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Our observations of players older than 65 suggested that they weighed costs and benefits when deciding whether or not to play video games. Current games can be higher in cost for seniors because of the perceptual and cognitive changes that tend to occur with age. When seniors choose to invest effort in overcoming those costs, it is often because they perceive a high benefit. Creating successful games for seniors will likely require designers to increase the perceived benefits of games, such as engagement, even more than lowering costs such as frustration, time, and money.

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Video games are increasingly used as tools in therapeutic interventions, both for younger and older adults. However, relatively little is known about video game usability for older adults, and age-related changes may affect some older players’ capacity to benefit from video games. We examined video recordings and open-ended questionnaire responses of 56 older adults taking part in a video game-based cognitive intervention study. Usability findings and recommendations for inclusive video game design for older adults are discussed.

To examine the potential benefits of a complex online video game as a cognitive intervention for older adults, participants first had to be able to engage in gameplay. This necessitated the development of a training and support program for a complex computer task, with the unusual aim of maximizing mental effort. The goal of the training program was to equip participants to handle the challenges of the game while keeping them near the limits of their ability while playing. The training program was multi-modal and encompassed both in-person and remote methods. Successes and failures are discussed.

The success of therapeutic games has received recent attention in the research literature, particularly for health issues frequently experienced by adults over age sixty-five. However, less is known about the experience of older adults after interaction with these games and what may promote their adoption and use. We measured the development of flow in a study of over 100 older adults who played a video game for 15 hours across three weeks. Findings indicate that flow development was affected by both individual differences between participants, measured prior to any game experience, and to characteristics of the game, particularly those related to usability of the interface and input device. We conclude with discussion of the flow experience in games for older adults and guidelines for the design of engaging and immersive therapeutic games.

Once an older adult develops type 2 diabetes, they often need to change their diet as part of the treatment. We report differences in dietary barriers and strategies to overcome them in 17 older adults without type 2. Data were gathered through 24-hour diet recalls, collected barriers and strategies in changing diet, and the health locus of control scales. Differences in barriers and strategies were partially explained by health locus of control subscales. People who believed that others (e.g. doctors) controlled their health were less likely to identify barriers or strategies to overcome them. The results contribute to training materials and decision aids.

Almost two-thirds of adults aged 65 and older in the United States are affected by diabetes or prediabetes (Cowie et al., 2009), and the health consequences of poor glycemic control are severe. Blood glucose tracking applications for mobile devices have the potential to help improve glycemic control but design issues may limit their use by older adults. We examined the usability of three existing blood glucose tracking applications via hierarchical task analysis and heuristic evaluation of their graph displays, and describe the problems we found and their implications for older users. We propose the inclusion of decision aids in the apps to better inform users’ health-based behavior.