Prototyping 'Typical Day': Building a Gamified Experience To Reflect Immigrant Challenges.

Abstract

This article describes the steps involved in creating a prototype with a gamified approach aimed at highlighting the challenges encountered by immigrants in foreign countries. This serious game sought to provide an interactive experience that mirrored the real-life obstacles faced by immigrants, fostering empathy among non-immigrant players in these scenarios, with the goal of improving attitudes toward immigrants. During the development phase of the game, a user-centered design approach was employed. The project was divided into several phases: understanding the context, comprehending user needs, iterative prototyping, and usability testing. Both immigrants and non-immigrants participated in the study, directly contributing to defining requirements and evaluating the game. The serious game "Typical Day," designed to simulate everyday situations faced by immigrants through interactive scenarios and critical decisions, demonstrated positive acceptance in terms of usability and engagement. The results indicated that "Typical Day" provided an engaging and educational gaming experience, successfully balancing entertainment and information. Positive feedback from 45 non-immigrant participants highlighted its potential as an educational tool to raise awareness about the experiences of immigrants. However, further studies are needed to evaluate its long-term impact on attitudes and behaviors. In conclusion, this study contributes to the literature by addressing a gap in gamified approaches to immigrant challenges, laying the foundation for future developments in serious games aimed at promoting attitude change.