Designing Games for the Elderly: A Virtual Reality Pilot Study Based on the Use of Self-Determination Theory to Enhance Relatedness

Designing games for the elderly must highlight age-related challenges and present unique opportunities to address a growing problem. Recent studies on gameplay design for older adults suggest using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) (Ryan, Rigby, and Przybylski 2006) which emphasizes relatedness as a key motivator (Webster 2008), providing potential benefits to the well-being of the elderly (Hasan and Linger 2016). This project design focuses on relatedness in gaming for older adults through a VR experience. We created an adventure using a virtual AI child as a companion, guide, and motivator. The game utilizes an independent Quest2 VR headset. The gameplay – designed to resonate with older adults' inner-childhood memories – features hand-drawn settings, nostalgic toys, and familiar intergenerational interactions (Havukainen et al. 2020). Each of the gameplay's levels presented a different measure of engagement across the SDT dimensions. Successful interactions were rewarded by the AI child's display of affection. The pilot consisted of 19 healthy Israeli elderly volunteers over 65, each participating in a 15–20-minute session in Shenkar Games' Lab. Unstructured interviews, motivated by Subjective Vitality and Intrinsic Motivation Inventory questionnaires, were administered to subjects before and after the gameplay to elicit changes in their subjective well-being. Chronicling the game highlighted the development of positive emotions between participants and their AI child. The immersive VR experience increased their emotional response and inspired the older adults to interact with their AI child as human, some even expressed desire to hug it. Notwithstanding the limited number of participants, the VR pilot demonstrated the possibility of relatedness between older adults and their AI companion.