Homeless: It's No Game - Measuring the Effectiveness of a Persuasive Videogame

Candidate: Terrance Lavender
Type: Master of Science (MSc), School of Interactive Arts and Technology
Date: August 26, 2008
Senior Supervisor: John Bowes
Thesis: Download Thesis Document

Abstract

To date, there is little empirical evidence for the effectiveness of persuasive games, such as advergames, health-based games and political games. Conceptually, little attention has been given to this issues, save for a few studies done in the early 1970s before the videogame era and some later studies on health-based, educational and advertising-based videogames. The videogame Homeless: it’s no game was developed to test the thesis that the effectiveness of a persuasive videogame can be measured. Volunteers were recruited through the Internet to answer a survey of attitudes towards the homeless and were then assigned to either play the videogame, read a short story about homelessness, or to be part of a control group. The survey was re-administered two weeks later. Results were mixed, with some indicators showing an increase in sympathy towards the homeless and others showing no significant effect. Many questions remain to be explored, such as the effect of non-ludic factors, the duration of the persuasive effect, and whether different issues and different game genres play a role in the effectiveness of persuasive games; however the results do suggest some lines for further inquiry.

Where are they now?

Terrance works as the Communications Manager for Simon Fraser University Surrey.