Game Design for Older Adults: A Bibliometric Review of Trends and Future Directions

Game design for older adults (GDOA) is a multidisciplinary research area gaining attention in human-computer interaction (HCI), yet a comprehensive understanding of its current state and future directions remains limited. Through the visualized results by bibliometric methods, this study analyses the current state of GDOA research and identifies key research hotspots and emerging trends. Based on the Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases, Citespace and VOSviewer were employed to generate visual knowledge maps of publication volume, disciplinary distribution, high-impact countries, institutions, authors, frequent keywords, and highly cited references in the GDOA research field. The current research themes in GDOA focus on four main areas: Game and Experience Design for Older Adults, Exergames for Active Ageing in Older Adults, Serious Games for Cognitive and Mental Health, and Gamification Elements and Motivational Interventions. Finally, this study discusses the findings and suggests potential future research directions.