It is not rocket science. It is collaborative play for old and young!

Abstract

Our submission describes the design, development and evaluation of an intergenerational game prototype called Cosmonauts. The aim of the prototype is to identify design factors for intergenerational games that are easy to learn, feature a simple and intuitive control scheme, and offer a certain amount of depth that keeps players enjoying themselves. In detail, our work investigates how different game features (collaborative creation of game content vs. predefined game content) and interaction techniques (tangible objects vs. touchscreen interaction) effect the game experience of old and young (investigated factors: relatedness, autonomy, competence, and enjoyment). Results show that implementing a collaborative creation of game content improves overall game enjoyment, and using tangible objects benefits social relatedness in a collaborative game setting.