Non-verbal forms of interactions as found in play and gaming has not been investigated as
a method that can actually communicate or express an emotional state. In this paper we are
using the design of a computer game (called the Child Patient Game) designed especially
for hospitalized children as Design Case. We are demonstrating how children’s interaction
with a computer game is used as a method for letting children express their emotions
towards a hospital examination. In order to make sense of the different elements that
constitute a Playful Experience this paper makes use of the Playful Experience Framework.
This framework is an attempt to understand the emotions and experiences elicited by play;
in this case the playful experience elicited by patients and non-patients playing the Child
Patient game.
DRS 2012 Bangkok
