CHAPTER 7
What Type of Narrative do
Children Prefer in Active Video
Games? An Exploratory Study
of Cognitive and Emotional
Responses
Amy S. Lu", Richard Budal, Debbe Thompson<, Tom Baranowski<
'Ocp:inmcm o f Communicuion Studies, Co JJcgc of A11s, l\•tedja & Dcsign. O ou\•~ Collcgt• o f Ht•:ihh Sciences,
North~stc 1·n UnivcNj1y, IJosloo. M Ol ~S<l<.:hus<:fU. US.A.
1
'An:himai;e I m:., Ho u.5.ton. Texas. USA
rUSJ.>A/ ARS Childreo's Nuc;ri1ioo Rcse:ir1:h Cenrnr. O<:pattnieot of Pedi ~tri c.s, U:Jyk•r CoUege ._)( /\~ edic ii1c.
Ho u.stun. T .:x;1s. USA
INTRODUCTION
Childhood obesity is an international epidemic (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, &
Flegal, 2014), w hich increases the risk of several cancers (N ational Cancer
Institute, 2004); shortens lifespan; im pedes functional ability; diminishes
quality of Jjfo (Danaei et al. , 2009); and tracks into adulthood (Freedman,
Khan, Dietz, Srin ivasan , & Ilerenson, 200 1). Physical activity (PA) is critical
in preventing childhood obesity and lowering the risk of certain cancers
(Andersen et al., 2006; Estabrooks, Fisher, & Hayman, 2008). U nfortunately, increasing PA can be challenging and we have to consider tools that
would aid us in in creasing PA from adolesce nce to adulthood. T o chis end,
some of the most promising digital tools for increasing PA, are active video
ga mes (AVGs).
AV Gs provide an innovative method, which offers promise of increasing
PA and en hancing health o m com es (Dailey & Mcinnis, 2011; Biddiss &
Irwi n, 2010; Foley & Maddison, 20·1O; Graf, Pratt, Hester, & Short,
2009). As of 2009, a typical US child lived in a home with an average of
3 .8 tele.visions and 2.3 video game consoles (Kaiser Family Foundation,
20'10). Some 87% of children aged 8 - 18 had a video game console at home
and 50% had one in their bedroom (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010). As of
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137
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Emotions, Technology, and Digital Games
2013, all maj or game console manufacturers offered products that could be
used for exercise (Greenwald, 2013). Compared with tradi tional media,
AVGs provide an innova tive venue for childhood obesity prevencion (Lu,
Kharrazi, Gharghabi, & Thompson, 2013; Thompson, 2014b).
While AVGs could prevent childhood obesity, a child's motivation to
play an AVG decreases qu ickly (Ch in, Ja cobs, Vaessen, Titze, & van Mechelen, 2008; Gr:ives, Ridgers, Atkin.son, & Str:itton, 2010; Madsen, Yen,
Wbsiuk, Newman, & Lustig, 2007) . Mo tivation is crucial to being
physically active (Epstein & Roemmich, 2001 ), but evidence is lacki ng as
to the long- tenu effectiveness of traditional PA interventions (Brown &
Sununerbell, 2009; Shaya, Flores, Gbarayor, & Wang, 2008). Innovative
approaches are needed to enhance and sustain a child's motivation to play
AVGs energetically (Epstein, 1998; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Namtives possess
unique motivational properties that may encourage 1ong-tem1 AVG play
(Lu, Baranowski, T hompson, &. Buday, 2012) .
Narratives, or sto ries, are among the oldest, but still most pervasive,
forms of communication (Fisher, 1985). A narrative provides information
about characters and plot that promote immersion (Lu, Thompson,
Baranowski , Buday, & Baranowski, 2012). Although there has been a recent
surge in the explora tion ofna rratives in health communication (Baranowski,
Buday, T hompson, & Baranowski, 2008; Green, 2006; Moyer-Guse &
Na bi, 2010). few studies have taken children's narrative preferences into
consideration , or explored the responses to narratives in video games. Children's perspectives deserve scholarly attention because they oiler first- hand
insight from the popubtion of interest (Buckingham, 2013}. This proj ect
presents fom1ative research addressing this key gap in the li terantre.
