Storifying a Serious Mobile Game: Exploring Players' Perception of Storification Features, Narrative Engagement, and Behavioral Intentions

Abstract

Storifying gameful designs helps to engage players with desirable behavioral implications via enhanced narrative experience, the benefits of which are particularly prominent for developing serious mobile games to overcome their technical and contextual constraints. To understand the multifaceted nature of players' narrative engagement with storified gameplay and provide guidance for future designs accordingly, in the present study, we conducted an online survey (N = 238) among users of eQuoo, a mobile app developed for improving users' well-being with heavy storytelling components. With reflective-formative partial least squares modeling, we found participants' evaluation of eQuoo's storification features was positively associated with their narrative presence and identification in a statistically significant manner, which were further positively associated with their future use intention of and purchase intention on eQuoo. The findings with respect to the third dimension of narrative engagement examined in the study, suspension of disbelief, however, were comparatively inconsistent. Theoretical and design implications were discussed for future research and practice on storification and gamification on mobile platforms.