Older Adults “Jump” into coDesiging a Digital Game: A Field Study

The aim of this paper is to contribute to establishing practices to involve adults aged 50 and over in the design of digital games within the paradigm of active ageing. This paper focuses on a component of a larger project entitled SERIOUSGIGGLE integrated in the SEDUCE 2.0 research that enabled to develop the digital game JUMP that goes beyond illness recovery or skill maintenance, addressing active ageing. Using a Participatory Action Qualitative Research that deployed 64-session group discussions and participant observation of 33 learners at a Portuguese University of the Third Age, the necessary course of actions to involve the end-users in game design were identified. Results suggest four phases: 1. Validate the content and the materials that will be used during coDesign with experts in the area, using the Delphi method; 2. Carry out the activities in the end-user’s places; 3. Design the game tool based on the end-users’ context and the content validated by the experts during the previous phases; and 4. Validate the game-based product with the end-users. Literature is still scarce in giving standards for designing digital games for active ageing and most of the solutions on the market tend to focus on health and rehabilitation rather than on other dimensions, such as security and social participation.