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES AND CONCEPTS
Narra tives
A narrative refers to "any cohesive and coherent story with an identifiable
beginning, middle, and end" (H inyard & Kreuter, 2007, p. 778). Narrative is
o ne of the most distinctive human cluracceristics (Lyotard, 1984), and the
ability to enjoy narrative is universal (Cosmides & Tooby, 2000;
Pinker, 1997).
Characcers and plots are the main components of a narrative. A character
is a crucial structur:i l property Oacobs, 2002) and provides a narrative's driving force (Surmelian, l 969), servi ng as an "internal" source of information
o r beliefa (Green &. Brock, 2000). T he plot ("narra tive discourse") is the way
Children's AVG narrative preference
139
in which the story is conveyed. Plots can be described as the basis for all fiction (H orn ing, 2010) and play a pivotal role in story delivery by organizing
events imo a logically unfolding developmencs (Brown, 1987) or temporal
order (Labov, 1972).
Narratives can have a significant impact on cognition, affect, and health
behavior through mmsportnlicm (Green & Brock, 2000), also called immersion
(Lu, Thompson, et al., 2012), a unique quality tlut enables the suspension of
dis/belief (Green, Garst, & Brock, 2004), instills vivid personal experiences
(Epstein, '1998) and creates a deep affecrion for a story's characters (Oatley,
2002). Healtl1 communicators are i11lcreasingly turning to narrative as a persuasion tool (Kim, Bigman, Leader, Lerman , & Cappella, 2012).
Narratives and Active Video Games
Both narratives and video games share the immersive quali ty that attracts
an audience member's engagemem. A 2008 review showed that many
health games have attempted to merge the immersive properties of story
and fantasy with behavior-change technology (Baranowski et al., 2008).
Whi le narrative immersion seems directly applicable to the AVG gaming
experience, systematic empirical research in this area has been scarce
(Lu, l3arrnowski. er al.. 2012). Game researchers debate che feasibilicy of
narrative integration into video games: some believe that games and
narratives do not work together, while or.hers argue that both entities share
many similarities and are essentially the sa me Ouul, 2001; Schell, 2005).
Media researchers tend to focus primarily on the contribution of video
games to violence (Anderson, Gentile, & Buckley, 2007), but few empirical
theories have been developed in game studies, lee. alo ne in AVG research.
A recent systematic review on games used for childhood obesity prevention
found that less than l 0% of the games studied included narratives (Lu
et al., 2013).
The addition o( a narrative t0 an A VG could foster imri.nsic motivation to
play the game by reducing cognitive load and hence lead to: more active
engagement in metacognitive regulaition (Pillay, 2002); engendering diverse
emotional arousal and a se11Se of presence, as assessed by skin conductance
and heart rate; eliciting character identification through various narrative elements (Hefner, Klimmt, & Vorderer, 2007); absorbing players in an int111ersive
fictional world (McLellaJJ, 1993); and promoting perceptions of PA as necessary and fun (La urillard, 1998). Narrative elements, such as action, character,
conflict, and genre could also encoul'<lge players in their role as in-game actors
to enhance and maintain leam.ing (Bielenberg & Carpenter-Smith, 1997).
140
Emotions, Technology, and Digital Games
Adding narratives to an AVG is an important area not yet thoroughly investigated by game developers and health researchers. Tills project aims to
conduct research to adc:lress this gap.
Children's Engagement with Narratives
Most research on children's narrative engagement has come from education
and psychology, and has focused on printed materials (Thornd ike, 1941).
Older children were studied more often than younger children, due to a lack
of valid and reliable assessment instruments for younger ages (Z imet, J 966).
In a stu dy by Clark and Rum bold (2006) , only 5% of pupils reported not
reading fiction (Clark & Rumbold, 2006). Children preferred fantasy,
magic, scary, sorcery, school, romance, and tme story genres (Hopper,
2005), and most reported fiction was easier and more fun to read than other
text types (Moyer, 2007). Most children's fiction narrative follows a linear
path, with events happening in chronological order (Horning, 2010).
