Older adults in gaming
Promoting inclusive video game design through psychological research
Almost 50% of adults 50+ play video games, yet very little has been done to understand their motivations and needs. My Master’s thesis aimed to fill this gap and promote inclusive video game design by translating psychological research into actionable insights for developers.
tl;dr
Researcher
1 Researcher, 1 Senior Supervisor
UX research, data analysis, accessibility
Adobe Creative Cloud, Qualtrics
I’ve tried to make this accessible to a general audience. The research is rooted in Self-Determination Theory and other studies on the motivations behind video game play. If you’d like to learn more, you can read the full paper here.
Half of older adults play video games
Audrey Buchanan was 88 when she made headlines for her impressive play time of 3,500+ hours in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Her story surprised (and endeared) many, yet research shows that almost 50% of Americans aged 50+ play video games regularly.
Despite the statistics, older adults are often underrepresented in discussions related to play. This prevents the creation of games that address their needs and preferences.
The GapBut what are their tastes?
There have been fascinating studies on the motivations for playing video games, as well as the cognitive benefits of regular play. However, I found that most of the research focused on younger audiences and did not account for demographic differences.
Hoping to address the existing gap, I set a few objectives for my study:
- Identify older adults’ general opinion on video games.
- Define the tastes of older adults, and compare them to those of younger players.
- Produce insights for video game developers to promote inclusive design.
Two hypotheses, two studies
I started out with the following hypotheses, with served as guidance to design the experiments.
- Older adults may have negative preconceptions of video games, which prevents them from playing.
- Older adults’ tastes differ from younger audiences, and they would prefer non-violent over violent video games.
Note that these were assumptions based on anecdotal evidence and opinion pieces.
Hypothesis 1Understanding preconceptions
I tested my first hypothesis through an anonymous survey, with questions exploring:
- Age, gender, and frequency of play.
- Reasons for adoption or rejection.
- Perceived competence.
- Preconceived ideas (negative/positive perception).
Participants
I distributed the survey through personal contacts and online gaming communities, and obtained 145 responses. Adults aged 50+ made up 50% of the responses.
Results
I first tested for the effects of age and gender in adoption rates. They both had major effects, with people aged 50+ reporting lower frequency of play and female participants reporting lower adoption.
Older adults also reported significantly lower competence. Interestingly, this was more pronounced in regular players.
Older adults reported lower adoption and perceived competence. This was more pronounced in female participants.
Regarding preconceptions, I found that older adults are more likely to perceive video games as too violent. However, frequency of play had a bigger effect, with regular players perceiving video games as less violent, less isolating, and more popular.
These findings partially supported my hypothesis and provided a new insight:
Holding a negative or positive perception is more tightly related to frequency of play, rather than age.
There were no significant findings related to reasons for adoption or rejection, but I found some interesting trends. For example, adults aged 50-69 are likely to think that there are no options for them in the market.
Hypothesis 2Understanding tastes
To test my second hypothesis, I ran a simple crossover study via moderated video call sessions.
First, I selected two free-to-play games that were easily accessible to participants. One game was non-violent (Sushi Roll, a simple clicker game developed by Famobi), and the other was violent (Hell Sucker, a top-down 2D shooter developed by CheeseBaron2).
Participants were randomly assigned the first game they’d play. Each participant played each game for 10 minutes while being observed, then filled out a short questionnaire before switching to the second game.
Participants
The participants for the second study were selected to have varying levels of familiarity with video games. Due to COVID-19, the sample size was more limited. I worked with 5 young adults aged 18-29 and 5 older adults aged 50-69.
Results
Unfortunately, the small sample size prevented me from obtaining statistically significant findings. However, I identified some trends worth mentioning.
Feelings of competence decreased with Hell Sucker, with participants expressing frustration towards the controls and interface. Feelings of autonomy were also lower. This highlighted the impact that controls have on the experience.
Preference scores stayed consistent across both games for players under 50, but older adults expressed higher preference for Sushi Roll.
The OutcomeWhat this means for game designers
My main goal was to provide developers with suggestions for more inclusive game design. Below are some trends I spotted that could inform the design of games aimed at an older demographic.
Perceived competence decreases with age and lack of experience. Providing difficulty settings accounts for player differences and makes games accessible to a much wider audience.
The second study highlights the impact of complex controls. They can be a high barrier of entry, especially for older adults with less dexterity or muscle memory. Simple and intuitive controls are recommended, preferably with customisation options such as button remapping.
I was saddened to hear older adults express that video games are not made for them, despite the many different options that exist nowadays. This highlights the need for more diverse game narratives, or a collective effort in bringing such games into the spotlight.
These are only a few of many accessibility considerations that games generally benefit from. If you’d like to learn more, I recommend checking out the Game Accessibility Guidelines.
The road ahead
Since I defended my thesis, accessibility has become a bigger focus. Within the past few years, including extensive accessibility settings has become a reason for praise within the industry, and prizes are awarded to studios that go above and beyond. However, there is still a long way to go.
Accessibility is not only beneficial to older players, or those with disabilities. It improves the experience for everyone, and should not be up for debate.