A Serious Game as a Tool for User-Centered Design of Mobility Solutions

Abstract

Before the implementation of new mobility solutions, it is often difficult to encourage and enable potential users to participate in the design process, to predict acceptance, and to determine the influence of individual design pa-rameters on use intentions. A serious game involving repeated mobility choices and, at the same time, fun to play might be a useful tool to allow for user studies and participation in this situation. We developed a concept of such a game in the context of intermodal transport. A first prototype was im-plemented and subjected to an early test with respect to user experience and usability through an evaluation with seven experts. At the current state of development, flow experience, measured by the flow short scale (FKS), was medium. Usability, measured by the system usability scale (SUS), was low, and the heuristic evaluation yielded many hints for improvement. Based on the insights gained, the development of the game will be continued to pre-pare it for a user test assessing the potential of the method for studying user preferences in the transport system.