Narrative engagemenr can be conceptualized as both cognitive and emotional stimulation (Djikic, Oatley, Zoecerman, & Peterson, 2009). Ficti.o n
provides varying degrees of ch~1Jlenge~ by demanding high-level reading
skills, in tertextual references, and allowing complex engagemenr with the
~mry
(Hopper, 2005). Narratives also offer affective stimulatio11 (Oadey,
1999), e.g., exposure to narrative fiction correlates positively with empatruc
ability and social support, while exposure to non-fiction is associa ted with
loneli ness and lack o f social support (Mar, Oatley, & Peterson, 2009). Children's identification with characters is a primary catalyst for their response to
narratives (Heilman, 2003).
Narratives, thus, pervade the media landscape and have the potential to
instigate significant changes. Compared with other types of media, wellcrafted narratives integrated into fun, AVGs may be an important means
of reaching out and engaging audiences, especially children. This study
explores the possibilities in a childhood obesity prevention context. This
study is among the first ro address this important top ic and therefore, has
the potential to provide critical insights in to future A VG game design.
METHOD
Project Description
This study is the first stage of a larger project funded by the National Cancer
Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), ro systematically explore
the effect of narratives on chjJdren's motivation to play AV Gs. It proposes
Children's AVG narrative preference
141
the creation of professionaUy- made animated narrative video clips (i.e.,
brief, anjmated clips that convey infom1ation about the story arc) to accompany an existing AVG. Four video clips of comparable duration were created
for an AVG that was endorsed by the American HeartAssociatjon (AHA) for
stimulating moderate to vigorous PA: N intendo's Swordplay: S/1owdoum in
Wii Sports Resort (Schecrma n, 2010). To ensure an appropriate video clip,
our study targeted 8-11 year olds. We performed cognitive interviews with
20 children to ga uge their interests .1nd preferences (Borgers, de Leeuw, &
Hox, 2000; WiUis, 2005). The 8-1 1 .1ge group was targeted because children
younger than 8 bave cognitive limitations with respect to responding to survey questionnaires (Borgers, de leeuw, & Hox, 2000) and children older
than 11 have entered early adolescence and are subject rn many physical,
mental, emot.iona l, and social changes (Centers for Disease ControJ and
Prevention, 2010).
Participants
A total of20 participants aged 8-11 were recruited from three participating
elementary schools in a large, djverse, public school district in Midwest
Un ited States. The majority of students came from low-income families.
The research team anricipated 20 wou ld be adequate to achieve theoretical satu~tion (i.e., che point at which no new infonnation is attained)
(Kreuger & Casey, 2009).
The targeted, in this study, population reported posicive experiences
playing AVGs, being familiar with Wii games, and playing games or AVG
more than their friends. Around half had not played Wii Sports Resort before,
wh ile the other half had played ic. All ofche children received a souvenir for
their participation in the screening process. Table 7 .1 presents their demographic information in greater detail.
Narrative Video Clip Preparation
Four narrative plots were developed to presage che sclecccd Swordplay: Showdown AVG. Swordplay: Showdown requires playe1~> to wave a Wiimote controller as a sword co knock ou t enemies com ing at them in different
environmental settings (e.g., bridge, mountain, ruins, etc.). Since the essen tial movement was to wield a sword, "sword fighting" became the theme for
the four narratives. Famasy was selected as a common genre for all four
stories (Hopper, 2005). Each story featured a different fantastical theme
believed to be appealing to children (i.e., adventure, fable, mystery, and
comedy) and presented events chronologically (Horn ing, 2010). All of
142
Emotions, Technology, and Digital Games
Table 7.1 Child ren's demographic information (n = 20)
Characteristic
Count
Gender
Race
Age
W eighr.status'
Wii Sport;
Resm'/
experiencea
Video-game
experie nce"
Female
Male
African-American
Caucasian-A1nerican
H isp:inic-Amt'rican
Biracial
Percentage (%}
6
30
14
70
9
45
9
45
1
s
5
M=9.5 (Range: 8 .3- 11.2)
Healthy weight (20-74 IlM1%)
Overweight (86-94 BMil%)
Obese (95-98 BMI%)
N ever pbyed it before
Played it be fore
Not sm e
7
6
6
9
9
35
30
30
45
45
1
5
How much have you played
\Vii games?
