Child Appropriate Game Design: Year 1 Findings

This study examines how children and game developers understand age-appropriate design in digital games, with particular attention to current industry rating systems in Canada and the UK. Its central argument is that age-based ratings alone cannot capture what is appropriate for an individual child, and that children's own perspectives should inform future design guidance and regulation. The work is framed within age-appropriate design frameworks, which seek to embed children's best interests in digital environments, and it notes that existing regulation largely overlooks unrated elements such as third-party advertising and online player interactions.

The project is an international, longitudinal, mixed-methods study spanning three years. Its year one findings draw on focus groups with the same 35 children aged 6 to 12, organized in groups of five or six, with racially and gender diverse participants. Sessions used a play-based approach built around a custom Minecraft world containing four mini-games designed to elicit reactions to fairness, age appropriateness, gambling-like mechanics such as loot boxes, and mildly comedic horror. The methodology also incorporates policy analysis, content and design analysis, and developer interviews, though only the children's focus groups are reported here. At the time of writing, the Canadian children's focus group data were still being analyzed, and roughly half of the anticipated Canadian longitudinal data had been collected.

Preliminary findings indicate that children hold nuanced views on which games suit them. Recurring themes include a desire for greater flexibility and customization so that individual children can access experiences matched to their own tastes and goals, and a strong dislike of advertising, which children described as misleading, irrelevant, and disruptive to play. Children also emphasized that "scary games" and the experience of being scared are complex, subjective categories that adults tend to misunderstand. Participants felt that adults often underestimate the importance of games for peer relationships, skill development, learning, and fun.

The authors conclude that children offer insights that meaningfully complement existing research on child participation in design and policy. They argue that industry, academia, and policymakers must collaborate to support children's rights and participation in digital society, and that future responses to age-appropriate design frameworks should directly account for children's attitudes and experiences.