Monster Appetite

Abstract

Americans' health has reached a dangerous obesity epidemic from overconsumption and unhealthy food choices. In response, persuasive games for health encourage healthier lifestyles typically by providing positive reinforcement for the desired behaviors. However, positive reinforcement is only one of the many possibly effective approaches. We explore two types of message framing in a nutrition game, Monster Appetite (MA). In MA, players' choices of high or low calorie snacks impact visual appearance of their monster avatar. MA utilizes two types of health messages: subversive, which encourages players to make unhealthy choices and focuses on costs, and inoculation, which encourages players to eventually defend healthy choices and focuses on benefits. We test message framing's effect by tracking users' purchasing behavior in our online snack shop, Snackazon. The study showed that when positive messages were embedded in MA mixed with negative visuals through the monster avatars, participants exhibited better snack choices post-gameplay.