Supporting parent/guardian and child connection through videogame play

The aim of the project is to investigate the influence of videogame ‘co-play’ on parent/guardian and child connection. We understand co-play as playing together towards a common goal (e.g., defeating an enemy, passing a level, building something together, and so on). By centreing children and their parents/guardians in the research, this project will assist with developing an evidence-based understanding of the role of videogames play in the home.

Project aims:

• Examine the influence of parent/guardian and child videogame co-play on their relationship
• Examine parent/guardian perceptions of videogames
• Examine whether parent/guardian-child co-play influences how videogames are played at home

Project design

There will be three stages of research. The first and third stage will take place at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Kelvin Grove campus. The second stage of the research will take place in the participants’ homes.

• Stage 1 involves visiting QUT, where participants (parent/guardian and child) will play a videogame together, answer a survey assessing videogame play in the household, and participate in an interview assessing perceptions of videogame play.
• Stage 2 involves one month of at-home weekly 15-minute co-play sessions of the same videogame, with short reflective video diaries recorded after gameplay.
• Stage 3 involves returning to QUT, where participants will play the same videogame together and participate in separate interviews reflecting on their co-play experiences.

Call for participants

We are seeking:

• Parents/guardians who don’t play videogames much, or who don’t identify as gamers

With children:

• Aged 7 to 8 years of age,
• Who have some experience playing videogames