34 110 PB

International Journal of Creative
Multimedia
April 2021 Vol. 2 Issue 1
E-ISSN: 2716-6333
doi: https://doi.org/10.33093/ijcm
Editorial Board
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editors
Vimala Perumal Neo Mai, Multimedia University, Malaysia
Multimedia University Hafizuddin Md. Yusof, Multimedia University, Malaysia
63100 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia Roopesh Sitharan, Multimedia University, Malaysia
vimala.perumal@mmu.edu.my Azman Bidin, University Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia
Executive Director Associate Editors

Khong Chee Weng, Multimedia University, Malaysia Tan Wee Hoe, Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia
Norman Yusoff, University Technology MARA, Malaysia
Executive Committee Md. Fuad Md Arif, University Technology MARA, Malaysia
Elyna Amir Sharji, Multimedia University, Malaysia Koo Ah Choo, Multimedia University, Malaysia
Nekhat Sultana, Multimedia University, Malaysia Lim Kok Yoong, Multimedia University, Malaysia
Md. Syahmi Abd. Aziz, Multimedia University, Malaysia Heidi Tan Yeen-Ju, Multimedia University, Malaysia
Md. Nizam Ayub, University of Malaya, Malaysia
Advisory Board Members Md. Izani Zainal Abidin, Higher College of Technology, UAE
Madhu Bava Harji, Multimedia University, Malaysia Yap Sau Bin, Multimedia University, Malaysia
Neo Tse Kian, Multimedia University, Malaysia Eddy Tan Jia Cheng, Multimedia University, Malaysia
Peter Charles Woods, Multimedia University, Malaysia
Wong Chee Onn, Multimedia University, Malaysia Reviewers
Hassan Muthalib, Malaysia Dato’ Kamil Othman Peter Charles Woods
Gan Chin Lay Koo Ah Choo
Edina Mohd Nasseri Kok Siew Wai
Mohd Asyraf Mohd. Pauzi Ng Lynn Sze
Mohd Azizul Hakim Md Hussin Megan Wonowidjoyo
Aim and Scope

The International Journal of Creative Multimedia (IJCM) is a peer-reviewed open-access journal devoted to publish
research papers in all fields of creative multimedia, including Digital Learning, Film & Animation, Media, Arts &
Technology and Visual Design & Communication. It aims to provide an international forum for the exchange of
ideas and findings from researchers across different cultures, and encourages research on the impact of social, cultural
and technological factors on creative multimedia theory and practice. It also seeks to promote the transfer of
knowledge between professionals in academia and industry by emphasising research where results are of interest or
applicable to creative multimedia practices. We welcome all kinds of papers that connect academic researches with
practical and industrial context in the field of creative multimedia. The scope of the IJCM is in the broad areas of
Creative Multimedia following the five major thematic streams, includes but not limited to:
• Digital Learning • Cinema and Film Studies
• Media, Arts & Technology • Animation and Visual Effects
• Games and Virtual Reality • Visual Design and Communication
Vol 2 No 1 (2021) ISSN: 2345-6788
Copyright © 2021 by MMU Press and Multimedia University.
All rights reserved. This electronic journal or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form or by any means,
electrical or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now
known or to be invented, without written permission from the copyright owner.
Permission is granted to quote from this journal with the customary acknowledgement of the source.
The International Journal of Creative Multimedia (E-ISSN: 2716-6333) is published biannually.
Typeset by MMU Press.

Cover Images by Mastura Abdul Rahman.
Cover Design by Nekhat Sultana.
Email: vimala.perumal@mmu.edu.my
International Journal of Creative Multimedia (2021)

© The Authors. This article is licensed under Creative Common License.
Published by MMU PRESS. URL: https://journals.mmupress.com/index.php/ijcm
Vol 2 No 1 (2021) E-ISSN: 2716-6333
International Journal of
Creative Multimedia
Table of Content
1. Promoting Positive Values while Emphasising on Aesthetical Perspectives 1

in University Students through Adaptation of Knowles Seven Step Process
of Andragogical Approach
Juhanita Jiman
2. Design, Implementation and Evaluation of a Serious Game for Obesity Prevention 19

among Preschool Children
Wang Yanzhen & Maizatul Hayati bt. Mohamad Yatim
3. Understanding the Potential of Music Learning Application as a Tool for Learning 42

and Practicing Musical Skills
Yun Yi Tan & Sinthu Thiruvarul
4. The Portrayal of Claustrophobic Behaviours and Events in Film 57

Juvenah Washti Seran, Vimala Perumal & Koo Ah-Choo
5. Film Review – The Green Ray, By Eric Rohmer: An Attempt to Find the Real Story 69
Nazirull Safry Paijo & Hassan Muthalib
International Journal of Creative Multimedia (2021)

Creative Multimedia
Promoting Positive Values While Emphasising on Aesthetical Perspectives in

University Students through Adaptation of Knowles Seven Step Process
of Andragogical Approach
Juhanita Jiman
juhanitaj@gmail.com
University Malaysia of Computer Science and Engineering (UNIMY)
Abstract
This paper intends to illustrate how Knowles’ seven step process of androgogical approach can help
educators to better facilitate animation students with acquired technological knowledge and skills while
exposing them to critical aesthetical elements and ethical principles. It is important for educators to
understand that they are dealing with young adults who are highly affected by their environments in this
borderless world. Therefore, educators are responsible for more than just academics; they also have social
roles. To resolve these concerns, an effective androgogical approach can be advantageous for both
educators and students. We used to assume that teaching pedagogy was necessary at all levels of education;
however, since university students are no longer children, pedagogical methods are not entirely relevant to
them. Pedagogy is a teaching method that focuses on children, while andragogy is a teaching approach that
focuses on adults and helps them learn more effectively. When people grow older, they become more self-
reliant and accountable for their actions. The pedagogical model, in several ways, fails to take care for such
developmental shifts, resulting in individual stress, frustration, and resistance. Due to the rapid development
in technology, animation students have become highly aggressive in their pursuit of technological expertise,
leading them to ignore and overlook the importance of a story's core values. As educators, we must not
only help them achieve their goals in terms of technical abilities, and professional experience, but also teach
them what is right and wrong, and inspire them to instil moral principles in their work.
Keywords Aesthetical perspectives; Animation; Andragogy; Moral and cultural values
International Journal of Creative Multimedia (2021) 2, 1, 20210101:1-18

doi: https://doi.org/10.33093/ijcm.2021.1.1
Vol 2 No 1 (2021) E-ISSN: 2716-6333
Introduction
Malcolm Shepherd Knowles (1913 – 1997) was an American educator, famous for introducing the term
Andragogy as a term for adult education. According to Malcolm Knowles, andragogy is the art and science
of adult learning. In Greek, androgogy means man-leading in comparison to pedagogy, which means child-
leading. Adults’ attitude of learning is perceived to be totally the opposite as compared to children’s way of
learning. Different approach needs to be implemented while working with this group of students, especially
when dealing with artistic and content creation matters. Before 1950, all research was focused on children
and there was not much evidence about adults’ learning process. The term "andragogy", although known
since 1833 when the German Alexander Kapp used it to address the theory of Plato, however, in modern
education, it appears only after the early 1960s, when it was used to express the well-defined characteristics
of adult learners that influence not only their learning interest, but also their learning ability, compared to
those of younger children.
Teaching animation in Malaysian tertiary level institutions is very interesting and challenging. Since
the development and the rise of multimedia industry in the mid-90s, many private and public higher learning
institutions begin to offer and encourage more students to learn animation. Prior to this, animation is being
taught and learned informally through exchanging experience and experimentation with various media.
Eventually, animation course was first introduced formally in Malaysia through Multimedia University in
the late 1990s with the aim to expedite the multimedia and entertainment industry, as well as providing
talent pools for Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in Cyberjaya and Malaysia at large. Fadli and Md Siddin
(2010) mentioned that approximately 200 production companies registered under the Malaysian
Technology and Multimedia in 2009 and they are supported by the government in an effort to increase
local animation industry. Animation then was a new and ‘BIG’ thing to Malaysia. Soon after that, the
number of higher learning institutions offering such courses in their programme of studies is increased, as
this encourages more students to study this course and concurrently help to develop the animation industry
in the country.
Research have shown that adults learn best when they have full control over their learning, but
somehow this is not an easy task for the educators especially when they are dealing with creative subjects,
especially animation. It is a broad area and involves with subjective contents, thus involving students to
think beyond the norms and ‘outside the box’. Without careful guidance, these students could go haywire
and create something against local moral and cultural values. With appropriate andragogical approach,
armed with moral and cultural support from the educators, it is forecasted that these young adults can
perform better in their studies. Knowles (1984) called upon educators to employ a seven-steps process in
order to implement and capitalise upon the assumptions of andragogy. According to Kearsley (2010) these
steps include:
1. Creating a cooperative peer-to-peer learning climate.
2
2. Planning goals and objectives.
3. Mutually diagnosing learner needs and interests.
4. Helping learners to formulate learning objectives based on their needs and individual interests.
5. Designing sequential activities to achieve these objectives.
6. Carrying out the design to meet objectives with selected methods, materials, and resources.
7. Evaluating the quality of the learning experience for the learner that included reassessing needs for
continued learning.
Personal Androgogical Adaptation from Knowles Seven Step Process of Andragogical Approach
The Knowles’ seven-steps process are adopted and discussed in this section, with aims to develop a healthy
and rewarding animation teaching in the classroom:
1. Educate Students to be Aware of Their Roles in The Industry Development Through Peer-to-peer
Learning
(Knowles’ First Step from Seven Steps Process - Creating a cooperative peer-to-peer learning climate)
Most of the students taking animation courses in the higher learning institutions are young adults, whose
age ranges from 19 to mid-20s, they are known to be very energetic, eager, very ambitious and full of crazy
ideas. They love to experiment with new things. Technical elements of the work like special effects and
hyperealistic rendering are the sort of things that trigger their interest. If they are given the chance, they
would try to stretch it to the limit. Pierson (2002) confirmed this by saying that the spectacular computer-
generated imagery (CGI) being featured in Hollywood genre film also became an object of intense
fascination, curiosity, and scrutiny in the popular and mass media. Even though this is a good thing, at this
age, these young people are at the most critical point. At this time, they are very easy to be influenced by
their peers and anything they see around them. This is the time when they want to do things that appear
most interesting to them. Violence and sex become the things that they adore. Their role in society is often
neglected. These students are either being influenced or influencing each other in their work approach.
Educators can take this to their advantage. These students should be encouraged to do peer coaching and
peer assessment. Many educators have used students-centric teaching to promote active learning in higher
education. This andragogy is thought to increase student engagement by holding students accountable for
their learning and increasing time on task in the classroom (Rathner & Schier, 2020)
Allen and Antonishak (2008) have mentioned that peer influences are often perceived as negative
and the effects of peer pressure can vary from disturbing to dangerous, however, peer influence also have
a much more positive aspect, which often is ignored. Therefore, educators can exploit students peer-to-
peer influence through their learning involvement and make them realise that they are held responsible of
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all their actions. Being an educator, it is very interesting to see how students develop their skills and talents
to create something creative and entertaining. Thus, it is the role of the educators to guide these eager young
brains to the right direction. Educators should take full advantage of peer learning; while peer learning is
strong, learning process can be more lucrative. When peer tutoring or cooperative learning is carried out
with due consideration as to what organisation best fits the objective, context and population and with a
reasonably high level of implementing integrity, the results are usually very good. (Topping, 2001a; Topping
& Ehly, 1998). They can do creative things together and encourage each other if they bear in mind that
their animation should have certain values that are acceptable to the community around them. Social issues
and moral values need to be addressed carefully and thoughtfully. If these appropriate values can be
promoted through animation, this would bring tremendous impact to Malaysian local animation industry.
Through years of experience teaching animation in Malaysian university, it is found out that its
animation industry will have a better future if educators carefully nurture these talents and at the same time
encourage them to work collectively venturing into something new whilst preserving the delicate culture
because preservation of culture and heritage is critical to the modern world's development. (Salau, Jimmy
Anak, et al., 2018) It is seldom realised that these young students are actually open for criticism and they
definitely need guidance. Even though students are usually defensive on their ideas and would do anything
to put it across even if the idea is ethically and morally wrong, however, with the support from peer-to-peer
learning, the educator should find it easier to engage with them and guide them to a ‘better’ and ‘safer’
alternative by using metaphors or other creative approach. Towards the end, the result could be positive
and encouraging.
2. Encourage Students to Know their Purpose of Telling Stories

(Knowles’ Second Step from Seven Steps Process -Planning goals and objectives)
Mostly, the very reason why people go to movies is because of ‘the story’. All other things are secondary.
According to Berliner (2013), the pleasure of a Hollywood narrative stems not only from good stories, but
also from good storytelling. Through observation, it is seen that at this age, these young adults are naturally
very inclined to ‘technical wonders’. Special effects, particles, explosions and 360 degrees’ camera treatment
are usually what they love to experiment, but sadly, storytelling is treated as secondary element. They
become very weak at telling stories. Without realising it, this has given a negative notion in local animation.
These students should bear in mind that visual or special effects is something important, but they can still
survive without it if their story has the ‘FEEL’ it needs. According to Abdullah and Ishak (2010), there is
concern in Malaysia about a lack of creative talent. Content producers such as Animonsta mentioned that
the talent pool is 'topheavy,' with most executives having strong technical production skills as opposed to
talent required, such as those with art and storytelling and writing skills, directing, and so on (Karamjit,
2015).
4
As a form of expression (Wells 2002), animation needs ‘the essence’ that can tell stories and looks
vibrant, as if, it exists in the real world. On the other hand, McKee and Fryer (2003) mentioned since the
dawn of time, all great storytellers – from the ancient Greeks to Shakespeare and up to the present – have
dealt with this fundamental conflict between subjective expectation and reality. In other word, storyteller
always have problems in communicating their ideas effectively.
Ideas are crucial, and idea that can sell doesn’t have to be BIG! If we look at figure 1, these pictures
are taken from Kring!, a dyslexia-themed animated film from Malaysia, has won an award at Norway's Best
Children's Animated Film in 2020. The idea is simple, but the approach is very creative. A simple story
becomes interesting when aesthetic values is stressed and paid more attention to; when paired with a sweet
and lively story it works like magic! This is what we need to encourage the students. Give them local example
and it would be better when they are given examples from their peers that they can relate to easily.
Figure 1 Images Taken from Kring! (Image Courtesy from BrainyBones)
3. Educator and Students Identifying the Needs of Good Acting Skills