How fumiliar are you with Wii
games?
Compared co your friends,
how much have you played
M=5.3 (1 : Litde o r no;
7 : A lot)
M = 6 (1: Noc; 7: Very)
M=5 (t: Much less; 7: Much
more)
Wii games?
"AU except one went through a sc reening proces." that measured height, \ \'c:ight, and A VG expc rit<nce
{th<t one \vas noc ar school wheo 1he screening 1ook place).
the narra tives were c reated wid1 th e goal of encouraging the player to play
the game harder and lo nger. Each video d ip lasted between 1.2 and 1.8 min
(M= 1.5), serving as a " teaser" of the whole story. All featured rhe same voiceover, recorded from text- to-speech engin e. All stories ended wi th a cliffhanger and dissolved into a "To be continued ... "screen, suggesting future
narrative development.
In the Swordplay: S/101.11down game, all non-player game characters (NPC)
arc rendered as stick figures, as is the player's avatar. However, the player
avatar is not shown directly. Instead, the player is represenred in the
AVG as a semi-transparent stick figure whose back faces the screen. This
provided the study's animato rs freedom in creating a generic Wi i protagonist
character without the need for race or gender identification (Lu, T hompson,
ct al., 2012) to integrate with gameplay.
One narrative was entitled, The Legend ef Yu, an adve11t11re story about the
player characte r as heir to a magic kin gdom w ho is kidnapped when only
3 weeks old by an evil assista nt to the royal family. The assistant switches
Children's AVG narrative preference
143
his own child for the player, hoping the King and Queen would never find
o ut. In the story, kindly pig furmers who rajse the player far from the capital
find the player. Growi ng up, the player becomes an expert swordsperson,
and is soon known throughout the land . One day, a note from the palace
arrives inviting the player to the castle to become the (fake) royal heir's playmate. The player's journey back to the castle begins a quest to regain th e
royal birthright. The journey promises to be difficult. The evil assistant is
determj ned to prevent the player's return, unleashing an army of swordwielrung stickmen.
Tlie Stones of Eitm1 is a fable about two legendary magica l stones said to
be the source of aU knowledge when held together. The land is harshly
ruled by evil ni njas . In the story, the player charac ter is a wandering swordsperson who stumbles upon the stones in a river. T he player puts the stones
together and begins to learn how to stop the evil ninjas- but alas, the ninjas
attack and steal o ne of the stones. The. player's quest to retrieve the mjssing
stone begins. The ninjas do not make it easy. They want the remaining
stones.
Tlie Door is a mystery about the player trying to go to sleep. It begins in
an ordinary bedroom of a modern-day child . A magi cal door suddenly
appears and sucks the player into a. strange world filled with stick people
carrying swords. The player tries to befriend a passing stickman, asking
him, " Where is the door back to my room?" .B ut the stick.man attacks.
The player successfully fends him off, as more stickmen attack. The ba ttle
is on, stickmen inexplicably atcacki11g as the player searches for che magic
doo r home.
Wuhu Boo-hoo is a comedy diar opens in an ai rplane flying over Wu hu
Island . The player is one of cwo passengers in the plane and wears a parachute. The other passenger announces the plane is over the drop zone
and opens the door. As the player is about to jump o ut, the passe nger casually mentions that sword-wielding stickmen have killed everyone on
the island-and wishes the player good lu ck. The player sits down and
refuses to j ump. The passenger then says there was a billion doUar
reward for whoever can save th e is land. T he player th inks for a moment,
and jumps.
To avoid order effect, the four viideo clips were played to each chi ld randomly. After children fi nished view ing all of the video cl ips and com pleted
the cognitive interviews, chey were given four photo cards showing the title
and content of each story to rank clips from most favorite to least favorite, by
arranging them on a cable. Resea rc h assistants documen ted their order of
144
Emotions, Technology, and Digital Games
choice (l = Most Favorite to 4 = Least Favorite}, which was later entered
into a computer database.
