The Effects of Juicy Game Design on Exergames

Abstract

Visual embellishments(VEs) have been increasingly included in most modern video games and in various digital applications. One aspect of these graphical inclusions is called Juicy game design. It refers to user feedback that is not integral to game completion presented through a variety of modalities. Previous research on this topic has provided insight into some effects of juicy game design, however there is a lack of understanding of the thresholds between different levels of embellishments.

For the purpose of my thesis work, my research addresses how various levels of visual embellishments affect participants' perceived enjoyment of exercise media and how embellishments affect participants’ motivation to exercise. It aims to explore the overall implications of juicy game design in an exercise game setting. To accomplish this I conducted a detailed survey study with three different levels of juicy design - High, Medium and Low, using the exergame Sphery Racer as a basis for the graphics.

Participants (N=100) were recruited from Prolific in which I administered the PANAS, Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire, and a comparison task on Qualtrics.

Through my statistical analysis, my results show enjoyment of media is heavily tied to whether or not there is any presence of embellishment however once a certain embellishment threshold is passed enjoyment does not continue to increase. In some cases, less visually embellished stimuli are favourable as an encouragement to work out more frequently, however, result in an overall more boring and lacklustre experience. Through these findings, I was able to validate previous research and add additional insight to the field of exergame design.