(Knowles’ Third Step from Seven Steps Process - Mutually diagnosing learner needs and interests.)
The art of acting, is very important in making the animation particularly the character-driven animation
more alive and entertaining. The fundamental method of acting in animation is through experimentation
of animating things or objects that they see around them and make different types of facial expressions by
observing oneself at the mirror. These methods have been long practised by the professional animators in
the industry. Lieff (2000) stated that after researching a few animation curriculums ranging from academia
to commercial studios, as well as conducting interviews on the topic of acting and performance as it applies
to the skilled animator, revealed unanimous consensus on the value of acting classes for good animation
training.
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However, asking young adults to act for their animation is a daunting task. They are no longer kids
who would easily listen to what they are told. These students usually have their own way of doing thing,
despite of what being taught repeatedly. Through experience, these students have more self- awareness
feelings; a lot stronger than little kids at primary schools, therefore, asking them to act out their story is a
truly difficult task. If young kids would be thrilled if they are given such opportunity, these young adults
usually the opposite. They are often shy to express themselves. As it was published in US-China Foreign
Language, 2012 – “Teaching adult learners English through a variety of activities: Perception on games and
rewards”, Chanseawrassamee (2012) explained:
“During English song contest, the objective of this activity is to promote class spirit and encourage students
to become more outgoing. Yet, this activity must be done with caution especially with shy students by nature.
Some students may feel too embarrassed to come to class, because this activity, on the one hand, really
depends on a person’s characteristics and preference. Culture, personality, and peer pressure, on the other
hand, really play a large part in the success of this activity”.
In order to make them interested in that acting session, the instructor or lecturer must play an
active role to get involved in their activity. As a whole, conducting an acting class would definitely help
students in creating a convincing character. The persuasive ‘interaction’ with the audience could be
increased if this character could engage successfully with the audience’s real ‘life’ experience. As an
animator, one has to observe the action of real-life actors whether in films or theatre in order to study
natural action and motion. A good acting should appear natural and spontaneous. No one should realise
that it is only an act. An ‘over-acting’ scenario should be avoided even though exaggeration is something
quite important in animation. Charismatic and believable personalities are also very crucial, if not, they
would fail to captivate the audience’s attention as Hooks describe:
“If an animated character makes you laugh or cry, feel fear, anger, empathy, or a million other emotions, it
is largely due to the work of these often unsung artists, who invest a lot of themselves in the creation of these
indelible moments”. (Hooks 2000)
4. Educators Assisting Students to Grasp the Fundamental and Basic Knowledge of Arts
(Knowles’ Fourth Step from Seven Steps Process - Helping learners to formulate learning objectives based on their needs
and individual interests).
When taking 3D animation course in particular, some students are thinking that they are ‘safe’ from drawing
and other basic arts knowledge. Some of these students do not like drawings at all because either they are
not good at it or they do not have interest in it. However, without any doubts, the fundamental
6
understanding of drawings and the ability to draw, making models and possess a sense of crafting are other
factors that help students to excel in their animation course. According to Hosea (2008), illustrations from
traditional pencil drawing are also an integral part of the computer animation process. Any kind of form
the ultimate output of an animation may take, traditional pencil techniques would have been used
extensively during the pre-production phase, as well as in the training of the animators. The book Drawing
for Animation (2008) illustrates that drawing is an important part in the processes of CGI animation
including conceptualisation, design and planning of storyboarding and the design of characters, locations
and props (Wells et al., 2008: 93–5)
These skills do not only help the creator to produce an outstanding piece but adds distinctive
artistic values in their work. In addition to character animation, it is extremely important for the students
to thoroughly understand and grasp the basic principles of animation as it helps in making the character
appear believable and convincing. According to Lasseter (1987), these principles are developed through
years of study and analysing of models in motion and examine the actions from the live action films, in the
drawing classes for the animators during the early period of The Walt Disney Studio. Each of these
principles are derives from the real-life action. As a matter of fact, it is crucial to accentuate these important
ingredients in teaching and learning animation, particularly involving character animation, before it is too
late so they can start creating a valuable piece of work and simultaneously produces a globally acclaimed
animation.
5. Nurturing Passion and Patience in Student Animators to Create National Identities

(Knowles’ Fifth Step from Seven Steps Process -Designing sequential activities to achieve these objectives.)
Young people are usually impatient and they want to do things fast. Educators should play their role in
toning them down; to realise that their talent should be nurtured without rushing. If things are done in a
rush, the result might not be as good as things that are done carefully and thoughtfully. Being passionate is
not only about affection of seeing or making things, but it must allow the thinking process to explore
beyond the logical thinking development. They should be creative enough to expand their imagination of
the fantasy world. Inevitably, it opens up to many ideas and approaches, as well as enables them to be bold
in experimenting new ideas and inventing their distinct styles.
Animation is a creative form of communication. While animators are trying hard to communicate
through their work, their role in society needs to be carefully addressed. Stories can be only stories that
people can easily forget, or stories can be ‘THE’ story that leave a deep impact in one’s heart. Because of
these young students are still in the process of learning, it is the duty of the educator to promote good
ethics and moral values in their students’ mind. When these students are aware of their ability to influence
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people, hopefully they could use this opportunity to produce something that is beneficial to the public.
Mohd Khalis, Mustaffa and Ali (2016) claimed that animation is a representation of people's lifestyles
through a series of symbols and icons in the cultural industry, and it has the potential to be a medium
contributing to the national identities development.
Animators tell a story in a series of IMAGES. If we would like the images to be recognised and
remembered, we should know what elements can make it stronger. A creative application of elements and
principles of design is the key to a successful piece. A sense of colour, forms, shapes, directions, rhythm,
balance, harmony, contrast and all, when woven together, will create not only a beautiful work but, a
meaningful piece of art that everybody can appreciate. While trying to get this creative work to achieve the
highest aesthetic value, the content of the story should get the same treatment. Oh Yoojin (2019) explained
in his article “Applying design principles to motion graphics”:
“Implementing these design principles will elevate the quality of your work. Applying even just a handful
of these principles can make a big difference to the overall presentation of your animation and its appeal
to your audience.”
Animators should choose a subject or a story that is closed enough to them in nature. What
audience is looking for is nothing less than an interesting and meaningful story. If the story is not appealing
enough to the creator themselves, do not expect other people could appreciate their work more than they
could do. As a country with many unique cultures and rituals, Malaysian definitely have so much to offer.
The representation of Malaysian characteristics in animation is also one of the goals of the National Creative
Industry Policy (Dasar Industri Kreatif Negara), which was implemented in 2010. The policy's goal is to
keep the creative industry vibrant and innovative so that it can contribute to the nation’s economic
development and the formation of national culture.
A famous Malaysian comic “Lat: The Kampung Boy” that was transformed into an animated TV
series is one of the classic examples. The story revolves around a village boy from Perak Malaysia who’s
surrounded by his beloved family and friends had touched every single aspect of Malaysian multiracial
lifestyle without being too harsh on every side. There is a very light touch of conflicts, comedy, moral issues
and friendships, and all of them are woven carefully into a wonderful piece of story that everybody from
all over the world can enjoy and understand.
8
Figure 2 Samples from Lat: The Kampung Boy (Courtesy from The Lat House)
Starting with only comic books, Lat has continued his legacy where Lat the Kampung Boy finally
evolved to animated TV series. The author-illustrator of this title has long been a cause célèbre in Southeast
Asia. As mentioned by Stevenson, Kampung Boy, is a memoir of the author’s youth in a small Malaysian
village, was first published way back in 1979, still popular these days and has been imported to a multitude
of countries since then. Haliza (2000) explained:
“Mat represents the kid in us - irreverent, hyper and inventive, a natural leader whose curiosity opens up
a world of adventure and mishaps! But he always learns his lesson in the end...”
Rohani Hashim (2005) pointed out that “Kampung Boy” is a record of Malay cultural development
and changes faced by the rural community from the 1950s to the 1990s. She also mentioned that Lat's
comic series has delicately captured a tale of "fast disappearing Malay traditions and virtues", while urging
audiences to consider the cultural shifts taking place around them. According to Rohani, the cartoonist's
aim was to get the audience to think about the speed at which cultural modernisation are growing and to
understand that accepting or rejecting new values is a common decision they should make.
Dellios (2000) mentioned that The Kampung Boy is an internationally known Malaysian icon
because of its global appearance:
“The Kampung Boy is the product of the global 'kampung'. This television series is an artefact, an
animated artefact on display around the world. It could be considered both a global artefact and an artefact
of globalisation.”
This is why Mamat or ‘Mat’ from Lat the Kampung Boy has become an image that is easy to remember
and being recognised by Malaysian people in all walks of life. Its simplistic and true nature has won itself a
place in everybody’s heart. The heart-warming appearance of a village boy can easily be recognised by
people from different cultures. Malaysian animation critics acknowledged Mamat from The Kampung Boy as
an aspiring element, and academics in cultural studies regarded the series as using modern technologies to
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cherish Malaysian heritage. Hassan Muthalib said that the success in marketing the series overseas made
Kampung Boy the benchmark for Malaysia's animation industry. (Hassan Muthalib, 2007).
6. Creating Local Animation and Avoiding Foreign Influences

(Knowles’ Sixth Step from Seven Steps Process - Carrying out the design to meet objectives with selected methods, materials,
and resources.)
Although animation has evolved in the western countries since the early days of the cinema as early as in
1900 (Haywards, 2002), only later, in around 1960s (Lent, 2001) animation started to be used commercially
in Malaysia, in local cinema as well as on television. Then, in the late 70s, our local animation started to
develop even further when Filem Negara produced the first animated short in 1978 called Hikayat Sang
Kancil. Subsequently, this national body continues to produce many animated shorts mainly for local
television in the early 80s. However, it was only in the mid-1990s during the emergence of the multimedia
industry, many organisations became aware of the animation and its potentials, realising that the industry is
gradually expanding as a serious business. Since then, private companies and government bodies started to
encourage more animation production to be produced and have allocated some funding to support this
industry. The MAC3 Co-Production Fund was established in 2009 to support the creation and development
or co-development of Intellectual Properties in the creative cluster's Animation, Games, and Computer
Graphics sectors. The grant is intended to assist innovative and forward-thinking local businesses in co-
producing animation and game development projects with reputable partners that will contribute to the
overall development.
Consequently, Malaysians were delighted to see many animated TV series produced locally since
1995 including Usop Sontorian, Yokies (1998), Kluang Man (1998), to name a few. Also, the first animated
feature length Silat Lagenda was successfully released in 1998 after three years in the making, followed by
Cheritera, the unreleased Man Spider (1999) and Putih. In addition, Malaysia can be proud of Mohamad Nor
Khalid’s (renowned as Lat) animated TV series, The Kampung Boy, which won the Best TV Series at the
Annecy International Animation Festival in 1999.
Being well established, exposed and popular, western animation particularly the American and the
Japanese anime style and techniques have significantly influencing the animation industry in Malaysia.
Hassan Muthalib (2007) clarified that animation industry's most influential founders are Japan and Western
countries. As a result, it is quite likely that they have inspired the character identities of local animation.
Kluang Man, for example, was influenced by Batman and Robin, while anime style can be seen in Anak-
anak Sidek, Yokies, and Sang Wira in the late 1990s.
10
Due to the excessive numbers of those animations being shown in the local TV stations, Malaysians
are more fanatic about foreign productions rather than our ‘homegrown’ ones. Generally, most Malaysians
see those foreign animated cartoons as ‘very good’ till they can’t really see that some of our locally produced
products are equally as good. Arguably, every animated cartoon including the locally made ones has its own
strength and aesthetic values. There is always the good, the bad and the ugly in animation. The question is,
to what extend do we know how to judge the animation fairly because we tend to see only one side of the
story and often forgotten to search what lies underneath the surface.
Ruh (2004) has found a significant finding that a renown anime filmmaker Mamoru Oshii only had
Japanese audience in mind when they first created their animation, and not the entire world. Oshii sole
intention is for his films to be locally accepted before introducing it to the world. Japan has proven that
this mechanism has worked wonderfully. This shows that for Malaysian animation to excel, it does not need
to sacrifice its identity to cater for global audience but rather exploits local signs and symbols representing
Malaysia and project it to the world through its own product of animation. (Omar & Md Sidin, 2017)
White and Winn (1995) claimed that many efforts were done by Disney to Westernise, and even
Americanise, an artistic product of another culture. Most people dislike this kind of approach because it
neglects the ‘true’ essence of the original culture and it attempts to commercialise a new ‘artificial’ value
that probably easier to be accepted by larger audience. There is very little issue about local content as far as
audience is concerned. The audience might not have this awareness yet, but for animators, it should be a
different story. Ideally, animation product from any particular country should have its own identity. Now,
animators should realise that the issue that we should be looking into is the development of the industry
itself. Would there be a profound Malaysian animation industry in the future.
If we think that what is happening in the foreign animation industry is the way to succeed, we are
totally mistaken. Taking foreign films as examples definitely has no harm but copying what has been done
is rather discouraging. Very little attention was given to address this ‘copycat’ issue. May be this issue is
outsmarted by the word ‘experiments’. Some people think that it is alright to copy, so long that we are going
to change to our own style soon. But, if there is very little effort done to establish this ‘Malaysian’ value,
these ‘experiments’ will forever be experiments. This issue needs to be addressed seriously with our young
students. We have to make them realise how important is to be creative in its true sense. We surely do not
want our future animators to be carried away with mistaken identity.
7. Evaluating Own Creation for Continuous Development

