Serious Games And Fun: An Analysis

Abstract

This paper addresses the importance for serious games to be engaging and fun, despite the entertaining factor not being the primary goal of the gaming experience.

In order to understand what makes a specific game ‘entertaining', a few case studies from different fields within the serious games domain, including education, business, rehabilitation and awareness about critical life conditions in third world countries, will be discussed. In particular, the case studies will be analyzed by using the 6-11 Framework, a model suitable for gaining insights on the emotional experience games convey to engage players effectively.

Through the proposed analysis, general criteria and principles that should be taken into consideration when designing such games will be discussed so as to provide game designers and researchers with new ideas on how to deliver not only educational and meaningful value but also an engaging and, ultimately, fun experience.