Gameful design in the automotive domain

Abstract

In this paper, we review the use of gameful design in the automotive domain. Outside of vehicles the automotive industry is mainly using gameful design for marketing and brand forming. For in-vehicle applications and for applications directly connected to real vehicles, the main usage scenarios of gameful design are navigation, eco-driving and driving safety. The objective of this review is to answer the following questions: (1) What elements of gameful design are currently used in the automotive industry? (2) What other automotive applications could be realized or enhanced by applying gameful design? (3) What are the challenges and limitations of gameful design in this domain especially for in-vehicle applications? The review concludes that the use of gameful design for in-vehicle applications seems to be promising. However, gamified applications related to the serious task of driving require thought-out rules and extensive testing in order to achieve the desired goal.

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“…Irrespective of whether applications provide feedback in situ or post drive, gamified driving requires extensive user testing (Diewald et al 2013) . In particular, more work is needed to understand the impact of gamified driving on driving behaviour and distraction in this high risk setting.…”

“…We are exploring the translation of these AR concepts into the driving context, which will be enabled by in car 3D volumetric head up displays (HUD) or wind screen displays (e.g., Bark et al 2014) . However, applying gamification and AR concepts to the car is highly challenging due to conflicting game and road safety objectives (Diewald et al 2013) , as well as concerns related to distraction and cognitive load (Gabbard et al 2014) . Therefore, it requires careful considerations and design approaches, which we discuss in this paper.…”

“…Irrespective of whether applications provide feedback in situ or post drive, gamified driving requires extensive user testing, as Diewald et al (2013) pointed out. However, there is a shortage of literature reporting both design recommendations and user studies.…”

“…Diewald et al (2013) argue that the design of gamified driving is promising, but needs to be thought out and requires extensive testing. Insurance companies and mobile app developers offer commercial apps that aim at improving driving behaviour using gamification approaches.…”

“…Many driving scenarios can be gamified, e.g., keeping a safe following distance, approaching traffic lights, lane keeping, or checking mirrors. Diewald et al (2013) argue that the design of gamified driving is promising, but needs to be thought out and requires extensive testing. To address this concern, a holistic design approach to balancing gamification and safe driving has been proposed and showcased through design and evaluation (Steinberger, Proppe, et al 2016) .…”