Designing Game Based Microgames as Intervention for Health Misinformation

Abstract

This paper offers lessons learned about appeal and potential efficacy in the design and implementation of three distinct small-scale game interventions to help increase audience resilience to health misinformation and disinformation. Applying elements of inoculation theory and transportation theory, collecting appropriate aims for the interventional context, and applying fundamentals of microgame design the researchers created three games to help increase resilience to misleading health information. Semi structured interviews with the target audience and their health care providers, and community educators offered positive feedback on the potential to address misinformation and disinformation in a health vulnerable population through microgames. This paper outlines the design process, implementation, and appeal feedback collected from the intended audience. Feedback indicated strongest appeal and potential for a narrative based interactive fiction, secondarily for a social media simulation and least for a trivia game.