• We present 26 design principles, which are applicable to Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled mobile augmented reality (MAR) applications, summarized from 23 design principles and 195 usability heuristics identified from systematic literature review. • We demonstrate how design principles can be applied to user interface (UI) and user experience design of IoT-enabled MAR applications by presenting UI mockups. • We propose five new design principles derived from the analysis of IoT-enabled MAR applications designed for healthcare and energy management scenarios. Technological developments, such as mobile augmented reality (MAR) and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, have expanded available data and interaction modalities for mobile applications. This development enables intuitive data presentation and provides real-time insights into the user’s context. Due to the proliferation of available IoT data sources, user interfaces (UIs) have become complex and diversified, while mobile devices have limited screen spaces. This state increases the necessity of design principles that help to secure sufficient user experience (UX). We found that studies of design principles for IoT-enabled MAR applications are limited. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review to identify existing design principles applicable to IoT-enabled MAR applications. From the state-of-the-art research, we compiled and categorized 26 existing design principles into seven categories. We analyzed the UIs of three IoT-enabled MAR applications with the identified design principles and user feedback gathered from each application’s evaluation to understand what design principles can be considered in designing these applications. Among the 26 principles, we find eight principles that are commonly identified as possible improvements for the applications based on their purposes. We demonstrate the practical use of the identified principles by redesigning the UIs, and we propose five new design principles derived from the application analysis. As a result, we summarized a total of 31 design principles, including the five new ones. We expect that our findings will give insight into the UX/UI design of IoT-enabled MAR applications for researchers, educators, and practitioners interested in UX/UI development.

Although co-designing games has received ample attention from researchers, there is a research gap on intergenerational co-design of games with children and young people where children’s unconstrained ideas are the basis for game co-design. This is particularly important when co-designed games are aimed at children. We explored a co-design process of digital games involving 4-year-old children, high school students, and college students in Joensuu, Finland, during October–November 2020. Over the course of three co-design workshops, six kindergarteners (3 girls, 3 boys) played freely with building blocks while six high school students (3 females, 3 males) observed their play, asked questions to the children, and interpreted the data to design two digital games. These designs were further elaborated in co-design meetings between the high school students and college students (12 males, 1 female), latter of whom developed mobile games based on the designs. In the fourth workshop, the kindergarten children tested the games. We used qualitative content analysis on the data collected via interviews of the high school students and observations of the co-design process. The outcomes of the co-design process were the conceptualizations and game designs by the high school students based on the children’s play, and the implemented games by the college students. The participants’ intertwined creativity, thinking and content production were observable in the games. Based on the interview data analysis and our observations, we identified unique contributions and assets for each group. Furthermore, the high school students’ interviews revealed 28 success factors of the intergenerational co-design process. Based on these findings, we present a generalized representation of the intergenerational co-design process that can be used for planning intergenerational game co-design projects involving young children and older age groups.

This research delves into the dynamics of active school transport (AST) by utilizing a two-stage co-design process and leveraging persuasive technology within a game for promoting AST called Battleship-AST. The primary aim of this research is to thoroughly investigate the two-stage game co-design process employed in creating a Battleship-AST game. Moreover, our research aims to evaluate participants’ perceptions regarding the motivating and engaging potential of the persuasive technology and gamification features embedded within the final iteration of the game. This evaluation aims to understand how these features influence participants’ motivation to increase their usage of AST through gameplay. In pursuit of these objectives, the research builds upon the existing Battleship-AST prototype and actively engages school children in a collaborative two-stage co-design process. Their valuable insights and preferences were harnessed in refining the game, which was subsequently tested during a tech event in Skellefteå, Sweden. The findings shed light on various aspects of the game’s impact, from its reception to the gamification features integrated within. Notably, the research highlights the positive impact of the co-design process, with increased motivation and engagement observed among the participants. Their involvement in shaping the game’s design resulted in a more engaging and enjoyable experience. The persuasive technology features, encompassing competition, collaboration, auditory cues, a virtual reward system, and an emphasis on similarity, played a pivotal role in sustaining engagement and motivating players. Elements such as rewards, leaderboard progression, and badges proved highly effective in encouraging continued participation and fostering a positive feedback loop. However, the study also identifies areas for potential improvement, including the need to measure real-life progress and refine the game’s levelling system. The research indicates that refining feedback mechanisms and tailoring game content to individual preferences could create an even more engaging experience. Additionally, long-term playtesting is proposed to assess the game’s extended impact. The findings offer promising avenues for enhancing motivation and engagement in AST, which can contribute to the promotion of healthier and more sustainable transportation choices among school children.