(Knowles’ Seventh Step from Seven Steps Process - Evaluating the quality of the learning experience for the learner that
included reassessing needs for continued learning.)
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Even though students are able to work independently to expend their creativity with minimum supervision
and interference, however, student animators have to be intuitive as well. An animator and a cook probably
share the same principles. They should like what they are making first before presenting it to others.
Ingredients used in one’s cooking without sense of confidence and balance probably will not taste as it was
expected. According to Charney (2018), Ana Ro, the 2017 Best Female Chef in the World, said it best:
"We are artists. And we are artisans,” she adds. “We do use our hands and our creativity. When a
chef's hands can follow his mind, he is successful. We think about art and make crafts.”
And the same goes to animator; a little bit of talents, skills and passion will make up a nice story.
In addition, like cooking, a little touch and exploration on the recipe itself might give a wonderful surprise.
While creating animation, without observation, unlimited imagination and sensitivity, those elements may
produce only an empty shell. If the animation is going to work, it needs all the right components and with
a little extra experiments, originality and hardship, definitely one’s animation can work wonders.
A young and new to the field animators should think about how their story relates to the animation
theories that they have learned. They should be aware that they have to lift those empty bodies with spirits
of different individuals. However, the question here is how much can animators make people believe if
what they are showing is not apparent enough to be seen? What if the most important gesture or facial
expression to convey a tragic incident is overpowered by something not related? When animating
characters, every movement and every action must exist for a reason. Animator should not exaggerate any
motion for no reason even though exaggeration is one of the most important principles in Principles of
Animation, as mentioned by Lasseter (1987) earlier that Principles of Animation will breathe life to the
animated piece but one has to know how much it needs to deliver the right message.
In animation, while preparing for a narrative story, every step of the animation production has to
be well-planned and organised. The animator should start asking themselves ‘why?’, from the early process
of creating the story, designing the characters and the set, staging and animating the characters, creating the
mood of lighting, composing the sound effects to the final step of editing, and so on, and on top of those
questions, most importantly, they need to know all the answers. For example, why is the Sultan of Malacca
wearing yellow? Does it have anything to do with the story? Does it support the whole? If the animators
have all the valid answers than it is OK to dress him in yellow but if the answer is not concrete enough,
may be, the Sultan can be dressed up in green or any other colours. The same thing goes to the
movement/motion, sound, lighting, editing etc. Only with strong and valid reasons of using certain
elements, one’s piece of animation can be truly closed to the heart of the creator and hopefully to the viewer
at large. Here, audience as viewers do not have to see every logic behind each scene, even if they have
questions, the answer will become obvious somewhere along the storyline.
12
In experimental animation for example, there are always more rooms for creativity. In this case, it
is always alright to break the rules without any apparent reason as long as the rules are perfectly understood.
It is hardly a question why, because the animator has a total control of his/her own creation. Even though
it is not clearly explained to the audience, the animator should have all the answers to the questions in the
story. If the animator would like to put forward a new idea, even though it is alright to do weird things,
message is still a message that needs to be delivered. So, it is the animator’s task to invite the audience to
think and to communicate with them through their own approach and style.
Critical Thinking: Why Should We Think Outside the Box?

Why do we need to have Critical Thinking when we only want to be an animator? What is the connection
between critical thinking and animation industry? Therefore, Critical Thinking has to be defined clearly
before we go very much further. Critical thinking is a technique for evaluating information and ideas, for
deciding what to accept or to believe. Norris and Ennis (1989) stated that:
“Critical thinking is reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do.”
To be a brilliant animator, one has to be a critical thinker because he or she needs to put across
what is in their mind in a form that other people could see and relate to. Before putting their ideas into
action, they have to think about the cause and also the consequences. Cholodenko (2006) clarified:
“Indeed, for me the animatic nature of film animation means that all films – film “as such” – calls for
thinking in terms of the eruption of the quantum looniverse – and the Cryptic Complex – into the world
where adults thought it did not apply, did not operate, was sheltered from.”
Student animators can be developed into future nation’s best animators if they can grow as critical
thinkers. Kurland (2000) mentioned that critical thinkers are sceptical by nature. They approach everything
with the same scepticism and suspicion that they do to spoken explanations. This applies to animator; they
have to be sceptical whether their ideas are valid and acceptable or not. Critical thinkers are active, not
passive. They ask questions and analyse. They consciously apply tactics and strategies to uncover meaning
or assure their understanding; this is also essential because once the animator understands his/her work
very well, they could easily extend their ideas to their audience. If they themselves barely understand their
subject it is far more difficult for them to put their message across and to be understood by their audience.
Very often, students assume that they have to be a technical genius in order for them to create beautiful
animation. Usually if they can’t produce good works, they always go back to the reason that they are not
familiar with the software or they are not good with the software. This kind of mentality has to be erased
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from their mind. Software is only a tool; we simply can’t afford to let this small problem becoming a
drawback for their creativity.
Yes, it is true that students need to have a fair amount of knowledge on their chosen software to
do their animation, but, at the same time, the students also have to realise that they need to be creative and
very critical in solving certain problems. There is always more than one way to solve a problem. If plan A
doesn’t work, they have to do it in plan B, and if B still doesn’t work, they have to sit down and think about
a different alternative. Sometimes, student’s own easier and creative approach works much better than what
is taught in the book. Being technically competent is everybody’s dream but not every student has this
capability. Some students find it very hard to master certain advanced software, however, this should not
be treated as something that hinder their creativities. If other students need only one day to learn and do
certain things, maybe they need to spend a bit longer; and the key is they should not give up. Torrance
(1977) mentioned about creative thinking:
“Understanding, measuring, and developing the creative thinking abilities are part of the educator’s great
dream of achieving a more humane kind of education in which all children will have a better chance to
achieve their individual potentialities. It is of obvious importance to society that creative talent be identified,
developed, and utilised.”
Most people are too fanatic to Hollywood and think this is where everything seems to start and
bloom, however, it is always great to produce something of our own. Students could do magical effects but
not with the sole intention to copy the in-thing. Even if every new movie produced there, pushes the limit
of technology like never been done before, special effects alone never will bring up the quality of the story.
If the story is so lame and weak, special effects would only be a piece of technical wonders to ponder but
there will be no story to talk about and appreciate.
Movie producers have spent millions of dollars for visual effects. Special effects have been known
since 1902, when back then only simple trick of photography was used. Powerful PCs these days are able
to replace gigantic workstations especially those Silicon Graphics Computer Systems with half the size and
cost. The success of bringing dinosaurs to 'life' with computer generated images (CGI) in the film 'Jurassic
Park' produced by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) was a major breakthrough. However, in the film 'Final
Fantasy’ (2001) directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, where all the characters are lifelike digital human to replace
human actors, became a box-office bomb or box-office flop (a movie that is seen highly unprofitable,
unsuccessful or fail during its theatrical run) despite of its reputation being the first 100% used of digital
characters- simply because of the story. From Rotten Tomatoes, website's critical consensus reads:
"The movie raises the bar for computer animated movies, but the story is dull and emotionally removed."
14
Conclusion
Student animators these days would create expert animators in the future. There is a big burden on every
educators’ shoulder (in this field) to make sure that these young people are carefully ‘nurtured’ with good
moral and ethics as well as aesthetical values in order for them to promote ‘morally and aesthetically’ correct
products. With appropriate andragogical approach applied in animation education, these future animators
are anticipated to be more creative, productive and ready to leap for a more challenging industry. It will be
hard for Malaysian animation to achieve a global recognition in this trade if the working forces are not
willing to allow criticism. Audience criticism should not be treated as something damaging or discouraging,
but it should be positively accepted, digested and if needed, changed or better developed for acceptance by
local and international audience. Understanding and implementing all of the following elements are crucial
to develop a better future in Malaysian animation industry:
• good story structure and storytelling; we have to teach and learn to question ‘Why?’ in order to
become critical and be more sensitive towards ethics, moral and cultural values
• understanding the basic animation principles and exploring the boundaries
• sufficient technical understanding, critical thinking and creative problem solving approach
As it was elaborated earlier, the future of teaching and learning animation in the Malaysian
academics should be more open and adventurous. Educators should allow more experiments and
innovations while students should be ready to embark into a more exciting, imaginative yet exclusive to our
culture. On top of that, more ethical and moral values should be instilled and stressed as this medium has
high potential to influence people. Whether it is positive or negative, it is in our hand to decide.
References
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Prinstein & K. A. Dodge (eds.), Duke series in child development and public policy. Understanding peer influence
in children and adolescents. New York: The Guilford Press.
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Psychocinematics: Exploring Cognition at the Movies. New York: Oxford UP.
[3] Supamit, C. (2012). “Teaching Adult Learners English Through a Variety of Activities: Perception On
Games and Rewards”. US-China Foreign Language.
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[5] Alan, C. (2006). The Nutty Universe of Animation, the “Discipline” of All “Disciplines”, And That’s
Not All, Folks!’. International Journal of Baudrillard Studies, 3 (1).
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[10] Hooks, E. (2000). Acting for Animators. USA: Heinemann.
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[13] Khalis, F. M., Mustaffa, N. & Ali, M. N. S. (2016). The Sense of Local Identity Characteristic in
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[18] Lent, J. A. (2001). Animation in Asia and the Pacific. UK: John Libbey.
[19] McKee, R. & Bronwy, F. (2003). Storytelling That Moves People. Harvard business review 81(6), 51-55.
[20] Norris, S. P. & Robert H. E. (1989). Evaluating Critical Thinking. The Practitioners' Guide to Teaching
Thinking Series. Critical Thinking Press and Software, Box 448, Pacific Grove. CA: Tele.
[21] Yoojin, O. (2019). Applying Design Principles to Motion Graphics. Creative Technology.
[22] Omar, M. A. M. & Ishak, M. S. A. (2017). Understanding Malaysian Animation Characteristics. Jurnal
Pengajian Media Malaysia, 16 (1), 25-37.
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Assessment Performance and Perception of Learning Experience in Two Advanced Physiology
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Creative Multimedia
Design, Implementation and Evaluation of a Serious Game for Obesity Prevention

among Preschool Children
Wang Yanzhen & Maizatul Hayati bt. Mohamad Yatim
yzwang@fsskj.upsi.edu.my
Sultan Idris Education University
Abstract
This paper presents the design, implementation and evaluation of a kindergarten based prevention on
childhood obesity among preschool children. The prevention applies motivational game-based learning and
behaviour change theories during design. Preschool children are the main target group for this study
because preschool childhood obesity has been found correlated to obesity in later years of childhood, thus
preventing and treating preschool obesity are particularly important. There have been few prevention and
interventions that have targeted game based strategies in the kindergarten to promote health outcomes in
preschool children and especially in Asian countries. To our knowledge, Fight Obesity 2.0 is the first mobile
application in Southeast Asia. In this study, it shows a positive way for the content experts and subject
experts to collaborate with each other to design and develop digital mobile games for preschool children,
we discuss in detail the challenges faced while designing and implementing this trial. Finally, we present the
evaluation results from the three-scope validation strategy.
Keywords Serious games; Preschool children; Health prevention; Behaviour change; Obesity

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Introduction
Obesity has become a global epidemic since year 2000 reported by World Health Organization, particularly
in developing countries. Childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of obesity, premature death
and disability in adulthood [1]. Thus preventing and treating preschool obesity are particularly important.
According to some systematic reviews [2, 3] to compare the effectiveness of primary care-based childhood
obesity prevention against treatment intervention, only one effective (out of 31) study was prevention study,
as opposed to seven effective treatment intervention studies. Another systematic reviews [4] about the
effectiveness of health professional-delivered interventions to prevent overweight/obesity in children, there
is only four interventions (out of 180) were effective on a primary (adiposity/weight) and secondary
(behavioural) outcome measure. In other words, most existing prevention and treatment intervention did
not yield the desired positive effects, thus failing to stop the rising number of children who face overweight
or obesity problems. So, novel approaches, as revealed by Dias et al [5] in preventing and treating childhood
overweight and obesity, are urgently sought after. These approaches involve the use of behavioural
treatment with contemporary computing technologies [6]. There are indeed games designed for tackling
obesity issues, but those games are generally meant for teenagers or adults, and those games lack validation
from the content experts. Treating adult obesity is different from treating childhood obesity due to the
differences in physiological and psychological characteristics [7]. As a result, designing game content to
prevent and treat obesity would also be different between adults and children. The potential of games,
particularly games for health, has been recognised by researchers as being an efficient and effective means
of childhood obesity prevention [8, 9, 10]. However, as elaborated by Thompson [11], the key challenge of
using games in preventing childhood obesity was to identify the right balance between “serious-ness” of
components that promote behaviour change and “fun-ness” of components that entertain children. In fact,
this was a research gap encountered by most of researchers who attempted to design and develop games
for childhood obesity prevention, hence this paper aims to fill in the research gap.
Game Design and Development

