Persuasive video games

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Persuasive video games are a subgenre of serious games designed to influence players’ attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors.[1] These games aim to deliver intentional messages through gameplay mechanics and interactivity, often addressing social, political, educational, or health-related issues.[2] Unlike games made purely for entertainment, persuasive games use gameplay to present arguments, challenge perceptions, and inspire critical reflection.[3]

The concept was developed by Ian Bogost in his 2007 book, Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames, where he introduced the idea of procedural rhetoric—a persuasive method based on the processes and rules embedded in a game's design, rather than through linear storytelling or audiovisual cues.[4]

History and origins

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In the 1980s and 1990s, games like Oregon Trail and SimCity were used in classrooms to teach history and systems thinking.[5] These games subtly introduced players to ideological assumptions about simulation and resource management.[6]

Design and mechanics

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Persuasive games leverage interactive systems to simulate real-world processes and arguments. They differ from traditional media by requiring players to act within rule-bound environments, often experiencing consequences that provoke reflection or empathy.

Design techniques include:

  • Procedural rhetoric: This approach embeds arguments into gameplay systems.[7] For example, games about democracy can illuminate policy choices across taxation, healthcare, and civil rights, showing how political decisions create cascading social effects.[8]
  • Simulation and abstraction: By simplifying complex systems into game mechanics, designers introduce non-specialists into contexts players might not have experienced before, highlighting key challenges, tensions or trade-offs.[9] For example, The McDonald's Videogame by Molleindustria satirizes fast-food industry ethics, environmental impact, and marketing manipulation through simplified management gameplay.[10]
  • Moral and ethical dilemmas: Games like Papers, Please confront players with bureaucratic decisions that challenge their ethical reasoning, highlighting the human cost of dehumanized systems.[11]
  • Reward and punishment structures: Players often receive feedback that reflects the intended persuasive message. This feedback loop encourages reflection on the player's actions and their consequences within the game world.[12]

Designers must balance persuasion with player agency. If a game feels too overtly manipulative or limits meaningful choice, players may resist its message. Conversely, games that offer too much freedom may dilute their persuasive impact.[citation needed]

Criticisms

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Persuasive games face several criticisms:

  • Oversimplification of complex issues: To make systems playable, developers often abstract real-world dynamics. This can result in misleading representations or reinforce stereotypes. Critics argue that simulations may inadvertently encode ideological bias under the guise of neutrality.[13]
  • Ethical concerns about persuasion: Some scholars question the ethics of embedding persuasive messaging in entertainment. Players may not always be aware of the game's agenda.[14]
  • Varied effectiveness: Meta-analyses show mixed results. While many persuasive games increase awareness or short-term attitude change, sustained behavior change is less consistent. Scholars note that persuasive efficacy often depends on player engagement, message clarity, and context of play.[15]
  • Critiques of procedural rhetoric: Miguel Sicart (2011) argues that procedural rhetoric overlooks player interpretation and ethical dimensions of game design. He advocates for broader design strategies that consider aesthetics, emotions, and player reflection.[16]

Some researchers, including Lee, Abdollahi, and Agur (2022), propose that persuasive impact is shaped by levels of involvement and immersion.[17] This means the more emotionally and cognitively engaged a player is, the more likely they are to internalize the game’s message.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jacobs, Ruud S. (2018). "Play to win over: Effects of persuasive games". Psychology of Popular Media Culture. 7 (3): 231–240. doi:10.1037/ppm0000124. ISSN 2160-4142.
  2. ^ Ndulue, Chinenye; Orji, Rita (June 2023). "Games for Change—A Comparative Systematic Review of Persuasive Strategies in Games for Behavior Change". IEEE Transactions on Games. 15 (2): 121–133. Bibcode:2023ITGam..15..121N. doi:10.1109/TG.2022.3159090. ISSN 2475-1502.
  3. ^ Lee, Eugene; Abdollahi, Maral; Agur, Colin (2022-07-01). "Conceptualizing the Roles of Involvement and Immersion in Persuasive Games". Games and Culture. 17 (5): 703–720. doi:10.1177/15554120211049576. ISSN 1555-4120.
  4. ^ Bogost, Ian (2007). Persuasive games: The expressive power of videogames. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0262514880.
  5. ^ Slater, Katharine (2017). "Who Gets to Die of Dysentery?: Ideology, Geography, and The Oregon Trail". Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 42 (4): 374–395. doi:10.1353/chq.2017.0040. ISSN 1553-1201.
  6. ^ Miner, Joshua D. (September 2020). "Monitoring Simulated Worlds in Indigenous Strategy Games". The Computer Games Journal. 9 (3): 311–329. doi:10.1007/s40869-020-00110-8. ISSN 2052-773X.
  7. ^ Seiffert, Jens; Nothhaft, Howard (2015-06-01). "The missing media: The procedural rhetoric of computer games". Public Relations Review. Digital Publics. 41 (2): 254–263. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.011. ISSN 0363-8111.
  8. ^ Davisson, Amber; Gehm, Danielle (2014). "Gaming Citizenship: Video Games as Lessons in Civic Life" (PDF). Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric. 4 (3/4): 39–57.
  9. ^ Chow, Y.W.; Susilo, W.; Phillips, J.G.; Baek, J.; Vlahu-Gjorgievska, E. "Video Games and Virtual Reality as Persuasive Technologies for Health Care: An Overview" (PDF). Journal of Wireless Mobile Networks, Ubiquitous Computing, and Dependable Applications. 8 (3): 18–35.
  10. ^ Banfi, Ryan (2025-04-01). "McDesign: McDonald's Video Games and Digital Play Areas". Design Issues. 41 (2): 4–15. doi:10.1162/desi_a_00802. ISSN 0747-9360.
  11. ^ McKernan, Brian (2021-06-01). "Digital Texts and Moral Questions About Immigration: Papers, Please and the Capacity for a Video Game to Stimulate Sociopolitical Discussion". Games and Culture. 16 (4): 383–406. doi:10.1177/1555412019893882. ISSN 1555-4120.
  12. ^ Orji, Rita; Alslaity, Alaa; Chan, Gerry (2024-04-25). "Towards understanding the mechanism through which reward and punishment motivate or demotivate behaviours". Behaviour & Information Technology. 43 (6): 1042–1066. doi:10.1080/0144929X.2023.2196582. ISSN 0144-929X.
  13. ^ Ndulue, Chinenye; Orji, Rita (2025-04-18). "The Impact of Persuasive Framing on the Perceived Effectiveness of a Game for Behaviour Change". International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction. 41 (8): 4873–4887. doi:10.1080/10447318.2024.2355390. ISSN 1044-7318.
  14. ^ Rozalén, Silvia Moya (2024-10-25). "Gamification as a Persuasive Technology: Characteristics and Ethical Implications". Journal of Ethics and Emerging Technologies. 34 (1): 1–19. doi:10.55613/jeet.v34i1.138 (inactive 29 July 2025). ISSN 2767-6951.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
  15. ^ Ferrara, John (2013-07-01). "Games for Persuasion: Argumentation, Procedurality, and the Lie of Gamification". Games and Culture. 8 (4): 289–304. doi:10.1177/1555412013496891. ISSN 1555-4120.
  16. ^ Sicart, Miguel (2011). The Ethics of Computer Games. MIT Press. ISBN 9780262516624.
  17. ^ Lee, Eugene; Abdollahi, Maral; Agur, Colin (2022-07-01). "Conceptualizing the Roles of Involvement and Immersion in Persuasive Games". Games and Culture. 17 (5): 703–720. doi:10.1177/15554120211049576. ISSN 1555-4120.