Guidelines for Great Mobile Games for Kids (GDC 2013)
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This session builds on the foundation established in past Little Hands, Foul Moods, and Runny Noses sessions. Children have unique intellectual and physical needs, which designers must take into account in order to create engaging gaming experiences. This session provides development guidelines for mobile game design for children (ages 0 to 12), with particular emphasis on developmental milestones, usability, and interaction design findings that are relevant to game developers. Findings are grounded in industry and academic research. Participants will take away findings from existing research on kids and games that can be incorporated into their own game development projects. The discussion will be focused on mobile games, but most findings can be generalized for any child gaming project, regardless of platform. The findings will address children's gaming needs (which are significantly different from older audiences), developmental psychology, UI and input design considerations, usability, and use of storytelling devices. Additionally, participants will have access to a summary document with a list of recommended resources, which includes books and research articles.
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Guidelines for Great Mobile Games for Kids (GDC 2013)
- 1. Little Hands, Foul Moods, and Runny Noses: Mobile Games for Kids Carla Engelbrecht Fisher, Ed.D. No Crusts Interactive
- 2. 2 No Crusts Interactive 2013
- 3. Overview No Crusts Interactive 2013 • Child Development Basics • Design Principles for Children’s Mobile Games 3 Resources • tinyurl.com/runnyNoses • tinyurl.com/kidsMobile • kidscreen.com Kids Got Game blog Lentini • @NoCrusts
- 4. No Crusts Interactive 2013 Kids are different than adults. Cognitively 4 and physically. © Pragmagraphr
- 5. No Crusts Interactive 2013 5 futurestreet Child Development in a Nutshell @NoCrusts
- 6. • Novelty wins No Crusts Interactive 2013 • Enthusiastically use all 5 senses • Early gross motor skills developing • Language skills: grunting speaking single words simple word combinations 6 • Basic pattern recognition Infants & Toddlers (0-2) @NoCrusts
- 7. • Learn through exploration No Crusts Interactive 2013 and imagination • Language takes off (pronunciation, sentences, s emantics, conversation) • Focus on the basics – shapes, colors, numbers • Ego-centric and literal 7 woodleywonderworks Preschoolers (3-5) @NoCrusts
- 8. • Refine motor skills No Crusts Interactive 2013 • Use complex grammar, develop independent reading skills • Increasing attention spans • Early complex mathematical thinking • Develop social network 8 outside family USAG-Humphreys Early elementary (6-8) @NoCrusts
- 9. • Enjoy problem-solving No Crusts Interactive 2013 • Reading becomes a method of learning • Understand multiplication, division, and logic • Advanced gross motor skills • Develops self-expression and 9 self-worth stevendepolo Tween (9-12) @NoCrusts
- 10. Children 0-8 (Common Sense Media 2011) No Crusts Interactive 2013 • 17% play console video game once/day. 36% once/week • Access to – Smartphone (41%) – iPod with video (21%) – and/or iPad (8%) • 16% multitask while using 10 media Scott & Elaine van der Chijs Games Use @NoCrusts
- 11. Elementary-Aged Children No Crusts Interactive 2013 • Children ages 5-9 play video games 39 min (weekday) and 45 min (weekend) • Lower income children, Hispanic, and African-American children consume more media than white and middle class children (Baranowski & Frankel, 2012) • K-5 teachers report using digital games 57%. Middle school 38% 11 • 95% use games that were created specifically for educational use. • Only 18% of teachers report adapting commercial games for classroom use. (Joan Ganz Cooney Center, 2012) Games Use @NoCrusts
- 12. Design Guidelines Flickingerbrad @NoCrusts 12 No Crusts Interactive 2013