Game idea
The initial game idea was sketched and proposed as a board game that involved playing cards. In the first
iteration, a paper-based prototype tabletop game was created to test the playability of Fight Obesity 2.0,
which was created to assure that all game contents required in the obesity prevention were feasible to be
included in game-like activities. Despite being a feasible multiplayer game, the tabletop version of Fight
Obesity game needed to be improved to cover all three types of content knowledge for childhood obesity.
In the case of this research, some of the features were discarded after evaluating the paper-based prototype
by a subject expert and a content expert. The features discarded include calculation and some questions,
for example, all calculation of calories were omitted in the mobile game because the concept of calories was
not required for preschool children to build conception of childhood obesity, all question cards were
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transformed into drawings of recognizable scenarios of children’ daily living. Also, a digital mobile game
would further attract children’s attention than a physical tabletop game. After going through the game idea
and paper-based prototyping, the mobile version of Fight Obesity 2.0 has been predetermined as a single-
player game on mobile devices, which was produced by a team of people, including the game programmer,
game graphic, subject expert and content expert.
Game Design and Development Model

The game design and development model proposed by Tan [12] was adapted as the game creation and
research methodology (see Figure 2). This model supported the provisional game-based childhood obesity
prevention by turning gamifiable components into game features. It supposed that there should be game
features that support the development of a healthy lifestyle in childhood. Particularly, the game should
highlight the importance of a healthy diet and physical activities. The game should also contain the
consequences of childhood obesity. Apart from the game designer mentioned, the production team of Fight
Obesity 2.0 consisted of two game-based learning specialists, and two game programmers. The two game-
based learning specialists were selected based on their experience in completing at least two R&D projects
in gamification and game-based learning, while the programmers were chosen based on their credential and
experience in developing serious games. In particular, the programmers took part in the production of two
educational games before joining the production team of Fight Obesity 2.0.
The subject matter expert of the game presented the requirements of the game to the game
production team at the pre-production stage through face-to-face meetings and discussion. The game
designer developed game ideas based on the content knowledge supplied by the subject matter expert. It is
important to stress that in the creation of serious games, the needs and requirements of the subject matter
experts would be prioritised as opposed to the targeted players, when they examined the differences
between serious games and games for entertainment. Also, preschool children may know what features of
a game they want to play, but they generally do not know the features of a serious games they need to play
in order to acquire knowledge on childhood obesity. Thus, this serious game for health presumed that only
the subject matter experts should supply knowledge content, as opposed to preschool children, parents or
kindergarten teachers. This in turn omitted the need to involve preschool children, parents or kindergarten
teachers in the game content and design validation process.
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Figure 1 The Game Creation and Research Model (Tan, 2010)
Gamification for Childhood Obesity Prevention

The approach of gamification proposed by Tan was adopted to design and develop Fight Obesity 2.0 [12].
He proposed a five-step gamification approach which integrated six structural elements of games depicted
by Prensky. According to Prensky, an effective game-based learning should encompass six elements of
games: goals, rules, interaction, feedback, problems and narrative or fantasy [13]. The first step of gamifying
childhood obesity prevention was setting and defining the purpose of gamification. The purpose of
gamification was to turn non-game playing childhood obesity prevention content knowledge into game
playing activities for preschool children. This purpose was aligned to the preference of game technology
22
which could be made available to the targeted player. A game goal was set for either the male or the female
avatar in the Fight Obesity 2.0 that was to possess healthy food preferences and healthy lifestyle.
This game goal was broken down into three components, specifically observable behaviours of the
game avatar, the conditions of goal attainment, and the degree of goal attainment. The game avatar
represents individual game players, including their characteristics, where such representation comprises
pedagogical information concerning both the knowledge acquired by players and their behavioural profile.
The components of game goal were aligned to the intended outcomes of the childhood obesity prevention,
as proposed by Tan, Nurul Fazmidar and Wang [14]. After the alignment, the game goal was used to
determine the game challenge. In this gamification practice, preschool children were led to empathize with
the challenges encountered by the male or female character they played. Meanwhile, game rules, game
mechanics and physics of the game world were set based on the conditions of goal attainment. The game
rules were made explicit, simple and succinct to accelerate the comprehension process and needs among
the targeted preschool players, while the game mechanics were made as detailed as possible for game
programmers to code and establish the physics of the game world.
The degree of game goal attainment was further developed by pedagogy experts and instructional
designers, in order to set the model and modes of in-game interaction, and then to prepare formative and
summative feedback in Fight Obesity 2.0. The six structural elements of Fight Obesity were not designed
and developed in a linear production process. The gamification process was actually a series of iteration,
where game designer, pedagogy experts, content experts, programmers and game artists went through
several iterative negotiations, discussion and compromise situations, before reaching a mutual optimized
design of the game.
Preparing Content Knowledge

In terms of content knowledge, seven prompting questions and answers were prepared based on
recommendation of World Health Organization, as shown in appendix table. The questions were grouped
under three types of knowledge for the game: (1) Knowledge of children obesity. (2) Knowledge of ways
and means of treating children obesity. (3) Knowledge of the universals and abstractions in treating children
obesity. In order to ensure the achievement of game objectives would yield the attainment of intended
learning outcomes in Fight Obesity 2.0, a constructive alignment proposed by Tan, Nurul Fazmidar and
Wang was adopted [14], as shown in Figure 2.
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Figure 2 Constructive Alignment Model Used in the Game Design Process
Fight Obesity 2.0 Mobile Game

The design of Fight Obesity 2.0 started by setting its gameplay. It combined three types of challenges—
knowledge, time pressure, and physical coordination to engage players, as depicted in Table 1. As a serious
game intended to intervene lifestyle of preschool children, knowledge challenge was the key challenge of
this game. As for game interaction model and mode, Fight Obesity 2.0 is a single-player avatar-based game,
in which player can only role-play and control one avatar—either a boy or a girl game character in the game
world, acting upon stimulus perceived by the avatar when overcoming challenges featured in three game
levels. The game goal of Fight Obesity 2.0, i.e. the goal set for the main character in the game world was to
keep a healthy lifestyle by choosing healthy diet and doing exercise. In terms of game rules, players must
complete three game levels, especially by answering all ten questions asked in Level 3 correctly.
Table 1 Combination of game challenges in Fight Obesity 2.0

Game level Challenge type Descriptor
1 2 3
✓ ✓ ✓ knowledge To test players’ knowledge on factual information.
✓ Time pressure To test players’ capability to achieve game goal before running
out of time.
✓ ✓ Physical coordination To test players’ hand-eye coordination when responding to
stimulus shown to them.
In terms of development, the tabletop version of Fight Obesity game was revised to build the Fight
Obesity 2.0 mobile game (see Figure 2.3). Unity3D was chosen as the authoring tool for this game. A game
flow diagram was developed to finalize the sequence of all events in Fight Obesity 2.0. These events were
player events (rhombuses), in-game events (rectangles), and narrative events (circles and ovals), as shown
in Figure 3 Fight Obesity 2.0 consists of four characters: The Boy, the Girl, the Mommy and the Doctor.
The Boy and the Girl are two main characters while the Mommy and the Doctor are supporting characters.
24
As the hero or the heroin in the game world, the design of the Boy and the Girl were the utmost important
matter for Fight Obesity 2.0.
Figure 3 The Splash Screen of Fight Obesity 2.0
Figure 4 The Overall Game Flow of Fight Obesity 2.0 Mobile Game
There are three levels in the Fight Obesity 2.0. Level 1 was designed to guide players to choose the
gender and the body size of their avatar to represent their virtual self. After that, they could start playing
three game levels sequentially. The design goal of this Level was to help tackling the problem of obesity in
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Malaysia by educating children the virtue of healthy eating habits. In the ideation process, a constructive
alignment was made between observable behaviour, condition and degree of attaining the intended
outcome and game goal, rules and feedback, as shown in Table 2. Players need to choose healthy food to
feed the avatar that is, by dragging a choice of food and dropping it into the avatar’s mouth (Figure 5). In
game development process, the initial idea was improved by having various food circling the avatar,
optimizing the number of food can be presented to players in one time. If players chose healthy food, the
health bar would increase and a big tick sign would pop up to reinforce players’ positive action (Figure 6).
However, if players chose unhealthy food, the health bar would decrease and a big cross sign would pop
up to warn players’ negative action (Figure 6).
Table 2 Alignment between intended outcomes of level 1and game goal, rules and feedback
Observable Condition Degree
behaviour …healthy food and non-healthy food… …by making less than 3 mistakes in
Differentiate less than 10 attempts.
…
Goal Rule Win Feedback
Choose the 1. Drag and drop healthy food to raise the Well done!! You eat healthy!!
right food for health bar.
the avatar. 2. Choosing unhealthy food will lower the Lose Feedback
health bar. You are obese / overweight!! You
3. Avatar can only eat maximum two units of eat unhealthy!!
unhealthy food.
Figure 5 Drag and Drop Healthy Food to Feed the Boy or the Girl Game Character
26
Figure 6 Positive and Negative Visual Feedbacks Reinforce Players’ Behaviours
There were 42 options of food and drink created for Level 1, in which 23 of them were healthy
while 19 were unhealthy, as shown in Figure 7. Players won Level 1 after the health bar turned full, and
they would be directed to watch the winning animation. They would be praised for their achievement.
However, when they made three mistakes, i.e. feeding the avatar with three units of any unhealthy food,
they would be warned for losing Level 1 because their avatar was obese due to unhealthy diet. In terms of
game mechanics, players must feed the avatar with six (without eating unhealthy food) to ten units (eating
one or two unhealthy food) of food in order to win Level 1. In total, there are 33 possible winning
conditions.
Level 2 was designed for children to learn the importance of exercise. The body size of players’
avatar in Level would be carried forward to Level 2, signifying that exercise help shaping unhealthy body
size caused by unhealthy diet. In the ideation process using constructive alignment, two exercise
apparatus—hula hoop and skipping rope were chosen for Level 2 (see Table 3). The initial gameplay of
Level 2 required players to choose an apparatus and tap the avatar for 60 seconds. However, in the
implementation, instead of tapping avatar, players were instructed to tap the icon of hula hoop or skipping
rope, and the duration was reduced to avoid players from getting bored (Figure 8). Players must keep the
health bar green to fight against obesity. When the avatar did exercise, the health bar would turn into green
colour; but when the avatar stopped doing exercise, the health bar would turn back to red colour. Once the
health bar turned full at the end of 30 seconds, players won Level 2, and they would be directed to watch
the winning animation. They would be praised for their achievement and advised for their failure.
Table 3 Alignment between intended outcomes and game elements of Level 2
behaviour …doing exercise and stopping exercise …by relating exercise to healthy
Understand the upon the size of body… lifestyle and connecting obesity to
consequences of… stopping exercise.
Tap ether skipping 1. Tap skipping rope or hula hoop Well done!! You are healthy!!
rope or hula hoop button rapidly for 30 seconds to
buttons to simulate keep avatar fit. Lose Feedback
exercise. 2. The body size of avatar may turn You are obese / overweight!! You
into obese when he or she stops need more exercise!!
doing exercise.
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Figure 7 Finalized Gameplay for Level 2
In Level 3, the players are guided to learn characteristics of healthy lifestyle and good habits. As shown
in Table 4, the constructive alignment requires players to answer ten questions correctly in order to win this
game level. These questions were divided into three categories: the importance of doing exercise; the
importance of right food choices; and the importance of right drink and drinking water. At the end of the
level, a total score would be shown to the player. Question 1 and Question 9 stressed the importance of
doing exercises and the consequences of not doing exercises. To reinforce the memory of players, these
questions and the feedback of answering individual questions were presented through graphics and audio.
Five questions were set to depict the importance of right food choices. These questions were asked by
Mommy, in which players were prompted to choose healthy food in Question 2, 4, 6 and 10, and they were
asked whether they like to eat fast food or not in Question 3. The feedback of answering individual
questions was presented through graphics and audio in order to reinforce the memory of players. Three
questions were set to depict the importance of choosing the correct drink and drinking plain water. The
Mommy asked these questions and players had to choose plain water in Question 5 and 7, and they were
asked whether they like to fruit juice or soda drink in Question 8. Correct answers given by players would
prompt a same positive feedback in all three questions; while incorrect answers would trigger negative
feedback.
Table 4 Alignment between intended outcomes and game goal, rules and feedback of Level 3
behaviour …the right options which …in all ten questions, without making the same
Choose… reflect healthy lifestyle… mistake twice.
Tap on a correct Answer all ten questions Very good!
option for correctly. You will become healthy and strong!
healthy lifestyle. Players are given a second Lose Feedback
chance for every mistake You will become obese!
made. You will become fat and lazy.
You are not healthy! You should drink more water.
Virtual Consultation Animation
28
At the end of Level 3, players who made mistake when answering any question would be given chances to
retry questions they answered incorrectly. If they chose not to retry those questions, they would be directed
to watch a consultation animation on childhood obesity. A virtual doctor was featured in this animation,
where he advises players about the consequences of obesity. Figure 8 shows the storyboard of the virtual
consultation. Players could learn the consequences of obesity by understanding what would happen if they
became obese. Once the animation is over, the players are prompted on whether they want to try Level 3
again. With the knowledge on how dangerous obesity can be, children would be convinced to choose
healthy options for the scenarios featured in Level 3.
Figure 8 The Storyboard of Virtual Consultation in Fight Obesity 2.0
Game Evaluation and Analysis

The Fight Obesity 2.0 were validated by multiple methods, including the game technology (GT), the content
knowledge (CK), and the IARC Digital Game Content Rating. Table 4 shows the types of participants
involved in the serious game validation. The LARC digital game content rating was done by google app
store. This paper mainly focuses on the playtesting and content experts’ evaluation part. In the playtesting
evaluation part, we use the Mode choice models to analysis the raw data, because Mode choice models deals
very closely with the human choice making behaviour. The software used in this research is Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
Table 4 Validation methods of this four-phase research