Cognitive Interview
A second session was scheduled 1 month after che screenin~ . Each of the 20
children was shown the four narrative video clips and were individually cognitively interviewed in each participating school's classroom, by trained
research assistants (Willis, 2005). Each interview was conducted using a standardized script consisting of open- ended questions developed by the
researchers (Table 7 .2). Probes were used to expand and clarify responses.
Children watched the four video clips playing on a laptop and answered
questions after watching each clip. Sessions lasted between 27 and
49 min. Trained research assistants audio-recorded each session and took
no tes as they interviewed each child. Each child received a $ 10 gift card
at the end of the session.
Cognitive Interview Coding
All cognitive interview sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim by a pro fessional rranscriprion service. T he transcri pcs were reviewed for
accuracy and later senc to an independent company for thematic coding ming
NVivo 10. The company was established in 1996 and is one of the 6rst independent research companies utilizing qualitative software. To ensure the neutrality of the analysis, neither the rra nscriprion service nor the qualitative
company were aware of th e research question or relevant li terature.
The independent company conducted the thematic coding as follows: in
accordance with the cognitive interview questions for each srnry (the same
six questions were asked for each video cl ip, see Table 7 .2 for derails), six
node titles were created for eacb story with abbreviated titles to mirror
the script. The interview scripts from 20 children in regard to the four stories
were b roken into a to tal of 80 mini -incerviews (20 incerviews per each
Table 7.2 Cognitive interview questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Could you tell me about the story you just saw? How would you describe the
story to a friend?
What, if anything, do you like about the story?
What, if auyrhing, do you not like about rhe story?
Is there anything we should add or change?
What do you think happens next?
How do you think tbe story will md?
Children's AVG narrative preference
145
story). The 80 mini-interviews were imported and coded using NVivo 10.
Each set of story documents was coded to the six node titles. Additional subcategories for each node were crea·t ed and codi ng was refined withi n th e
questions, resulting in a total of 191 subcategories for the 80 documents.
RESULTS
T he cognitive interviews provided r ich and insightful comments, identifying key characteristics of smries, such as characters and actions, plot or storyline, setting, stages, player levels, and ending. They also included couunents
regarding graphics, sound , and emotional responses. All children answered
all questions.
Video Clip Preference
Distribution of participants and average rank score were calculated fo r each
narrative (Table 7 .3). A lower score indicates higher preference. Although
closely clustered, I11e Door received a higher preference score (2.3) than 71ie
Stones ofEita11 (2.4), Wu/111 Boo-lioo (2.5), or The Legewl of Yu (2.8). The Stones
of Eitat1 received fewer posi tive quali tative responses than The Door (about
one-third of the children said that they liked everything about 'J.71e D(){)r,
while not as many s:Ud the same thi ng for T/1e Stones qf Eit.a11) . W1.1/111 Boohoo received divided opin ion: 40% of che ch ildren liked it che most, whi le
35% liked it the least. Interview transcripts indicated children's response to
the question, "W hat, if anything, do you not like about the story?" was
shortest for The Door com pared w ith the o th er three. T herefore, The Door
was chosen for the next stage of the research proj ect.
Responses toward the Favorite Narrative, The Door
Children seemed to understand the plot, liked the story in general, and were
able co recounc ic in detail. T he narra tive triggered differem affective
responses as it unfolded. Children ha.d the impression that the story was vivid
Table 7.3 Children's narrative video clip preferences
1 (Most
Title
favorite)
2
3
4 (least favorite)
Tl1e Door
4
9
4
1"/Je Sto11e.s of Eilat1
WrJ/111 Boo-/Joo
Tl1e Le,11cr11f <>f Y11
5
8
6
5
1
4
3
4
7
3
4
7
6
Average
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.8
146
Emotions, Technology, and Digital Games
and real, and that it could happen in real life. They also mentioned the video
clip matched the visual style of the original game:
I just sow this new trailer on TV It's like rhis game on the Wii ...
