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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #319642
Title: Prose fiction as a narrative companion for a vegetable parenting videogame

Author
item BRAND, LEAH - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item BELTRAN, ALICIA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item BUDAY, RICHARD - Archimage, Inc
item O'CONNOR, TERESIA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item HUGHES, SHERYL - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item BARANOWSKI, JANICE - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item DIEP, CASSANDRA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item LU, AMY - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item BARANOWSKI, TOM - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: The Games for Health Journal: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/12/2015
Publication Date: 8/1/2015
Citation: Brand, L., Beltran, A., Buday, R., O'Connor, T., Hughes, S., Baranowski, J., Diep, C., Lu, A.S., Baranowski, T. 2015. Prose fiction as a narrative companion for a vegetable parenting videogame. The Games for Health Journal: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications. 4(4):305-311.

Interpretive Summary: Stories, also called narrative, may motivate behavior, and may be particularly effective in promoting behavior change in videogames for health. Two novellas (a romantic adventure and a suspenseful fantasy) were generated by professional writers targeted at mothers of preschoolers to accompany a videogame intending to train mothers in getting their child to eat more vegetables. These stories were both read by 18 mothers who were then interviewed about whether the stories would motivate playing the game and which of the stories they preferred. The mothers indicated both stories would motivate playing the game, but they generally preferred the romantic adventure with strong characters, relatable issues, and an engaging plot. Thus, stories can motivate game play of a videogame for health.

Technical Abstract: The purpose of this research is to explore the capacity of story to connect to a health-related videogame, as well as the qualities that may increase efficacy by making the story compelling. Parents of 3–5 year-old children often report difficulty getting their children to eat vegetables, which are protective against chronic illnesses. Videogames may be vehicles for training parenting practices for successful vegetable consumption outcomes but often rely on stories to provide context and details. Unfortunately, storytelling may interrupt immersion and player agency. Delivering stories outside of gameplay may provide an understanding of game situations while maintaining immersion. Two companion storylines (one a romantic adventure and the other a suspenseful fantasy) were generated for a vegetable parenting game, "Mommio," targeting mothers of preschool children. Mothers of 3–5 year-old children (n=18) read both storylines and completed semistructured interviews. Mothers preferred the romantic adventure, which featured strong characters, relatable issues, and an engaging plot. Most mothers were interested in playing the "Mommio" videogame after reading the stories. Results suggest that it is possible for prose literature to both motivate gameplay and be an immersive narrative companion to, but separate from, games for health. This literature should include engaging, realistic stories and relatable strong characters.