on Smoke?, our persuasive game about smoking cessation, highlighted several design issues related to persuasive games in general. In this paper we discuss some of those issues, contextualizing them in terms of B J Fogg’s PT strategies, in order to both explain underlying forces, and point towards potential design solutions. The five issues we discuss are: managing player attention, balancing “replayability” with reality, player control vs. system control, identity issues, and target audience.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: PERSUASIVE
• Authors: Rilla Khaled, Pippin Barr, James Noble, Ronald Fischer, Robert Biddle
• Keywords: Fogg’s PT Strategies, PERSUASIVE 2007, Persuasive Games, Persuasive Technology