- 13. No Crusts Interactive 2013 13 Child-focused apps are increasing presence in App Store (Cooney Center, 2012) @NoCrusts
- 14. No Crusts Interactive 2013 14 Many topics are saturated (i.e., ABC, matching, flash cards) @NoCrusts
- 15. No Crusts Interactive 2013 15 Early learning and math are most covered topics. (Cooney Center, 2012) @NoCrusts
- 16. No Crusts Interactive 2013 16 Co-play opportunities support children’s natural learning styles. @NoCrusts
- 17. No Crusts Interactive 2013 17 Make more kid-friendly multiplayer games @NoCrusts
- 18. No Crusts Interactive 2013 18 © rosenblum68 Create opportunities for interaction, even if not embedded into gameplay @NoCrusts
- 19. • Be sensitive to older generations No Crusts Interactive 2013 unfamiliarity. Leverage it into design • Engage parents with exchange of expertise. Don’t allow them to just sit back and direct action. • Co-play often requires different avatars 19 Neeta Lind Intergenerational design can be challenging @NoCrusts
- 20. No Crusts Interactive 2013 20 Neeta Lind Opportunities exist to design for mixed skill levels @NoCrusts
- 21. No Crusts Interactive 2013 21 Create role-playing tools @NoCrusts
- 22. No Crusts Interactive 2013 22 Create seasonal content and branded screenshots @NoCrusts
- 23. No Crusts Interactive 2013 23 Popular mechanics can have education layered in or can serve as inspiration @NoCrusts
- 24. No Crusts Interactive 2013 24 Games present opportunities for executive function practice @NoCrusts
- 25. No Crusts Interactive 2013 25 Understanding that there’s more beyond the screen is tough for young kids @NoCrusts
- 26. No Crusts Interactive 2013 26 Understanding that there’s more beyond the screen is tough for young kids @NoCrusts
- 27. No Crusts Interactive 2013 27 Touch screens and microphones provide great opportunities for music games @NoCrusts
- 28. No Crusts Interactive 2013 28 Personalization is great for kids @NoCrusts
- 29. No Crusts Interactive 2013 29 Personalization can also support literacy learning @NoCrusts
- 30. No Crusts Interactive 2013 30 Multi-touch presents opportunities for math @NoCrusts
- 31. No Crusts Interactive 2013 31 Multi-touch presents challenges @NoCrusts
- 32. No Crusts Interactive 2013 32 In-App purchases require thoughtful gates
- 33. No Crusts Interactive 2013 33 Take steps to avoid another “smurfberry” situation @NoCrusts
- 34. Letters with Pooh 785MB The Adventures of Captain Underpants 769MB No Crusts Interactive 2013 Nick Jr Draw & Play HD 642MB Don’t Let the Pigeon Run This App 257MB Team Umizoomi Math: Zoom into Numbers HD 196MB The Monster at the End of This Book 165MB Super Why ABC Adventures: Alphabet for iPad 160MB Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Wildlife Count Along 126MB 34 The Math Tree 90.7MB Toca Hair Salon 2 35.1MB Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: Play at Home with Daniel 34.2MB Keep an eye on file sizes @NoCrusts
- 35. No Crusts Interactive 2013 35 A smartphone is not just a little tablet. It’s often a different user experience. @NoCrusts
- 36. No Crusts Interactive 2013 36 “Second Screen” opportunities? @NoCrusts
- 37. Other things to consider… No Crusts Interactive 2013 • COPPA • User testing, repeatedly • Analytics (and COPPA…) • User generated content (and COPPA…) 37 • Marketing and distribution • Android vs iOS
- 38. Thanks! Questions? No Crusts Interactive 2013 • carla@NoCrusts.com • @NoCrusts • Kids Got Game on Kidscreen.com 38 Roundtable in 30 minutes! Follow me to Room 114 North Hall
Editor's Notes
- rosenblum68In order to have an informed discussion about design principles for kids, we need to be on the same page about kids’ abilities. So these next slides are a quick basics of what kids are able to do at various ages. Caveat: guidelines, not absolutes. Lots of factors affect development, from gender to sibling order to environmental situations.
- Look for untapped opportunities
- [New image to come…]