Under the Influence? Measuring the Effectiveness of Persuasive Games: The Case of "Homeless: It's No Game" - Softcover

Lavender, T.J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 3838385802 ISBN 13: 9783838385808

Publisher: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2010

Synopsis

Thanks to the maturation of the Internet as a game distribution platform and the development of a new generation of low-cost, easy-to-use game development tools, videogames are being used increasingly often for serious goals such as raising awareness, changing attitudes and motivating behavioural change. But little empirical research has been done as to the effectiveness of these persuasive videogames. The videogame Homeless: It's No Game was developed to determine whether people could be persuaded to become more sympathetic to the plight of the homeless by playing the role of a homeless woman in a videogame and whether this persuasive effect could be measured. The results of the research were promising, and indicated that persuasive games can have an effect, especially if participants considered the game to be realistic.

About this title

About the Author

T.J. Lavender is a PhD candidate at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. He is also a Vancouver-based game researcher and consultant, specializing in social advocacy games for mobile platforms.

Edition details

• Publisher: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3838385802
• ISBN 13: 9783838385808
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 172