(African-American boy, 10 years old, normal weight)
Children's responses to questions concerning what they liked about the narrative centered on three themes: action, cha.racter, and the vividness of the fimtasy
element. Actio11 was a theme many mentioned as their favorite pa1t of the story.
Most liked the actions of the narrative protagonist fighting against opponents.
Interestingly, although the animators aimed for a gender- and race-neutral look
for the pro tagonist, almost all children referred to the protagonist as a " he" .
(Perlrnps this had something to do with the ma.le voiceover.)
I liked how when he yells when he was fighting. I liked chose ports.
(African-American boy, 10 years old, normal weight)
T he game's protago11ist was another popu lar theme man y children co nuneated o n. The "one versus many" setup '.vas appreciated:
I like how it's like you have to fight all these people and there's just yo1Jrself going
against them.
(African-American boy, 11 years old, obese}
Children tended to have a positive evaluation of the main character. For
example, o ne liked that the character wa:s able co acquire sword fighting skills
qu ickly:
The rhing thar swck our most was thar he didn'r know how to sword fight, bur he
j1Jst found rhe sword and he srarted fighting and he was bearing all of chem and
he kepr on fighring.
(African-American boy, 10 years old, obese)
Children also applauded the protagonis t's perseverance:
I like rhe stoiy because he kepi on figh1ing and figh1ing ... That he never gave up.
(Biracial boy, 8 years of"', overweight}
Children responded positively to the fa 11laS )' setting of The Door and how
vividly it was presen ted:
I like the door that is s1Jrrea/ ... I hope it wo1J/d be real ... Uke in a ... movie. Thar
dreams are so powerful they come tflJe.
(Hispanic-American boy, 9 years old, normal weight}
W hen children were asked what they did not like abou t the nar rative video
clip , their feedback p1imarily focused o n the affective response to the protagonjsc and th e o pponents. T o create tension, stickmen laun ched an
Children's AVG narrative preference
147
unprovoked attack o n the player/protagonist inunedfately after trying to
make friends. The story encouraged players to wonder why and to try to
solve the mystery in a lacer pare of the story. C hildren , however, did nor
seem to like this. On one hand, they were concerned about the health
and wellbeing of the protagonist:
I didn'r like that par! because maybe 1he kid got hurt or he got killed.
(Caucasian girl, 11 years old, obese)
Other children disliked that the protagonist was unexpectedly attacked by
the stickmen:
Ir didn'r really make a /or of sense when they jusr randomly auacked because I
would wanna know why they attack.
(Caucasian boy, 10 years old, overweight)
They wanted co know the reason beh ind the stickmen 's attacking behaviors:
(I wonder} why he has to fighr his way, like somebody has to tell him.
(African-American boy, 11 years old, obese}
As a result, when asked if they would like to suggest any change to the narrative video cl ip, rhe main response focused o n providin g rh e reasons for rh e
unexpected actions of the stickmcn:
I think rhere should be a way. Why he has to fight his way, like somebody hos ro tell
him ... There should be on Al (artificial imelligem chorocrer) next to him ... then
rhe Al re/ls him what il's about.
(African-American boy, 11 years old, obese)
Children suggested an alternative to gain allies for the protagonist:
He might meet a companion.
(African-American boy, 10 years old, overweight}
When asked how the srory sho uld develop and how it shou ld end, most
children said ongoing fighting would be the natural progression of story
development.
(He will} keep on fighting them, and they'll keep on coming.
(Caucasian boy, 8 years old, normal weight)
Some children would like to bring [he suggested new ally/co mpanion inro
the next stage of fighting, even w ith romantic coutext:
(H)e rhought she (the companion) hod good skills. And they're (opponents) boys and
said, 'Hey, you uying to toke my girl'' And he said Thors not your girl. That's my girl '
(African-American boy, no age or weight info}
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Emotions, Technology, and Digital Games
As for the ending of th e sto1y, most children suggested a happy ending. Almost
all children felt the protagonist would find the door to get back home:
(Y)ou're searching 10 find a par! to the door. Like there are pam of the doorframe,
and parts of the doorknob, and then you also need to find a key.