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Methods Purpose Types of N Scope of

participants validation
GT CK PS
IARC Digital Game To achieve global standard Rating authorities in 5 /
Content Rating rating and age classification. various regions
Playtesting To examine the usability of Game designers 38 /
Fight Obesity 2.0.
Semi-structured To examine the perceptions of Pediatricians 2 / /
interview pediatricians on Fight Obesity
2.0 and the game-based
childhood obesity prevention
framework.
TOTAL 45
Age Rating of Fight Obesity 2.0

Prior to the publication of Fight Obesity 2.0 in Google Play Store, the game went through an automated
classification process under the governance of the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC). The coalition
was established to streamline the acquisition of content ratings from authorities in different countries [15].
An IARC Rating Certificate was issued to Fight Obesity 2.0 on 15 May 2015, indicating the success of the
game in passing a content validation, affording the game to be used with children aged three years old and
above.
Overall of usability validation through playtesting

The purpose of playtesting the serious game was to validate the usability in five aspects, which were
likeability, efficiency, helpfulness, control and learnability [16]. The underlying assumption of conduct of
the playtesting session was that game designers know the most about game design, as compared to end
users or stakeholders of the serious games. End users of the serious game were regarded as the subjects or
participants in the quasi-experiment. They were preschool children who do not have the cognitive
knowledge to comprehend the mechanics, dynamics and aesthetics of game design, therefore they were not
fit to playtest the serious game in this research. Stakeholders of the serious game may be kindergarten
teachers and parents. They were regarded as clients who have limited or no professional knowledge on
game design, thus they were not fit to playtest the game. In this research, people who were qualified as
game designers should have at least two years of formal study in game design and development courses at
tertiary education.
The playtesting session was conducted with 38 out of 40 game designers who went through formal
game design and development courses at higher education level. Most of the testers possessed a diploma
in game technology, and had experience in game design and development. All participants were male, aged
between 20 to 23 years old. No female game designer was available on the date when the playtesting session
was specially set up in a computer lab in a higher education institution. Nevertheless, the game was designed
by a female designer and it was important to have the male testers to assure the game as gender neutral
30
game. The instrument used in the playtesting session was a questionnaire adapted from the Software
Usability Measurement Inventory (SUMI) developed by Kirakowski and Corbett [16]. The adaptation was
made to ensure the context of the questions asked in early 1990s was adjusted to meet the validity
requirements set for nowadays mobile apps and computing technology. Collected data were sorted using
Microsoft Excel and then analysed using IBM SPSS, in which descriptive statistics were used to summarize
the sample through frequency, mode, and cross tabulation tables. The perception of playtesters was
measured on a three-point ordinal scale: agree, undecided, or disagree. The results of the playtesting were
organized into five sections: likeability, efficiency, helpfulness, control and learnability, in which each
construct consists of ten items.
There are 19 positive items and 31 negative items in the instrument, in which Fight Obesity 2.0
gained 16 modes on “Agree” in positive items and 24 modes on “Disagree” in negative items. In other
words, the overall usability result was 80% (40 out of 50 items), as shown in Table 5. The game received
more than 50% scores in efficiency (61%), helpfulness (52%) and learnability (64%). Its usability on
likeability (49%) and control (48%) were slightly below 50% (Figure 9).
Table 5 Frequency of modes attained by Fight Obesity 2.0 in the playtesting

Disagreed Undecided Agreed Scored items
Sub Total
Likeability 5 positive Items 0 1 4 4 8
5 negative items 4 0 1 4 10
Efficiency 6 positive Items 0 1 5 5 8
Helpfulness 5 positive Items 0 1 4 4 7
Control 3 positive Items 0 0 3 3 8
Learnability 10 negative items 9 0 1 9 9
10
Positive items (n = 19) 0 3 16 40
Negative items (n = 31) 24 2 5 50
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Playtesting
Likeability
250
200
150
100
Learnability Efficiency
50
0 Playtesting
Control Helpfulness
Figure 9 The Overall Usability Performance of Fight Obesity 2.0
Likeability evaluation of Fight Obesity 2.0

Likeability or affect towards Fight Obesity 2.0 measured the testers’ general emotional reaction to the game
[16]. Eight of the ten items related to likeability showed positive outcomes. Testers agreed with four positive
items and disagreed with four negative items (see Table 6). Most of them did not feel headache (Mode =
Disagree), frustrating (Mode = Disagree) or tense (Mode = Disagree) when playing the game. Nearly half
of the testers enjoyed their sessions with Fight Obesity 2.0 (Mode = Agree) and regarded playing the game
as a satisfying experience (Mode = Agree). However, the testers were unsure whether Fight Obesity 2.0
was inconsistent or not (Mode = Disagree & Undecided). The majority of the testers would not like to use
the game every day, probably because the game was too short (ranging from 2:50 to 5:00 per play session),
and it was not meant for their age level. Therefore, the design of Fight Obesity 2.0 should focus on
enhancing its replay-ability and stickiness in order to make targeted players keep coming back to it.
Table 6 Testers’ perception on likeability of Fight Obesity 2.0

(D: disagree; U: undecided; A: agree; N: sample size)
Item Perception Mode N

D U A
Positive I would recommend Fight Obesity 2.0 to my peers 9 17 12 U 38
I enjoy my sessions with Fight Obesity 2.0. 9 12 17 A 38
Playing with Fight Obesity 2.0 is satisfying. 12 11 15 A 38
Playing with Fight Obesity 2.0 is mentally stimulating. 9 9 20 A 38
Fight Obesity 2.0 has a very attractive presentation. 7 7 24 A 38
Negative I would not like to use Fight Obesity 2.0 every day. 7 7 24 A 38
I think Fight Obesity 2.0 is inconsistent. 15 15 8 D&U 38
32
I think Fight Obesity 2.0 has made me have a headache 25 9 4 D 38
on occasion.
Playing Fight Obesity 2.0 is frustrating. 23 11 4 D 38
There have been times in playing Fight Obesity 2.0 27 8 3 D 38
when I have felt quite tense.
Efficiency evaluation of Fight Obesity 2.0

When Fight Obesity 2.0 was play tested, the efficiency construct measured the degree to which testers felt
that the game assisted them in understanding childhood obesity and was related to concept of transparency
[16]. Three aspects of Fight Obesity 2.0 were tested, i.e. speed, ease of use, and visual organization. As a
whole, six out of ten items yielded positive outcomes in the efficiency construct (see Table 7). Testers
agreed with five positive items and disagreed with one negative item. Most of the testers agreed that the
speed of Fight Obesity 2.0 was fast enough (Mode = Agree), affording task to be performed in a
straightforward manner (Mode = Agree). The organisation of the menus seems quite logical (Mode =
Agree), in which options at each stage can be seen at a glance easily at each game level (Mode = Agree).
Also, the way the information was presented in a clear and understandable manner. Most of the testers
disagreed that the game responded too slowly to inputs (Mode = Disagree). However, since testers were
using emulator rather than tablet or smart phone to play test Fight Obesity 2.0, delay responses were
possible, causing certain testers to agree with this item. Most of the testers disagreed that it was difficult to
get data in and out of the game or not (Mode = Disagree), but no data files can be get in or out of the game
actually, and this may be why some testers agreed or undecided on this item. Testers were not sure whether
it was easy to restart the game or not if it stopped (Mode = Undecided). None of the 38 screencast videos
captured in the playtesting sessions crashed or required testers to restart, so it made sense for them to be
undecided on this item.
Table 7 Testers’ perception on efficiency of Fight Obesity 2.0

D U A
Positive The speed of Fight Obesity 2.0 is fast enough. 13 5 20 A 38
Tasks can be performed in a straightforward manner using 3 9 26 A 38
Fight Obesity 2.0.
The organisation of the menus or information lists seems 3 2 33 A 38
quite logical.
The way that system information is presented is clear and 2 1 35 A 38
understandable.
It is easy to see at a glance what the options are at each 1 4 33 A 38
stage.
Fight Obesity 2.0 allows the player to be economic of 6 19 13 U 38
keystrokes.
Negative If Fight Obesity 2.0 stops, it is not easy to restart it. 12 18 8 U 38
Fight Obesity 2.0 responds too slowly to inputs. 17 9 12 D 38
There are too many steps required to get something to 25 7 6 D 38
work.
Getting data files in and out of the game is not easy. 17 7 14 D 38
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Helpfulness evaluation of Fight Obesity 2.0

In the playtesting, helpfulness was measured based on the degree to which Fight Obesity 2.0 was self-
explanatory, as well as more specific things like the adequacy of help facilities and documentation [16]. In
terms of helpfulness, half of the items under this construct generated positive outcomes in the playtesting
(see Table 8). Testers agreed with four positive items and disagreed with one negative item. Testers generally
agreed that instructions and prompts in the game were helpful (Mode = Agree). To them, Fight Obesity
2.0 documentation was very informative (Mode = Agree), and testers can understand and act on the
information (Mode = Agree). It was obvious that the needs of players had been fully taken into
consideration (Mode = Agree), and they disagreed that there was too much to read before they can play the
game (Mode = Disagree). Half of the testers disagreed that the help information given by the game,
particularly at the beginning of every game level was not useful (Mode = Disagree). Although most of the
testers (15 out of 38) disagreed that there was never enough information on the screen when it was needed,
more than half testers were either disagreed or undecided on this proposition. Most of them were unsure
whether error prevention messages were adequate or not (Mode = Undecided). Therefore, more formative
feedback would be needed to assure players on this matter. Nonetheless, testers were uncertain whether or
not the game has helped them overcome any problems they had in playing it (Mode = Undecided).
Table 8 Testers’ perception on helpfulness of Fight Obesity 2.0

D U A
Positive The instructions and prompts are helpful. 2 9 27 A 38
Fight Obesity 2.0 documentation is very informative. 3 13 22 A 38
I can understand and act on the information provided by 1 3 34 A 38
Fight Obesity 2.0.
Fight Obesity 2.0 has helped me overcome any problems 9 16 13 U 38
I have had in playing it.
It is obvious that user needs have been fully taken into 5 11 22 A 38
consideration.
Negative I find that the help information given by Fight Obesity 19 15 4 D 38
2.0 is not very useful.
There is never enough information on the screen when 15 11 12 D 38
it’s needed.
There is too much to read before you can play Fight 29 3 6 D 38
Obesity 2.0.
Error prevention messages are not adequate. 13 21 4 U 38
Either the amount or quality of the help information 3 17 18 A 38
varies across the system.
Control Evaluation of Fight Obesity 2.0

In the playtesting, the control construct was based on the extent testers felt in control of Fight Obesity 2.0,
as opposed to being controlled by the game when playing a specific game level. As shown in Table 9, most
of the testers felt in command when playing the game (Mode = Agree), where it was relatively easy to move
34
from one part of a task to another (Mode = Agree) and make the game do exactly what they want (Mode
= Agree). Testers disagreed that the game stopped unexpectedly sometimes (Mode = Disagree), had not
always done what they were expecting (Mode = Disagree), or disrupted the way they normally like to play
game (Mode = Disagree). They also disagreed that sometimes they did not know what to do next (Mode =
Disagree) or wonder if they were using the right command (Mode = Disagree). However, testers agreed
that they felt safer if they used only a few familiar commands or operations (Mode = Agree), and preferred
to stick to the facilities they knew best (Mode = Agree). Actually, it was on purpose since Fight Obesity 2.0
was designed specifically for preschool children, the only command needed to master was tapping on the
screen. There were maximum two tap-able buttons on any screen of the game.
Table 9 Testers’ perception on control of Fight Obesity 2.0

D U A
Positive I feel in command of Fight Obesity 2.0 when I am using 6 12 20 A 38
it.
It is easy to make Fight Obesity 2.0 do exactly what you 12 8 18 A 38
want.
It is relatively easy to move from one part of a task to 5 4 29 A 38
another.
Negative Fight Obesity 2.0 has at some time stopped 24 11 3 D 38
unexpectedly.
Fight Obesity 2.0 hasn’t always done what I was 21 13 4 D 38
expecting.
Fight Obesity 2.0 seems to disrupt the way I normally 16 13 9 D 38
like to play game.
I sometimes don't know what to do next with Fight 25 4 9 D 38
Obesity 2.0.
I sometimes wonder if I'm using the right command. 21 7 10 D 38
I feel safer if I use only a few familiar commands or 6 11 21 A 38
operations.
I prefer to stick to the facilities that I know best. 4 8 26 A 38
Learnability Evaluation of Fight Obesity 2.0

When Fight Obesity 2.0 was tested, the learnability construct was measured based on the speed and facility
with which testers felt that they had been able to master the game, or to learn how to use new features
when necessary. As shown in Table 10, most of the testers disagreed with nine negative items under the
learnability construct. The only negative item they agreed was that Fight Obesity 2.0 was awkward when
they wanted to do something not standard (Mode = Agree). The game was actually designed to stop
preschool players from doing something that is non-standard. In general, as long as players follow
instruction, the testers would not find Fight Obesity 2.0 awkward (Mode = Disagree). In general, learning
to operate Fight Obesity 2.0 initially was not full of problem (Mode = Disagree), especially when learning
how to use new functions (Mode = Disagree). Testers did not take too long to learn all commands (Mode
= Disagree), and they did not think that it was easy to forget how to do things with the game (Mode =
Disagree). The game did not occasionally behave in a way which cannot be understood (Mode = Disagree).
Vol 2 No 1 (2021) E-ISSN: 2716-6333
Consistent with findings on screencast videos, none of the testers went back to look at guides (Mode =
Disagree) or look for assistance most times when playing Fight Obesity 2.0 (Mode = Disagree). Most of
them disagreed that they would never learn to use all that was offered in the game (Mode = Disagree).
Table 10 Testers’ perception on learnability of Fight Obesity 2.0

