Evaluation of Serious Game User Experience: the Role of Emotions

Abstract

Serious games are slowly becoming a part of educational systems and corporate training facilities in lots of fields such as industry, health, management, etc. Despite this, the academic knowledge on these artefacts is still limited. The research reported in this paper examined emotional implications of serious games on the user experience. This correlational research observed the relationships between factors of serious gaming and emotions. Fifty students took part in the study. The participants used a serious game on the security of an Information System and answered a structured questionnaire. The data was analysed by Spearman’s correlation. The results show that the quality components of the multimedia system and the quality of the content of the game are correlated with emotions, satisfaction and intention to use. Moreover, they show that emotions are correlated with satisfaction, learning and success of the serious game. Satisfaction and learning play a key role in these programs. If serious game training is to have some efficiency, a deeper understanding of the factors that lead to the success of these applications is required. These factors are all levers of control that affect the perception and emotions of the user. Understanding these mechanisms could eventually lead to more effective serious games.