Increasing player engagement, retention and performance through the inclusion of educational content in a citizen science game

Abstract

Citizen science game developers often choose to transform or simplify the scientific problem of interest to make the game accessible to a wider audience, which is critical for collecting enough data. A potential drawback of this design decision is the disconnect that it creates between the players and the science. We are interested in studying ways to re-establish that connection and give back to the players in the form of educational content embedded in those games. Here, we briefly describe a preliminary study focused on analyzing different formats (text, cartoon or video), then we mainly focus on studying ways to present educational material (full versus gradual access) and evaluating their effects on players in a citizen science game. The results indicate that although there is no clear consensus on which format is more appropriate, providing gradual access to the content as a reward for completing levels can increase the engagement, the retention and the performance of players.