Factoring culture into the design of a persuasive game

Preliminary studies indicate that games can be effective vehicles for persuasion. In order to have a better chance at persuading target audiences, however, we claim that it is best to design with the background culture of the intended audience in mind. In this paper, we share our insights into the differences of perception between New Zealand (NZ) Europeans and Maori (the indigenous people of NZ), regarding smoking, smoking cessation, and social marketing. Based on our findings, we discuss how we have designed two different versions of culturallyrelevant persuasive game about smoking cessation, one aimed at a NZ European audience, the other aimed at a Maori audience.