Methods and techniques for evaluating the emotional experiences of children with active videogames

Abstract

In this paper we present a methodological proposal for evaluating the emotional experience of children with active videogames. This proposal aims to address some of the most frequent problems encountered when evaluating interactive products for minors. We conducted an analysis of the main drawbacks of traditional techniques for evaluating usability, quality of use and the user and emotional experience of children, as well as the relationships between emotions, videogames and active games. Based on this analysis, we crafted an evaluation proposal that contains a set of the most representative emotions for active videogames, as well as different instruments and techniques created and/or adapted for motor games that measure subjective (verbal, non-verbal), objective (biometric) and social (behavioral) interactions at different times during an evaluation session. This proposal reveals whether the emotional responses stem from internal reasons within the individual, from the activity performed or are external (context).