(Caucasian boy, 11 years old, normal weight)
Several children added a more complicated narrative layer to the story, making it a dream:
He'll just come back and it's like a dream type of thing.
(Caucasian boy, 10 years old, overweight)
A few children also suggested a sad alternative, in which the protagonist was
killed:
That he ends up geWng killed.
(African-American boy, 8 years old, obese)
Other children mencioned recognition as another element of the story
progression:
He survived and he got crowned for it (by) a magical person who is in charge of the
stages.
(African-American girl, 10 years old, overweight)
Response toward the Remaining Narratives
T he in terview rranscripts of the o ther three stories were examined with
special attentioo to why the children did not find the stories appealing,
and a pattern emerged. The majn issue was about the protagonist's
motivation and subsequenc inconsistency with game's PA require.menc,
swordplay. In ocher words, th e protagonist's motiva tion was not well presenred or justjfied enough co get players inrerested playing a game about
sword fighting.
For The Legend of Y11, children had questions regarding why the royal
family's assistam switched the protagon isc.
I mean, it didn'1 make a lot of sense to me when he swicched his baby ... from rhe
other baby ... so it didn't make a lot of sense to me rhere.
(Ca'Ucasian boy, 10 years old, overweight)
Part of the reason might be the antagonist of the story, the assistant, was not
given a clear justification to be the bad person.
I don't like that he was really a bad guy .. . because he was really a good guy.
(Hispanic American boy, 9 years old, normal weight)
Children's AVG narrative preference
149
Similarly, children questioned the motivation of the ni1tjas who niled the
world and stole the stone from the protagonist in The Stones of Eitan.
I don't know why (they) just came and attacked them and took the stone away
from them.
(Caucasian girl, 11 years old, obese)
Such criticism was especially promi11ent in Wu/111 Boo-lioo, in which the protagonist was lured purely by money to save the island.
(What) I really didn't like is when he said there will be a cash prize andj ust jump out
of the airplane ...
(African-American girl, 8 years old, obese}
From the interview transcripts, children seemed to undei:scand the four narratives well and preferred the fantasy-mystery genre. Their responses came
both from rhe cognitive and rhe affective domains. Action was their perceptu al theme for the stori.e s. T hey demonstrated significa ntly different
empathic reactions to the protagonist, as opposed to the antagonist. For
example, they were able to perceive several good characteristics from the
protagonist as he fought against th e o pponent5. On the other hand, they
showed negative reactions toward the attackers or the opponent5, partly
because the attackers' motives were nor clearly illustrated. The animated
clips were able to induce player anticipation of fighting to continue and even
become elevated in subsequent levels. Players were also expecti ng a compan ion co fight alongside the procagonist.
DISCUSSION
Several insights can be drawn from children's responses regarding narratives
for AVGs. First and foremost, movement, or action in the story, is a crucial
element to realize an AVG 's potential health value. Video game writers
should take this into consideratio n when developing the stories. Indeed, a
common theme emphasized by all of the children about all of the stories,
was that they involved lots of action. Since narratives must be created in
accordance with the gameplay requirements, AVG stories should emphasize
moderate to vigorous body movement. T hese findings suggest chat to make
the players move as much as possible, the AVG sh ould employ narratives and
integra te player movement seamlessly with the story. Players' perceptions
must be taken into consideration, which highlights the need for more qualitative research in story- based AVGs (T hompson, 2014a).
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Emotions, Technology, and Digital Games
Second, to ensure a namitive is organically related to physical movement,
the motivation of the. protagonist's actions must be clear and credible.
A common issue the children had was justifyi ng the player's actio n in each
story. This has some similarity to the ditfcrence between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (R yan & Deci, 2000). Embedding engaging narratives into
behavioral change games cou ld promoce development of players' intrinsic
motivation to play (Lu, .Baranowski, et :ii., 2012), but it must be done carefully. A protagonist should carry out actions (or PA) as a natural progression
of story developmen t (e.g., pick up the "sword" to defend his or her character's life) , instead of being lured by extrinsic factors (e.g., motivated by
money). If character or plot development causes confusion regarding the
protagonist's motivation, ir becomes difficult for the players to become fully
engaged, breaks their immersive e)q>erience, and ultimately lessens their
motivation to play.
