Usability Study: Using a Video Game to Promote Okinawan Folklore

Due to being taken over by Japan and the United States, Okinawa’s culture and language are slowly being forgotten. To remedy this, a video game that combines Okinawan folklore, history, and cultural concepts was built: Kame and the Mabuya Stones. The purpose of this usability study was to develop and evaluate the ease of use and effectiveness of the video game, which was designed to increase motivation for college students to want to learn more about Okinawan culture. The study’s primary objective was to determine and implement changes that needed to be made to the game.The game was a 2D action platformer built in Unity. The participants of the study were 10 current or future college students who had the basic technical literacy required to operate the game. Using Google Forms, all participants were asked to complete a demographic survey and a pre and post questionnaire regarding their experience. After each of the three rounds of the study necessary revisions were made to the game. The results of the data indicated that changes needed to be made to the design and the overall functionality of the project. The study helped not only to improve the game’s usability, but also illustrated an increase of motivation to learn about Okinawan culture.