A multidisciplinary approach to serious game development in the health sector

Abstract Serious games (SGs) provide users with valuable information in a fun, entertaining way. Due to the elements of surprise and simulation, these games potentially engage and inspire their target groups more than traditional methods. Health games are SGs that provide a new model of maintaining and developing mental and physical capabilities for all age groups. The current study focused on the use of SGs in health care. The research goal was to identify the role of multidisciplinary expertise in developing SGs. Design science research (DSR) techniques were adopted in this study to identify the role of versatile expertise in the health-care context. From the perspective of DSR, this study provides new tools and a method — a rapid prototyping workshop and an SG design canvas — that can help in providing the needed knowledge and in developing ways to communicate these ideas. In this study, the developed tools and method were applied to six case studies, and lessons learnt were evaluated and tested by participants in the workshop. The proposed SG design canvas also supports a participatory design process and invites users to contribute early in the development process. Overall, this study shows that good health game development can only occur through effective multidisciplinary cooperation