Third, the narrative should keep children 's developmental capacities in
mind. To create suspense, each video clip deliberately left some background
details our, hoping players would be more engaged by discovering details as
the narrative progressed. For example, rhe stickmen 's attack on the protago nist in The Door was nor explained. Sim.ilarly, why and how T/ie Le,(/etrd of
Y11's evil assisram switched babies, or w hy the Stones if Eitmr's ninjas suddenly appeared, and how Wuhu lslaod became invaded, were never
described. Adult audiences might. be able to make the mental bridges as part
of their sense-making process, but the extra effort appeared taxing to these
children (Bru ner & Haste, 2010). At the risk o flowe ring suspense, brief cli ps
affirming character motivations could be inserted to avoid the assumption
that children will discover the future story, which may prevent some children from fully enj oying the narrative and game. It would be important to
assess if such insertions prevent. those who arc cognitively developed enough
to understand the st01y from fully enjoying the story, and to what extent
such " mental paving" is needed.
Fourth, it is crucial to create a protagonist clwractcr the children like, and
with whom they can identify. When a narrative provides appropriate details
and depictions of the protagon ist's posit:ive quali ties, child players should be
able to identify with the character faster, be more willing to look up to them,
and be more able to carry o ut actions o n behalf of the character (Hollner,
1996) . When players internal ize a character's morivation and make ir their
own, subsequent physica l activities may come naturally (Cohen, 2001).
Research is needed to test chis proposition experimentally and ascerr.ain what
character attributes maximally mo tivate children's PA. Research is also
Children's AVG narrative preference
151
needed to identify what makes a realistic blend of characteristics or person alities for a likeable character.
Fifth, companionship could be an imporcanc design featu re for AVG narrative design. Recent studi es indicate game players in a cooperative mode are
more intrinsically motivated to play (Srajano, Abi:aharn, & Calvert, 2012).
Perhaps a good narrative could help translate cooperative play into a game.
When multiple characters are introduced and share similar goals, players
may be more likely to work together, accomplish common goals, and have
a better experience. T he game jo11rney (Thatgamecompany, 20 l2) provide->
an illustration of companionship during garnepby. T he method, by which
companionship should be introduced imo AVGs so that children do not feel
alone, bur are engaged in the narrative together, remains ro be assessed.
Finally, narrative development sh ould be built imo AVG progression as
part of a continuum. The story sho uld be interesting enough to get the
players starred, as well as to continue to play the ga me, but not be roo eager
to conclude the narra tive by skipping actual physical movement. The challenge is giving players enough infornurio n to start, and then keep them
engaged and wancing more gameplay at the end of each level, thereby
increasi ng che level of PA as the stor.y progresses. An AVG narrative should
naturally lead players rn additional cycles of gameplay.
CONCLUSION
Narratives have the potential for behavioral intervention in AVGs, but the
key is integrating narrative development. This study is a first step towards the
development of a series of sysremati.c inquiries into che behavioral potential
of narratives via AV Gs for combating childhood obesity and reducing risks
of certain types of cancer. Child participants seem eager to participate in such
projects and are able to provide meaningfu l responses. Narratives can
enhance AVGs, as long as they align with gameplay, naturally indu ce intrinsic motivation , accomrnodace children 's developmenrnl capacities, and present personable characters. Futu re research should provide insight for the
design of innovative and effective media products for various health
incerventions.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This project "vas pan:ially fl1nded by a: grant
(1R.2 lCAl589 17-0lAJ), Tlit N nrmtivr
Amy Shirong Lu, PhD.
/111pn(I
&0111
•?f A <lfre
che N ational Cancer Institute
Vidro Gnmts 0 11 Pliysi<nl A(li1,i1y, Pl:
152
Emotions, Technology, and Digital Games
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