Validating UX and UI Elements for Serious Children’s Language Learning Games : Case studies: Lola’s Alphabet Train and Kids Learn To Read

Digital games as tools in children’s language learning have great positive potential. They provide an alternative to traditional learning methods and challenge them and studies show that they have worked successfully in teaching kids a specific problem. They can be used as tools in schools and in preparation for school depending on their educational content and even be integrated into the curriculum. The choices in graphic design in serious games have a large impact on the usability, playability and the way the player gets immersed in the language learning game. The purpose of this thesis is to research what a graphic designer has to take into account when designing of imagery, user interfaces and animations for children’s language learning games and how the development stage of the target age group affects the complexity of the design and how the specific educational purpose, in this case learning to read, needs to be taken into careful consideration in the graphic design process. Two language learning games designed for the examined target group of 4 to 6 years old children, Lola’s Alphabet Train and Kids Learn To Read, are tested within the target group and analysed from the perspective of how successful the graphic design, user interface design and general imagery is in delivering the educational content of the game and engaging the players to the game. The test determines if the design principles for designing graphics for language learning games for 4 to 6-year-old target audience that are researched and examined in the thesis hold true in practice. The purpose of this thesis is to validate the choices in the user experience and user interface design used in Lola’s Alphabet Train and Kids Learn To Read based on research and testing