title: Designing Serious Game Interventions for Individuals with Autism.
abstract: The design of "Serious games" that use game components (e.g., storyline, long-term goals, rewards) to create engaging learning experiences has increased in recent years. We examine of the core principles of serious game design and examine the current use of these principles in computer-based interventions for individuals with autism. Participants who undergo these computer-based interventions often show little evidence of the ability to generalize such learning to novel, everyday social communicative interactions. This lack of generalized learning may result, in part, from the limited use of fundamental elements of serious game design that are known to maximize learning. We suggest that future computer-based interventions should consider the full range of serious game design principles that promote generalization of learning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, 110 Moore Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA. emv131@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Elisabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Whyte
authors.affiliation: Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Joshua M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Smyth
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, 110 Moore Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
authors.forename: K Suzanne
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Scherf
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D018910:Video Games
keywords: Autism; Cognitive training; Computer-based intervention; Serious game; Technology; Virtual reality