A game-based learning approach to road safety: The code of everand

Ian Dunwell, Sara De Freitas, Panagiotis Petridis, Maurice Hendrix, Sylvester Arnab, Petros Lameras, Craig Stewart

Research output: Chapter in Book/Published conference outputConference publication

Abstract

Game and gamification elements are increasingly seeing use as part of interface designs for applications seeking to engage and retain users whilst transferring information. This paper presents an evaluation of a game-based approach seeking to improve the road safety behaviour amongst children aged 9-15 within the UK, made available outside of a classroom context as an online, browser-based, free-to-play game. The paper reports on data for 99,683 players over 315,882 discrete logins, supplemented by results from a nationally-representative survey of children at UK schools (n=1,108), an incentivized survey of the player-base (n=1,028), and qualitative data obtained through a series of one-to-one interviews aged 9-14 (n=28). Analysis demonstrates the reach of the game to its target demographic, with 88.13% of players within the UK. A 3.94 male/female ratio was observed amongst players surveyed, with an age distribution across the target range of 9-15. Noting mean and median playtimes of 93 and 31 minutes (n=99,683), it is suggested such an approach to user engagement and retention can surpass typical contact times obtained through other forms of web-based content. The size of the player-base attracted to the game and players' qualitative feedback demonstrates the potential for serious games deployed on a national scale.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCHI 2014
Subtitle of host publicationOne of a CHInd - Conference Proceedings, 32nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
PublisherACM
Pages3389-3398
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9781450324731
ISBN (Print)9781450324731
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 26 Apr 2014
Event32nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2014 - Toronto, ON, Canada
Duration: 26 Apr 20141 May 2014

Conference

Conference32nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2014
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityToronto, ON
Period26/04/141/05/14

Keywords

  • Attitudinal change
  • E-learning
  • Game-based interfaces
  • Gamification
  • Road safety
  • Serious games

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