Creating emotionally engaging mobile applications requires consideration of constantly evolving technology, content richness, usability, and user experience (UX). UX plays an important role in promoting long-term usage. We focused on the emotional aspects of UX design of mobile applications. In particular, we adopted the concept of feelings of being (FoB) – also known as existential feelings – in the context of mobile UX design. We presented an in-depth literature review covering 112 articles (2005–2021) on human-computer interaction, UX, mobile application development, mobile learning, and emotional engagement. Of these articles, 16 discussed FoB in the context of mobile applications. Building on the results of literature analysis and other previous research, we presented a FoB model for mobile application design comprising 13 FoB (ownership, engagement, contribution, security, trust, adjustability, enjoyment, empowerment, effectiveness, frustration, excitement, gratification, and needs fulfilment) and the hedonic and eudaimonic aspects of UX. Finally, we validated the FoB model through nine design projects, proposed design recommendations based on the model, and presented considerations on extending the model with additional elements.

Location-based games (LBGs) augment urban environments with virtual content turning them into a playground. The importance of understanding how different modes of play impact LBG players’ psychological well-being is emphasized by the enormous and constantly rising popularity of the genre. In this work, we use the two-factor theory of psychological well-being to investigate the associations between five constructs related to game mechanics and personality traits, and psychological well-being and fatigue. We test our proposed structural model with Finnish Pokémon GO players (N = 855). The results show deficient self-regulation and fear of missing out to be positively associated with gaming fatigue. Engagement with cooperative and individual game mechanics had a positive relationship with well-being. Competitive game mechanics were found to have a positive relationship with both well-being and fatigue. Finally, the overall playing intensity had a strong relationship with well-being, but no association with fatigue.

In the era of digital services and digital connectivity, a massive amount of knowledge has become available and accessible all the time and for all ages. This mandates significant structural changes in the ways in which knowledge are shared and contents are presented. The ways in which knowledge is shared and learners become engaged with that knowledge are crucial in lifelong learning. In lifelong learning the knowledge and the content must be delivered to learners at the right time, without distractions and noise. The traditional educational offering in classrooms is not anymore feasible and supportive as learning happens in a disengaged manner in lifelong learning. In new lifelong learning services, user experience (UX) plays a key role in delivering content appropriately and supporting transition of learning between different contexts with adaptive learning media. The objective of this study is to illustrate and elaborate on the roles of feelings and emotions in engaging students in lifelong learning applications. We have applied systematic literature review (SLR) to identify emotional factors associated with lifelong mobile learning (m-learning) environments. Based on the findings, we propose an application concept as a case study to demonstrate how emotional factors can manifest themselves in lifelong learning applications. Finally, based on the findings of the literature review and the case study evaluation, we propose a model illustrating the facets in lifelong learning applications.

Recent decline in active transport and increase in motorized transport decreases physical activity and increases air pollution. Using games to motivate people to change their behavior toward active transport can mitigate this. We proposed Tic-Tac-Training, a distributed, collaborative, and competitive game for promoting active transport at workplaces. Tic-Tac-Training was developed through a multidisciplinary and iterative user-centered design (UCD) process in four stages: 1) paper prototype, 2) low-fidelity prototypes, 3) high-fidelity prototypes, and 4) digital prototype. User testing and playtesting (N = 12) yielded a number of improvement suggestions. We also analyzed how Tic-Tac-Training supports the eight core drives of gamification (Octalysis), and presented 17 lessons learned in four categories. Findings suggest that UCD can be useful for developing exergame interventions for workplaces. Moreover, the lessons learned can benefit exergame designers. More research is needed to measure the behavior change effect of Tic-Tac-Training and its applicability to other use cases.