D U A
Learning to operate Fight Obesity 2.0 initially is full of problems. 23 13 2 D 38
Learning how to use new functions is difficult. 21 6 11 D 38
It takes too long to learn the Fight Obesity 2.0 commands. 33 5 0 D 38
It is easy to forget how to do things with Fight Obesity 2.0. 25 9 4 D 38
Fight Obesity 2.0 is awkward when I want to do something which is not 13 11 14 A 38
standard.
Fight Obesity 2.0 occasionally behaves in a way which can’t be 29 6 3 D 38
understood.
Fight Obesity 2.0 is really very awkward. 17 11 10 D 38
I keep having to go back to look at the guides. 32 2 4 D 38
I will never learn to use all that is offered in Fight Obesity 2.0. 17 14 7 D 38
I have to look for assistance most times when I play Fight Obesity 2.0. 34 3 1 D 38
Content Evaluation by Interviewing Pediatricians

The Semi-structured interview was conducted with two volunteering pediatricians who were interested in
the game-based childhood obesity prevention to verify the accuracy of content knowledge on childhood
obesity prevention contained in Fight Obesity 2.0. The findings of the interview sessions were expected to
validate the use of Fight Obesity 2.0 mobile game in healthcare practices. The first interviewee, Dr LZY
(pseudonym) is a female pediatrician working at the Child Healthcare Specialist Clinic in Ningbo Women
and Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang province China. The hospital is a tertiary specialized hospital for women
and children, which offers medical treatment, health care, teaching, scientific research, disease prevention,
first aid and rehabilitation (Ningbo Women and Children’s Hospital, 2016). The online interview session
with Dr LZY was held on 5 January 2017, in which she answered six interview questions and then she was
asked to justify her answers one-by-one. The second interviewee, Dr LKF (pseudonym) was a male
pediatrician working at the Specialist Pediatric Clinic in Hospital Tuanku Ja’afar Seremban (HTJS), Negeri
Sembilan, Malayisa. To date, the HTJS is the largest public hospital funded by the Malaysia Ministry of
Health in the state of Negeri Sembilan. An online interview session with Dr LKF was carried out on 11
January 2017, after being rescheduled for several times. Dr LKF was very keen in exploiting the potential
and practicality of Fight Obesity 2.0 mobile game. He actually let his four-year-old son play the game on
his mobile phone a day before the interview session.
Both of them played the game, watched the game trailer, and browsed through the Fight Obesity
2.0 website before the interview session. They were also informed that Fight Obesity 2.0 was intentionally
created for preschool children to learn the following three things: 1: To differentiate healthy food and
36
unhealthy food, 2: To understand the relationship between healthy lifestyle and obesity, and 3: To the
danger of overweight and childhood obesity. After matching the intended outcomes and the features shown
in three game levels, they agreed that the content knowledge on childhood obesity prevention incorporated
in the Fight Obesity 2.0 mobile was accurate. They further justified that, “diet and exercise are the main
things for prevention of obesity.” They believed the prevention strategy would be practical if the parent
lead the child. Dr LKF added, “In clinic, we found the obese child very difficult to reduce weight”. In fact,
parents play an important role which affect their children’s body size. When Dr LKF was asked when and
where a game like Fight Obesity 2.0 can be used to prevent childhood obesity, he suggested that it “can be
used before ordering food”. In his opinion, both parents and children may use a game like Fight Obesity
2.0 to prevent childhood obesity. In practice, the game should emphasise on the bad things or the danger
of obesity on both adulthood and childhood. At the end of the interview session, Dr LKF highlighted once
again, “Parents need to be involved!”
Conclusions and Discussions

This paper contributes to the better understanding of the design, development and validation of a serious
game for childhood obesity prevention. It presented an innovative obesity prevention approach for
preschool children through the creation and validation of a game-based childhood obesity prevention
framework. This mobile game was created using a combination multiple gamification approach, integrating
the player-centric emotional design and the lean game production method. The approach would make
current gamification practices more systematic and dynamic, particularly when aligning intended prevention
outcomes with structural elements of games. The outcomes—the Fight Obesity 2.0 and its paratextual
materials have been proven effective through the deployment of the three-scope validation strategy. By
using this strategy, the quality of serious games for prevention can be assured through the validation of
their content knowledge, game technology, and prevention strategy.
However, Fight Obesity 2.0 is an educational mobile app dedicated to teach preschool children the
importance of maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle. And it is created using researched information on
obesity, and it is explored by allowing preschool children to interact with the app in a fashion similar to a
mobile game. This novelty of Fight Obesity 2.0 has been enriched by game-based treatment framework
drawn from an empirical study. The semi-structured interview sessions with pedestrians verified the
accuracy of content knowledge on childhood obesity prevention contained in Fight Obesity 2.0. In the
future study, a game-based obesity prevention could only be feasible and effective after teachers, caretakers
or doctors get hold of information associated to the contexts where specific child lives and grows up. In
particular, the success of game-based obesity prevention would require parents to get involved.
Vol 2 No 1 (2021) E-ISSN: 2716-6333
Acknowledgement
This paper is partly based on the research project entitled Learning Human Anatomy using Three
Dimensional Augmented Reality Application. The author would like to extend their gratitude to University
Research Grants (code: 2020-0103-107-01) that helped fund the research.
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Appendix
Content Knowledge of Children Obesity Prepared for Fight Obesity 2.0 (WHO, 2020)
Prompting Questions Answers adapted from World Health Organization
Q1. What is childhood Overweight and obesity are defined as ''abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that
overweight and presents a risk to health''.
obesity?
Q2. What the cause of The fundamental cause of childhood overweight and obesity is an energy imbalance
childhood overweight between calories consumed and calories expended.
and obesity? Global increases in childhood overweight and obesity are attributable to a number of
factors including:
● A global shift in diet towards increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high
in fat and sugars but low in vitamins, minerals and other healthy micronutrients;
● A trend towards decreased physical activity levels due to the increasingly sedentary
nature of many forms of recreation time, changing modes of transportation, and
increasing urbanization.
Q3. What are the Childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of premature death and disability
consequences of in adulthood.
obesity? Children who face overweight or obesity problem are more likely to stay obese into
adulthood and to develop non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes and
cardiovascular diseases at a younger age. For most NCDs resulting from obesity, the
risks depend partly on the age of onset and on the duration of obesity.
Obese children and adolescents suffer from both short-term and long-term health
consequences. The most significant health consequences of childhood overweight and
obesity, that often do not become apparent until adulthood, include:
● cardiovascular diseases (mainly heart disease and stroke);
● diabetes;
● musculoskeletal disorders, especially osteoarthritis; and
● certain types of cancer (endometrial, breast and colon).
Content Knowledge of Ways and Means of Treating Childhood Obesity (WHO, 2020)
Prompting Answers adapted from World Health Organization
Questions
Vol 2 No 1 (2021) E-ISSN: 2716-6333
Q4. What can be The goal in fighting the childhood obesity epidemic is to achieve an energy balance which
done to fight the can be maintained throughout the individual's life-span.
childhood obesity General recommendations:
epidemic? 1. Increase consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains
and nuts;
2. Limit energy intake from total fats and shift fat consumption away from saturated
fats to unsaturated fats;
3. Limit the intake of sugars; and
4. Be physically active - accumulate at least 60 minutes of regular, moderate- to
vigorous-intensity activity each day that is developmentally appropriate.
Q5. How to develop For diet, recommendations for populations and individuals should include the following:
healthy diet? 1. Achieve energy balance and a healthy weight
2. Limit energy intake from total fats and shift fat consumption away from saturated
fats to unsaturated fats and towards the elimination of trans-fatty acids
3. Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, and legumes, whole grains and
nuts
4. Limit the intake of free sugars
5. Limit salt consumption from all sources and ensure that salt is iodized.
Q6. What is the For children and young people, physical activity includes play, games, sports,
recommended level transportation, chores, recreation, physical education, or planned exercise, in the context
of physical activity of family, school, and community activities.
for children aged 5 - In order to improve cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, bone health, and
17 years? cardiovascular and metabolic health biomarkers:
1. Children and youth aged 5–17 should accumulate at least 60 minutes of
moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity daily.
2. Amounts of physical activity greater than 60 minutes provide additional health
benefits.
3. Most of the daily physical activity should be aerobic. Vigorous-intensity activities
should be incorporated, including those that strengthen muscle and bone*, at
least 3 times per week.
*For this age group, bone-loading activities can be performed as part of playing games,
running, turning or jumping.
Content Knowledge of the Universals and Abstractions in Treating Childhood Obesity (WHO, 2020)
Prompting Answers adapted from World Health Organization
Questions
Q7. What are the Overweight and obesity are largely preventable.
principles for It is recognized that prevention is the most feasible option for curbing the childhood obesity
treating children epidemic since current treatment practices are largely aimed at bringing the problem under
overweight and control rather than effecting a cure.
obesity? The goal in fighting the childhood obesity epidemic is to achieve an energy balance which
can be maintained throughout the individual's life-span.
Graphics of Food and Drinks Created for Fight Obesity 2.0
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Creative Multimedia
Understanding the Potential of Music Learning Application as a Tool for Learning

and Practicing Musical Skills
Yun Yi Tan & Sinthu Thiruvarul

yunyi.tan@usm.my
Centre for Instructional Technology & Multimedia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
Abstract
This paper explores the potential of mobile applications that are developed to assist music learners in
learning and practicing musical skills. Specifically, it attempts to shed light on the affordances of such mobile
applications in elevating guitar skill learning among guitar players. This paper presents case studies of four
guitar players who have used a mobile application namely “Yousician” to facilitate their guitar learning and
practicing process. Findings of this study are drawn upon an investigation into their uses of the mobile
application over a practicing period of one week. The study will also provide insights on the characteristics
of such application from the music learners’ perspectives. It is also anticipated that findings from this study
could contribute towards the understanding of the characteristics of mobile-based music applications that
could potentially assist music learners in informal learning environments.
Keywords Music learning; Mobile application; Music skills; Yousician

Introduction
It is only fair to say that it is a golden period for people who love music, also known as melophiles, to be
born in the 21st century as there are limitless choices to choose from when it comes to being a self-taught
musician (Tobias, 2014). Moreover, a rapid increase in the use of digital learning environments can be seen
when it comes to music education. According to a New York news article by NASDAQ OMX Corporate
Solutions, Inc (2019), it was highlighted that online music learning market was to witness a steady increase
at a rate of 6.1% globally from 2018 to 2025.
However, according to a recent case study by Ruokonen et al. (2019), the results indicated the need
to develop sustainable music learning environments for users to learn music anytime and anywhere. This
is where music learning applications are seen as the potential tool as they could easily be downloaded to
mobile devices and accessed as per learners’ convenience. It is also key to consider music learners’
experiences when not only learning but practising as well. For instance, Birch & Brett (2019) stated that
regular practice is needed when learning music, especially when it comes to acquiring the skills and technical
expertise. However, they also highlighted that music students tend to find that the practices are boring.
Indeed, a suitable platform for music learners to learn and practice music should be reconsidered by
addressing the learning needs.
Concerns over the music learning process is also echoed by researchers in the field and they have
attempted to conduct studies on developing on a gamified approach for music learning and practices.
Ruokonen (2019) also studied on learners’ experience learning music in a web-based environment. The
learners evaluated their experience of learning music in a web-based learning environment. This was done
to discover the needs of music learners to aid in developing digital learning environment for music. As a
result, it was concluded that digital learning environments not only enhances learning experiences, but also
motivates a lifelong informal music learning.
In the recent times, there is also a trend of developing music learning application using gamification
features as discussed in the background of study (Birch & Brett, 2019; Caruso et al., 2019; de Villiers, 2018).
It is found that the trend of adding gamification element to the music learning application has the ability to
support learning in both formal and informal learning environments. However, the studies focus more on
developing gamified mobile applications and there is more emphasis on building the application to suit the
learners’ needs rather than an exploration on how learners use such applications from the learner’s
perspective. Therefore, this study is an attempt to explore how music learners use an existing digital music
learning platform to learn music. Due to the qualitative nature of this study, it should be noted that it does
not intend to generalise its findings to all music learners and learning applications, but rather, demonstrate
considerable opportunity for instructional researchers to engage in qualitative approach to studying such
learning platform.
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The following research question is developed to guide this study: What are the characteristics of a
mobile based music learning application that support the music player’s learning and practice process?
Literature Review
Music Players and Music Learning
With music comes music learning which is mainly broken down into three methods, formal, informal and
non-formal learning. Formal music learning can be described as very routine, formal and organised,
conducted in compliance with fixed rules and predictable order. Formal learning is connected to schools
and educational institutions, from lower primary schools to the university's upper tiers (Mak, 2007). This
means a learner that wants to learn formal music will attend classes with certified instructors in educational
institutions, sometimes catering specifically to music education. These learners mostly pursue classical
music as stated in (Vitale, 2011), there is scholarly consensus that formal music learning is associated with
classical music where “Most music teachers in schools – public and private music schools – are trained in
Classical music, and school music curriculum has typically favoured Classical music”. Formal music
education in Malaysian schools is considered a fairly recent development (Johami Abdullah, 2010) and the
reasons for this includes the Malaysian education system which does not highlight the importance of the
arts and sciences as part of a balanced education.
Informal music education exists in social encounters between family members, acquaintances, co-
workers as well as other groups of peoples in various communities. The world of informal music learning
is often connected to popular music forms (Vitale, 2011). Non-formal learning means a type of education
that is fairly systematic and (but not necessarily) pre-planned, with the learner and teacher's specific aim to
fulfil a particular learning goal (Mok, 2011). Training in both informal and non-formal music occurs outside
of formal education settings. There is a more contemporary nature to the current pattern of musical choice
among Malaysians, particularly the current generation (Abdullah, 2007).
In the scope of formal music learning, one of the barriers to a learner improving his/her music
skills are the lack of competence and confidence of educators teaching music. A learner can go to many
sources to obtain musical knowledge. One of the basic avenues is attending musical classes in school and
taking up musical subjects offered in primary and secondary schools in Malaysia. However, in certain cases
this may be a problem as some educators have low teacher confidence stemming from insufficient depth
of knowledge in the music domain. For example, a new music curriculum was introduced in the Malaysian
public schools around 1996, which brought new direction to the conservation of Malaysian music as well
as western music theory. The main problem that arose from this implementation was the lack of qualified
music teachers to teach the subjects. To overcome this problem there were selected “instant music teachers”
44
who were given short courses on how to teach music at the primary level. To be a music educator, one
must be a musician, preferably an expert in the music domain in order for learners to gain better
understanding as they learn musical theory and concepts. Negative interest and poor attitude towards music
among some of the "instant music teachers" give the subject a second-class status in schools (Abdullah,
2007). Selecting individuals with little to no understanding and knowledge to these musical theory and
concepts causes learners to not improve in their musical skills.
For a musician to first learn music he/she must have the fundamental knowledge of the
aforementioned elements of music which constitutes music learning. Therein lies the difference between
music learning and music practicing. A music learner who has no prior knowledge of music does not know
the elements of music including pitch, harmony and timbre whereas a person who has prior knowledge of
these element and want to perfect their craft would fall under the category of music practicing. However,
these two concepts often go hand in hand because learning is a continual process and practicing is a need
to enhance an individual’s skill. Practices are seen as active learning processes to strengthen and retain focus.
When it comes to music, even popular musicians put hours to perfect their skills (Vasil, 2015). However,
one particular aspect to be noted in the study is that the participants from Vasil’s study who were popular
musicians, were considered self-motivated musicians. This touches the motivational aspects of a musician
which is believed to be the driving force towards music learning and practice.
Music Learning and Music Learning Applications

