Heuristics for designing digital games in assistive environments: Applying the guidelines to an ageing society

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to identify a set of heuristics for designing assistive ‘gamer-friendly’ environments. These heuristics are based on the literature review on game heuristics, game interfaces addressed to older adults and assistive technologies. Forty-seven papers published between 1980 and 2016 in English and Portuguese-language publications met inclusion criteria. Four web-based games and one exergame co-designed with a group of older adults and developed by our research team were then analysed in terms of the heuristics proposed. The following review presents sets of recommendations for designing assistive ‘gamer-friendly’ environments, taking into account the challenges posed by an ageing society.