Technological advancements have brought abundant freedom to our lives. In an educational context, however, the technology utilization is still relatively low despite recent developments on various learning platforms such as e-learning, mobile learning, MOOCs, and social networks. The contemporary technological advancement in smart gadgets enables us to bring learning resources with appropriate content format to the learners at the right time in the right learning situation. Yet there remains a need for an adaptive study management solution that would apply data mining algorithms to assist university students both before and during their studies in a personalized manner. This assistance can be of many kinds, such as campus orientation to new students, course curriculum recommendations, and customization of study paths. In this paper, we present the concept and an initial implementation the Adaptive Study Management (ASM) platform that aims at facilitating a university student’s academic life in different phases by tracing the student’s activities and providing personalized services, such as a course curriculum recommendation, based on their behavior and achievements during a period. The ASM platform creates a profile for the student based on their achievements and competencies. Consequently, the platform aims to grant freedom to students on their study management, eases teachers’ workloads on assessing students’ performance, and assists teachers and administrators to follow up students and dropouts. The goal of this platform to increase graduation rates by personalizing study management and providing analysis services, such as dropout prediction.

Music is filled with mathematical relations. When creating music, the composer must keep in mind the rhythm, the notes, and how well they ring with each other. Our aim was to design an application that teaches these relationships and allows users to compose their own songs using numbers. Our work follows the design science research method, and we have co-designed the application together with elementary school students and teachers in Finland. This paper demonstrates the design process and provides an analysis on our design based on data collected from the participants in two separate sessions.

Digital games have emerged as promising tools that aim to make learning more fun. As each person has different learning and play styles, educational games can become more effective should they adapt content delivery according to the user’s learning and play styles. To achieve this, models are needed to represent these styles. Several learning and play style models exist today with varying levels of validity and complexity. With the emergence of educational games, the importance of using such models for enhancing the effectiveness of games as viable educational tools increases. However, not many studies have been conducted that simultaneously consider both style groups. We first analysed existing learning and play models. Based on the analysis results, we created a questionnaire that uses Bartle’s Player Types model and Honey and Mumford’s Learning Style Questionnaire, and tested it with 127 South Korean elementary school children. The results indicated that within the play style model specific styles were clearly more preferred, whereas learning styles were distributed more evenly. There also were some differences between genders. The results can be used to inform us on what sort of stimuli might yield better immersion in educational games and thereby facilitate the learning process.

A Pervasive Learning Space (PLS) uses context-awareness to link a virtual world with real world objects. We define viability as the extent to which a given PLS can be adapted to different purposes, and portability to be the extent to which a given PLS can be transferred to a new physical context. Heroes of Koskenniska is a game-based PLS combining mobile technology and a wireless sensor network in a forest context to raise the environmental awareness in a Biosphere Reserve in Finland. The game was built upon a screen-based architecture, and our analysis shows that it has higher portability and viability than a selection of related PLSs. The screen-based architecture is highly viable and portable because it is based on the model-view-controller division. Our preliminary observations indicate that the game helps to increase visitor count of the area and to promote interaction between visitors and nature.

The Pielinen Museum has a rich collection of untagged authentic houses, structures, and objects to exhibit. Problems emerge when visitors attempt to establish meaningful connections between the myriad of unmarked exhibits. Additionally, negative attitude towards museums especially among younger generation is a known problem. The LieksaMystpervasive learning environment helps the visitor to discover temporal and thematic connections among exhibits. LieksaMyst's story-based role-playing game is aimed to attract and motivate particularly children and young adults.