A recent study by Caruso et al (2019), studied on developing a gamified solution based on Gordon’s Theory
which focuses on learning through sound above merely learning through musical notations. The study
developed prototypes of a gamified mobile application called the CrazySquare to approach learning music
and musical instruments. The prototypes comprise of game elements such as levels, immediate feedback,
riddles for the first prototype and immediate feedback, points, rewards and unlockable contents in the
second prototype. The study is specifically targeted at young Italian adolescents aged 10-13 years of age.
The gamification idea behind the developed prototype was to teach music based on Gordon (2007) music
learning theory, an approach where musicianship is taught through “audiation”; a term used describe the
process of comprehending music through hearing when the sound is not physically visible. For instance,
playing something, you hear in your head. Audiation takes place when we hear and comprehend music for
which the sound is no longer or may never have been present. One may “audiate” when listening to music,
performing from notation, playing “by ear”, improvising, composing, or notating music (Gordon, 2003).
The concept of gamification implemented in the prototype has resulted in positive impact on learners in
terms of their attitude, motivation and performance towards learning music. The researchers of the study
then stated that they have planned to further their evaluation by conducting a test of the prototype with
end users.
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De Villiers (2018) also developed an interactive application for music tuition, called “PianoBoost”.
Gamification was used in the development of the Android mobile application for music tuition. The
problem of music learners that are unfamiliar with basic music notations are what drove the researcher to
develop the application which was launched on GooglePlay Store in 2017. The application was developed
to aid learners to learn music notations in their own momentum in order to utilise the actual teaching
environment for other learning purposes. Indirectly, the application aims to boost independent practice out
of formal music lesson hours. Both of the studies revolve around developing a music learning application
with gamification features. However, there is little to no emphasis on how learners used the application for
music learning. The researcher views this as an area to explore when conducting a study on music learning
application.
In the Malaysian context, a study was carried out on the effectiveness of e-learning on music theory
and appreciation achievement of form 1 Malaysian secondary school students back in 2010 (Md Noor,
2014). The researcher suggested that the study to be replicated to include mobile application as back then
smartphones were still not big among consumers. The researcher also believed that smartphone technology,
music lessons can be accessed anywhere. Thus, increasing the motivation to learn music. The
recommendation from this study further motivated the researcher to look into this area of study. The
researcher found a need to explore music learning application among music learners. (Md Noor, 2014) also
suggests investigating into other dimensions such as learning activities, interactivity, users’ engagement,
assessment and feedback. This directed the researcher to set gamification as one of the main criteria when
selecting a music learning application.
Another study that was carried by Margoudi et al., (2017) was to co-create a gamified solution for
music learning. This study derived that it is important to understand the target end-users and that game-
mechanics should be applied with a purpose or else it would simply be “just a game”. This has brought the
need to examine music learners’ perspective when using a music learning application for learning and
practising purposes.
1. Yousician
Yousician is the largest digital music education platform in the world (CanadaNewsWire, 2016). It is an
application that gives real-time feedback on timing accuracy upon listening to any instruments through a
mobile or even desktop. It uses the built-in microphone of the user’s device to provide feedback on his/her
accuracy and timing. Currently, the application features learning four musical instruments; guitar, piano,
bass, ukulele and also vocal.
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Figure 1 Choice of Musical Instrument
This application tailors’ lessons and practices based on users’ performance with over thousands of
songs, exercises, lessons and workouts. Progress can be tracked and monitored.
Figure 2 Progress Tracking
The application also largely uses gamification approach to teach music. Besides providing instant
feedback, it features weekly challenges that allows users to compete with millions of users to top the leader
board. When signed-in using Facebook, users can challenge their own friends by topping their scores.
Yousician is not only for music students or learners but for teachers as well. The application is also
aimed to work as learning solutions for music teachers. Yousician also comes with a built-in tuner called
“GuitarTuna” which is ranked as the best tuner in the world on both Google Play and App Store. The
tuner is renowned for its accuracy, intuitive design and also, it’s usability. It is used by guitarist of beginners
to the advanced players. There are also features in the application which does not require the learner to
possess an instrument at hand; theory practices and ear-training. Yousician offers one free lesson per day
whereas unlimited lesson is available with paid subscription: monthly or annually. Guitar was the first
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instrument that was introduced on the application when it was first released in 2014. The syllabus of the
lesson is displayed as a chart and is divided into three paths where completing each mission will unlock new
levels in the path that the user takes.
Figure 3 Unlocking Mission and New Levels
Methodology
A qualitative research approach was used for this study as it is seen as the most suitable approach when
exploring individual experiences in a particular circumstance; in this case where the study explores individual
learners who use the music learning application as a tool to enhance their music learning process. The
complex natures of such situation are bound to emerge various areas of emerging questions. A quantitative
approach is not appropriate to address the goal of this study as the study does not aim to test objectives
theory, rather to render uncertain outcomes with many possible findings (Creswell, 2013). The qualitative
research approach is described further including purposive sampling, semi-structured interview and
coinciding data collection and data analysis method. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) method was
used to analyze the data to not only find themes to make sense of the data, but to answer the research
question and achieve the aim of the study.
This study intends to explore the role of music learning application among adult music learners of
different prior experience with music through exploratory case study. This approach could assist the
researcher to explore and understand the role of the music learning application as a tool in enhancing one’s
music learning and practice. case study is a method used when studying exploratory or descriptive cases
where the researcher has only little control over the outcome. An exploratory case study is used in a given
situation where there is no definite outcome. According to Yin (2014), case studies are used when questions
48
such as “how”, “what”, “who” and “why” are being asked. In an exploratory case study, “how” and “what”
questions are answered. This type of case study is also suitable to be used when intending to gain an in-
depth representation of a social phenomenon. The exploratory case study can be used when exploring
presumed cause-and-effect factors that are too complex to be fulfilled by a survey or an experiment.
Data is collected upon an in-depth study on the two categories of learners using the selected music
application over a period of one week. The validity of data collected in this study is reinforced through data
triangulation. Triangulation of data; the use of multiple data sources allows the researcher to carry out a
thorough study and authenticate the findings which in turn increases the credibility of data (Lord, 2017).
Data collected from the video/ audio recordings, documentation of data from the journal, and the transcript
from the interview would be used for the data triangulation process. The validity of the study can be
increased when a theme can be established based on the data obtained from the multiple sources (Creswell,
2013). Hence, the findings for this study is derived from four data collection instruments namely in-depth
interview, observation of learner activities on Yousician, reflective journal and field notes.
Selection of Participants
Participants for this study are selected through purposive sampling where the research sample consists of
four adult individuals with different prior music experience. The four are divided into two categories of
learners where the first is the beginner category; consists of two learners with minimal knowledge in music.
The second category is the intermediate category which consists of two other learners with a higher level
of experience and knowledge in music. The categories with contrasting criteria are given two participants
of each to confirm the findings.
Table 1 Selection of participants

Category Beginner Intermediate
Experience in Minimal to almost no experience in Have taken music lessons, is able to
learning music music play music instruments, is actively
involved with music practices
Number of Cases 2 2
Total number of 4
cases
Qualitative Data Analysis

Data analysis is done from the progressing stages of the study from the data collection up to the finding
write-ups. This is to ensure that the data collected are organised and structured until the final write-up
(Creswell, 2013). The inductive method was used to analyse the data in order for the researcher to work
with the collected data until a set of themes are established. Data analysis will be performed based on
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thematic analysis method. This analysis method would help to answer all the research questions as this
method works as a flexible tool to obtain complex and detail data. This can help to explore the various
possible findings to the research questions as the goal of the study is to explore the role of music learning
application as a tool to in the learning process of music learners. According to Braun and Clarke (2006),
there is a 6-phase guide in applying the thematic analysis method: (1) Getting familiar with the data, (2)
Generating codes, (3) Search for themes, (4) Review themes, (5) Defining themes and (6) Producing report.
Results and Discussion

A total of four participants have used Yousician throughout the one-week study. The participants’ details
are depicted in Table 2.
Table 2 Table of participants

