THE DAUNTING TASK OF DESIGNING
COMPUTER GAMES FOR PRESCHOOLERS BY NINTENDO – A JAPANESE FIRM
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Designing
computer games for young children is a daunting task for game producers,
who, for a long time, have concentrated on more “hard core” game fans. This
article chronicles the design process and research involved in creating
Nintendo DS for preschool gamers.
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After
speaking with our producers who have a keen interest in designing for the
DS, we finally agreed on three key goals for our project. First, to
understand the range of physical and cognitive abilities of preschoolers in
the context of handheld system game play; second, to understand how
preschool gamers interact with the DS, specifically how they control the
different forms of play and game mechanics offered by the games presently
on the market for this platform; third, to understand the expectation of
preschooler’s parents concerning the handheld systems as well as the
purchase and play contexts within which game play occurs. The team of
research decided that in-home ethnographies with preschoolers and their
families would yield comprehensive database with which to give our
producers more information and insights, so we start by conducting 26
in-home ethnographies in three markets across the United States: an East
coast urban/suburban area, a West coast urban/suburban area, and a Midwest suburban/rural
area.
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The subject
is this study included 15 girls and 11 boys ranging from 3 years and 3
months old to 5 years and 11 months old. Also, because previous research
had shown the effects of older siblings on game play (demonstrated, for
example, by more advanced motor coordination when using a computer mouse),
households were employed to have a combination of preschoolers with and
without elder peers. In order to understand both “experienced” and “new”
preschool users of the platform, we divided the sample so that 13 families
owned at least one Nintendo DS and the others did not. For those households
that did not own a DS, one was brought to the interview for the kid to
play. This allowed us to see both the instinctive and intuitive movements
of the new players (and of the more experienced players when playing new
games), as well as the learned movements of the more experienced players.
Each of those interviews took about 60 to 120 minutes and included the
preschooler, at least one parent, and often siblings and another caregiver.
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Three kinds
of information were collected after each interview. From any older siblings
and the parents that were available, we gathered data about: the buying
decisions surrounding game systems in the household, the family’s typical
game play patterns, levels of parental moderation with regard to computer
gaming, and the most favorite games play by family members. We could also
understand the ideology of gaming in these homes because of these in-home
interviews: what types of spaces were used for game play, how the system
were installed, where the handheld play occurred in the house (as well as
on-the-go play), and the number and type of games and game systems owned.
The most important is, we gathered the game-playing information for every
single kid.
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Before
carrying out the interviews, the research team had closely discussed with
the in-house game producers to create a list of game mechanics and problems
tied to preschoolers’ motor and cognitive capabilities that were critical
for them to understand prior to writing the games. These ranged from
general dexterity issues related to game controllers to the effectiveness
of in-game instructions to specific mechanics in current games that the
producers were interested in implementing for future preschool titles.
During the interviews, the moderator gave specific guidance to the
preschooler through a series of games, so that he or she could observe the
interaction and probe both the preschooler and his or her parents on
feelings, attitudes, and frustrations that arose in the different
circumstances.
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If the
subject in the experiment had previous exposure to the DS system, he or she
was first asked to play his or her favorite game on the machine. This gave
the researchers information about current level of gaming skill related to
the complexity of the chosen one, allowing them to see the child playing a
game with mechanics he or she was already familiar with. Across the 26
preschoolers, the Nintendo DS selections scope were very broad, including
New Super Mario Bros, Sonic Rush, Nintendogs, and Tony Hawk’s Proving
Ground. The interview observed the child play, noting preferences for game
mechanic and motor interactions with device as well as the complexity level
each game mechanic was for the tested subject. The researchers asked all of
the preschoolers to play with a specific game in consultation with our
producers, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. The game was
chosen for two major reasons. First, it was one of the few games on the
market with characters that appeal to this young age group. Second, it
incorporated a large variety of mechanics that highlighted the uniqueness
of the DS platform, including using the microphone for blowing or singing.
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The findings
from this initial experiment were extensive. After reviewing the outcomes
and discussing the implications for the game design with our internal game
production team, we then outlined the designing needs and presented the
findings to a firm specializing in game design. We worked closely with
those experts to set the game design for the two preschool-targeted DS
games under development on what we had gathered.
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As the two DS
games went into the development process, a formative research course of
action was set up. Whenever we developed new game mechanics, we brought
preschoolers into our in-house utility lab to test the mechanics and to
evaluate both their simplicity, and whether they were engaging. We tested
either alpha or beta versions of different elements of the game, in
addition to looking at overarching game structure. Once a full version of
the DS game was ready, we went back into the field test with a dozen
preschoolers and their parents to make sure that each of the game elements
worked for the children, and that the overall objective of the game was
understandable and the process was enjoyable for players. We also collected
parent’s feedback on whether they thought the game is appropriate,
engaging, and worth the purchase.
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Questions 1-5
Complete
the sentences below.
Choose
ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Exploratory Research Project
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Main
Objectives:
Determine the relevant 1_____________ in the context
Observe how preschoolers manage
playing
Investigate attitudes of 2_____________
towards games
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Subjects:
26 children from different US
3_____________
Age range: 3 years and 3
months to 5 years and 11 months
Some children have older 4_____________
Equal number of new and 5_____________
players
Some households have Nintendo
DS and some don’t
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Length
of Interview:
1-2 hours
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Questions 6-9
Do the following statements
agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 6-9 on your
answer sheet, write
TRUE
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if the
statement agrees with the information
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FALSE
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if the
statement contradicts the information
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NOT GIVEN
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if these is no information on
this
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6
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One area of research is how far mothers and fathers controlled
children’s playing after school.
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7
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The researchers are allowed a free access to the subject’s houses.
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8
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The
researchers regarded The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure as
likely appeal to preschoolers.
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9
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The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure is operated entirely
by hand controls.
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Questions 10-13
Complete the flow-chart below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS
from the passage for each answer.
Write your answer in boxes 10-13
on your answer sheet.
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