Emotionally Challenging Games Can Satisfy Older Adults' Psychological Needs: From Empirical Study to Design Guidelines

Research Background and Issues

• What problems or challenges did the authors identify?
  Due to retirement and living alone, older adults often struggle to meet their psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) in daily life. Additionally, current research primarily focuses on the gaming experiences of younger individuals, neglecting the needs of older adults. Similarly, while digital games are increasingly recognized as beneficial for promoting mental health, there is limited exploration of single-player games and their ability to fulfill relatedness needs. The key questions are: Can older adults benefit from emotionally challenging games? Can such games meet their psychological needs? And how can games be designed to cater to the needs of older adults?

• Why is this issue important?
  Fulfilling psychological needs is closely tied to the overall well-being of older adults. With global aging, this issue has become particularly significant in the context of societal development. By exploring how to design emotionally challenging games that address psychological needs, this study not only expands the audience for the gaming industry but also contributes to improving the mental health and social connectedness of older adults.

• Research Motivation and Related Work
  Research based on Self-Determination Theory (SDT) has demonstrated that digital games can fulfill players' basic psychological needs. Emotionally challenging games, with their complex psychological experiences and value-driven decision-making, are considered capable of meeting players' needs and fostering reflection. However, the unique experiences of older adults in such games remain an unexplored area. This study aims to fill this gap by experimentally investigating the gaming experiences of older adults.

Solutions

• What methods or solutions did the authors propose?
  The authors conducted two experimental studies to systematically explore how emotionally challenging games can fulfill the psychological needs of older adults.

  • The first experiment used the commercial game Detroit: Become Human to investigate differences in gaming experiences between older and younger adults, collecting feedback from older adults through interviews.
  • The second experiment developed a custom game scenario, "Old Li," to compare the gaming experiences of older adults with and without "meaningful choices."

• What is innovative about this solution?

  • This is the first in-depth study on how emotionally challenging games can fulfill the psychological needs of older adults.
  • By designing a custom game, the study directly tests the impact of "meaningful choices" on psychological need fulfillment.
  • It proposes game design guidelines tailored to the psychological needs of older adults, providing a reference for future game development.

• What are the implementation steps and key technologies used?

  • Experiment 1: Older adults played the commercial game Detroit: Become Human, with psychological need fulfillment, challenge assessments, and emotional responses recorded.
  • Experiment 2: A game scenario with key choices was designed, and a group experiment compared the psychological and emotional experiences of "choice" and "no-choice" versions.
  • Technological Applications: The game scenario was developed using the Unity engine, incorporating 3D modeling-based character creation and interactive design.

Research Findings

• What specific findings were achieved?

  • Older adults derived psychological satisfaction from emotionally challenging games, particularly in terms of autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
  • Meaningful choices were identified as critical for enhancing autonomy and enjoyment, though their impact on competence was significantly smaller.
  • The study found that older adults experienced stronger emotional engagement and psychological satisfaction from emotionally challenging games compared to younger adults.

• What advantages does it have over existing solutions?

  • Compared to traditional single-player games, this study demonstrates the potential of emotionally challenging games to fulfill the relatedness needs of older adults.
  • It proposes specific design principles, such as enhancing autonomy through "meaningful choices" and tailoring narrative content to fulfill relatedness needs.

• What were the experimental or evaluation results?

  • Experiment 1 showed that older participants reported higher psychological need fulfillment and stronger emotional experiences in Detroit: Become Human compared to younger participants.
  • Experiment 2 further confirmed the significant role of meaningful choices in enhancing autonomy and enjoyment, while also revealing that older adults felt a deeper emotional connection with the characters in the game.

• Limitations and Future Directions

  • Limitations:
    1. The sample was primarily drawn from China, and cultural background may affect the generalizability of the results.
    2. The quality of the custom game design may be lower than commercial standards, potentially affecting the applicability of conclusions.
    3. Participants were predominantly around 60 years old, which may limit applicability to a broader age range.
  • Future Directions: Expand the sample size and cultural diversity, further explore older adults' responses to games of varying complexity, and improve the quality of custom game designs.

Summary and Design Recommendations

Based on the in-depth research from the two experiments, the authors propose five principled recommendations for designing emotionally challenging games for older adults:

1. Design meaningful choices to enhance autonomy and enjoyment: Ensure that older adults can influence key plot points and character outcomes in the game.
2. Incorporate older adults' life experiences: Use narrative content that resonates with older adults' past experiences to foster emotional connection and fulfill relatedness needs.
3. Balance difficult themes with positive narratives: Provide rich emotional challenges while conveying hope and strength through the story's conclusion.
4. Ensure adaptability of cognitive and operational challenges: Design balanced game tasks that accommodate the cognitive and physical abilities of older adults.
5. Introduce collaborative design approaches: Involve older adults in the game design process to ensure the content aligns with their interests and needs.

Through this study, emotionally challenging games demonstrate significant potential in meeting the deep psychological needs of older adults, providing theoretical foundations and practical guidance for developing innovative games targeted at this demographic.