Name Level of Expertise Age Description of Music Experience
B1 Beginner 18 2 years Tabla class; 2-3 months self-learning guitar
watching YouTube
B2 Beginner 27 Attempted to learn guitar from friends at the age of 14
for few days
M1 Intermediate 24 Plays drums since age of 12 Learned to play guitar since
age 14; have been regularly practicing guitar since 18 years
of age; Plays Cajon for a music band
M2 Intermediate 24 Learned to play guitar at the age of 15; Plays Cajon
There were several characteristics of the application which highly supported music learning and
practice. Most of the characteristics rely on the gamification features of the application. However, there
was one particular characteristic which inhibited music learning and practice. This section provides
discussion into the findings on the characteristics of the application that supports and inhibits music
learning and practice from the participants’ perspective.
UI/UX
The participants claimed that the application had attractive user-interface (UI) and a very user-friendly user-
experience (UX). The attractive UI was able to engage learners’ attention which directly supports learning
and practice. They also mentioned about the UX being user-friendly was making it easy for them to learn
and practice music. For instance, Participant B1 expressed that he is satisfied with the overall experience of
using the application. He said:
“It was very user-friendly I would say. The colours are very vibrant which makes it more attractive and
pleasing to look at. It makes it look more fun. The background colour changes according to the song. The
instructions on the app are easy to follow and understand. Quite well made.”
50
Participant B2 also mentioned that he was attracted to using the application because of its interface
design and user experience offered. He stated:
“The app looks nice and catchy. For me I had used other apps (not related to music) that didn’t have
interactive interface like this one. The vibrant colours in the app was very attractive to me.”
This finding demonstrated that the UI/UX design of the application facilitates music learning and
practice.
Instrument Essential
The tuner was seen as a very useful feature of the application which indirectly aided music learning and
practice as it is common knowledge that music instruments should be in tune to produce the right output
and create the desired sound or music. That is also why this feature is categorised as essential. All
participants addressed this feature and found it very useful throughout their study period. Three out of four
learners mentioned how the tuner was very easy to use and handy as well. Participant B1 was one of them
who has depended on the tuner especially when he is still a beginner learner. He mentioned that he had
very little experience learning the guitar which explains why he had used the application to not only learn
something as basic as proper way to hold the guitar but to tune the guitar as well.
On the other hand, Participant M1 also mentioned that, besides being easy to use, he found that
the tuner was quite accurate. He said:
“The tuner was pretty cool and very handy. Just to tune the guitar whenever the guitar sounded a bit off
and you could click the tuner and check the guitar cause tuning the guitar is very important. It was very
easy to use and quite accurate as well.”
Tuning a guitar has been a manual task since string instruments were invented. However, an
automated guitar tuner is made to not only help musicians to tune the guitar, but to do it accurately leaving
out the option of human error. Moreover, it also saves the musician’s time (Kumar et al., 2018). Thus, the
tuner feature that comes with the application is directly considered a characteristic that supports music
learning and practice as it helps to keep the guitar in tune.
Gamification Feature
Gamification is an approach where game elements or mechanics are added into a learning context to
stimulate engagement and a certain desired behaviour. It is not using a game to instruct a certain content,
rather to integrate game elements that are considered engaging and holds a potential to facilitate learning
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process (Birch, 2013). For instance, some common game mechanics are scores or points, levels, ratings,
badges and leader-boards.
Gamification has the potential to motivate learners’ (Kapp, 2012). This is in fact directly related to
this study where learners felt motivated to keep practicing when completing challenges, obtaining scores
and receiving positive prompts from the application; all of which are gamification components in the
application. Participants also claimed that they felt that engaged when using certain features of the
application. The features were scoring system and instant positive feedback. Participant B1 mentioned how
he ends up practising because of the game elements in the application Evidentiary comments for this
include:
“So, me being a person who normally plays games in such a way where I choose to perfect the levels, me
seeing the levels not perfected, gives me motivation to keep playing the level again and again and again
until I get the perfect score which I think definitely influences how I play. So, it gives me much more
practice time even though I don’t put in my own effort. The app forces me to do it since I want the perfect
score.”
As scores are not only used to reward learners but also to provide constant feedback on learners’
progress (da Rocha Seixas et al., 2016), the learners find engagement in being rewarded for their progress.
Learners’ find gamification to ease their learning and practice as well. For instance, another participant, B2
addressed that the game features motivated him and even got him engaged to the application, indirectly
promoting practice. He said:
“After trying to play the song the app will show me how I performed using stars. After I played the song
and getting performance rated not so good, I was motivated to try again to get more notes correctly. That
got me engaged in the app until I spent nearly 2 hours on it. I know for sure it will influence me to practice
the guitar more frequently because I do not consider the app as a learning app, it’s more like game. The
features like the challenges and the star rating system makes it feel like I’m playing a game.”
Gamification makes learning interesting and when a learner finds a task interesting, he/she will
very likely be intrinsically motivated to engage (Birch, 2013); this potentially makes the learner feel that
whatever it is that he/she is learning to be easy. According to the findings, a feeling of fulfilment is claimed
to be felt by the learners when they progress through levels and complete challenges. This echoed the study
of da Rocha Seixas et al. (2016) that suggested the higher the level, the greater the sense of accomplishment.
Technical Issues
52
There was only one particular aspect in the application which all learners found to be obtrusive during their
learning and practice; the sound register problem. The application was not able to register sounds that were
played from the learners’ guitar, which resulted in an inaccurate learning outcome. Participant B1
mentioned:
“If there was such an app where it could see how you place your fingers and differentiate the sounds of an
up strum and a down strum then maybe it has the potential to compete with a guitar instructor.”
Participant M2 on the other hand suggested possible interfacing using external mics. He also
suggested the option of connecting an interface straight to the guitar as he claims that “most guitars these days
come with a pickup for accuracy”.
This has caused learners to get frustrated and disengaged, which in turn, could demotivate their
intention to learn. It is gathered that the failure in the game mechanics such as the instant feedback feature
has the potential to cause disengagement among the learners.
Conclusion
It should also be noted that this study is not without its limitations especially on the selection and size of
sample. Due to the qualitative nature of this study, findings from this research could not be generalised to
all music players or music learners who have experienced mobile applications such as Yousician.
Nevertheless, this study attempts to spark further research on the development of mobile
applications that could enhance music learning in an informal learning environment. It also demonstrated
some insights on how music learners would most likely use this application for music learning and practice.
Yousician is only one of the examples of mobile-based applications which could be used as a vehicle to
bolster the learning experience of music learners. It can be concluded that music learners could actually
learn and practice using this application; this application does facilitate learning and the game mechanics
definitely promotes motivation and engagement to the learners that use this application for learning.
However, there should be a proper distinction in the provided lessons for learners of different
prior experience as the application seemed to expose learners of all experience with the same set of lessons
despite giving the learner the option to pick their level of experience in learning the guitar prior to using
the application. Moreover, improving the sound register problem would also allow the application to cater
a much more wholesome experience for learners when using this application for music learning and
practice. Our future goal is to expand this study to explore if other mobile applications with similar features
to Yousician has the potential to provide similar learning opportunities to its users.
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Authors’ Bio
Tan Yun Yi is currently a Senior Lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia. She obtained her Bachelor degree
in Digital Media (Hons) from Multimedia University in 2009. She was later awarded the fellowship award
to further her postgraduate studies. In 2018, she received her Ph. D in Educational Technology from The
University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Her area of specialisation includes educational technology,
multimedia design, technological creativity and gerontechnology. Her research interest is also driven by her
curiosity in creative media and technology, and also how they could be used to enhance learners’ learning
experiences.
Sinthu Thiruvarul is a graduate from Universiti Sains Malaysia. She completed her degree in Bachelor of
Fine Arts (Hons) Graphic Communication in 2019. Right after her graduation, she furthered her
postgraduate study in Master of Instructional Multimedia which also took place in Universiti Sains Malaysia.
She finished her master’s degree within one year and graduated in 2020. She is inclined to creative projects
involving design which she believes is crucial when it comes to learning and knowledge acquisition.
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Creative Multimedia
The Portrayal of Claustrophobic Behaviours and Events in Film
Juvenah Washti Seran, Vimala Perumal, Koo Ah-Choo

1161101222@student.mmu.edu.my
Multimedia University
Abstract
The recent outbreak of Covid-19 as a global pandemic has taken a toll on people worldwide. Based on an
article from Malaysiakini, the number of calls to the Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC)
increases significantly everyday indicating the large community who faces emotional and psychological
distress during these hard times. Some have even related the situation as claustrophobic events. For creative
content creators, claustrophobia can be an attractive story but requires different and complex techniques
of presenting it. Therefore, in order to effectively inform amateur filmmakers on claustrophobia, this
research focuses on the claustrophobic events portrayed in four nominated or award-winning films which
simulates real claustrophobic events. The target audience for this research will be focused on amateur
filmmakers and young content makers who are a vessel to help educate audiences on claustrophobia in a
right manner. It is important to do a critical analysis on how successfully films have relayed this message to
their audience with their visuals alongside with relatable stories and characters. Film has the ability to bring
spotlight to claustrophobia for it is a perfect tool of education and definitely for entertainment, escaping
from reality. This is supported in a Forbes article where it claims that there is an increased consumption of
digital content from mobile apps to movie and music streaming due to the world’s population under
lockdown. By studying how films portray the message of claustrophobia, it will help amateur film makers
and short film content makers to have further information to relay their message effectively to their
audience.
Keywords Claustrophobia; Behaviour; Quarantine; Film review; Pandemic

Introduction
Claustrophobia is a situational phobia which is defined as an irrational fear or abnormal dread of being in
confined places (Annamarya, 2017). It is classified as one of the common phobia and is typically developed
due to childhood traumas. In the Healthline article, it also states that claustrophobia can be triggered by
such common conditions like being stuck in a crowded elevator or even driving on a congested highway
(Annamarya, 2017).
Films are used as a diversion where it gives people comfort and to escape reality, forgetting about
their day to day worries. Good films are an effective and useful platform to teach the young and allow the
old to relive their experiences through the screen. Filmmakers go to great lengths researching on current
issues and effective ways to deliver beautiful stories for the audience to relate and learn from. It can be
agreed that films are the perfect tool to reach out to the claustrophobic sufferers and make them understand
that they’re not alone.
This research focuses on how films portray claustrophobic behaviours in their story effectively.
This research helps to raise awareness regarding claustrophobia as well as be a useful guide to amateur
filmmakers who want to speak this message in their story.
What is Claustrophobia?
Before diving deeper into the well of claustrophobia, let’s begin with the origin and the definition of the
word ‘claustrophobia’. In the dictionary, it is stated that the word claustrophobia is derived from the Latin
word, claustr(um) which means “lock, bolt, barrier” and phobia, a Greek word which means “fear” (Anand,
2015). Combining these words makes claustrophobia, defined as fear of enclosed spaces. With researchers
all around the world trying to understand claustrophobia in depth, claustrophobia is said to be reanalysed.
Researchers propose that claustrophobics are not only afraid of the enclosed place but of what might
happen to them being trapped (Rachman & Steven, 1993).
It is also suggested that claustrophobia comprise of two different phobias which is the fear of
suffocation and the fear of restriction. Claustrophobics are frightened of suffocating when they are in an
enclosed space for being trapped in a small place can pose a threat for one’s air supply. On the other hand,
claustrophobics also feel extremely terrified when they find themselves physically restricted, a reaction
similar to animals going frantic when they are trapped in an unfamiliar closed place (Rachman & Steven,
1993).
Symptoms of Claustrophobia
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As mentioned above, claustrophobia is a phobia that is poorly understood. Many may think that going in a
lift is not as terrifying as standing on a high-rise rooftop. People often look down on this phobia, thinking
what could go wrong being trapped in a place. However, claustrophobia is actually classified as an anxiety
disorder with other underlying mental health issues.
According to the MRI and fear of confined space: a cause and effect, it is claimed that the first
symptoms of claustrophobia are panic attacks accompanied with two other fears as stated above,
suffocation which causes the fear of losing oxygen in confined space and restriction which causes fear of
being trapped in confined spaces (Siddiqui, Singh, Sachin and Srivastava, 2017). These fears are further
aggravated by panic attacks and triggers many other symptoms such as the Figure 1.
Figure 1 Symptoms of Claustrophobia (Source from Healthline, 2017)
Film as a Platform
Films are considered as a source of entertainment. They satisfy various needs of an individual. It can be a
source of laughter and some just want to cry their eyes out. This is because films are a visual platform which
helps the audience to relate emotionally to the main character and the story. A good story with a meaningful
message is a film that has an ability to impact generations from young and old. Films can and are being
used as a tool to teach the young and old and also seen as medium to voice out. For example, the Black
Panther movie by Marvel, although it was an adaptation from a comic book, it was revised carefully to
educate the audience regarding the black community who still struggle in their society due to their history.
The Black people found hope, strength and felt united as their struggles are voiced out visually and this is
the power a film has, it has the power to change people’s perspectives.
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Composition Techniques in Films to Convey Message Effectively
What grabs the attention of audiences? For films, it is the composition. A good composition will make a
scene memorable and be remembered. Through designing a composition, film makers will be able to create
visually appealing shots than just capturing what can be seen. Composition helps to guide the audience
attention to important details as well as information that is crucial for the story. John Francis McCullough
insists that a good composition makes the audience pay attention to one single subject amidst a busy crowd
or a busy frame (McCullough, 2018)
Composition plays a vital role in storytelling. Angles, color, subject placement, lighting and even
shots convey a specific information or a deeper meaning to the audience. It helps the audience to be
constantly engaged with the story. Following are some basic yet important techniques to be aware that will
be useful to identify a well-constructed scene.
a) Rule of Third
Rule of third is considered as a golden guideline for all film and content makers. It is a simple rule to follow
which elevates the quality of the shots. This rule is basically dividing the frame into 9 equal parts, 3 sections
horizontally and vertically and placing the subject at one of the intersections. Figure 2 shows an example
of Rule of Third used in the movie, Joker (2019).
Figure 2 Rule of Third (Film: Joker, 2019)
The Rule of Third works for it creates an asymmetrical image which portrays the natural and
organic landscapes. The asymmetrical and uneven design and layouts feels more natural to human eyes than
strict, perfect and arrangements (McCullough, 2018).
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John Francis McCullough also talks about how placing the subject’s eyes on one of the horizontal
lines is a good rule of thumb. This is to create a natural feeling image and it also works for humans
instinctively drawn to look for eyes in an image (McCullough, 2018).
b) Light and Dark

Lighting has the ability to instantly elevate your shots’ quality by adding dimension and shadows. By having
a high contrast of the character and the shadows, it creates more drama and mystery. Figure 3 depicts an
example of Light and Dark technique used in Gran Torino (2008).
Figure 3 Light and Dark (Film: Gran Torino, 2008)
Other than just directing the audience's attention to the subject, each of the lighting techniques has
a message and a meaning behind it. Different color, placement of lights as well as light and dark contrast
speaks a certain message about moods and emotions.
c) Angles and Perspective

Angles and perspective helps the audience to experience the story in the view of the character. Angles also
relays important messages. Figure 4 is an example of Angles and Perspective used in the film, The Raid:
Redemption (2011).
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Figure 4 Angles and Perspective (Film: The Raid: Redemption, 2011)
In John Francis McCullough’s blog on what do filmmakers mean when they refer to composition,
he claims that it is possible to play with the distance of the subject from the lens to show power and
importance. For example, just by raising or lowering the angle to create different types of angles to make a
subject look bigger or smaller is possibly one of the primal indicators of power.
Method of Data Collection

After understanding the importance and the power of film as well as its techniques, content analysis method
is the fuel to carry out this research. Four films on claustrophobia were chosen as a medium to source for
data. The chosen films were released in the year ranging from 2005-2019. It is also made sure that these
films are nominated or won international film awards to justify the choices. This justification increases the
credibility of these films to be used as a guide and for analysis purposes. In these films, a scene is chosen
from each film and analysed based on the claustrophobic behaviours and symptoms as well as the
composition.
List of Claustrophobic Scenes

After enjoying the films mentioned above, interesting scenes which represent claustrophobia are
handpicked and analysed. Table 1 below shows the list of films that were chosen, the year released, name
of the scene as well as the duration.
Table 1 List of films with claustrophobic scenes

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Scene Name of film Year Released Name of Scene Duration (s)
1 Buried 2010 Pamela’s Video 145 seconds
2 127 hours 2010 Don’t lose it 82 seconds
3 The Descent 2005 I'm stuck 220 seconds
4 Escape Room 2019 Walls closing in 197 seconds
The above four scenes were reviewed one by one and were dissected by its composition techniques
and claustrophobic symptoms and behaviours. The data is then used to review the similarities and
differences in between the scenes. This analysis of data will be a great use of help to generate a guideline or
a framework per se on how to portray the claustrophobic events in a scene.
Findings
By watching the film and understanding the scene further through technicalities, it gives a clearer vision on
how to design a claustrophobic shot through the character's actions as well as shots. Table 2 is a cross
tabulation table based on all the analysis done above.
By deducing the table below, it shows that it is not a must to include all the symptoms of
claustrophobia in order to convey a claustrophobic event. Directors tend to include the symptoms and
behaviours that are necessary and logical to the situation. For instance, 127 Hours (2010) ticked less than
half of the stated symptoms for it is a mild event of claustrophobia, whereas Escape Room (2019) had
almost all the symptoms. By including all the symptoms, it dramatizes and adds more intensity to the
situation whereas 127 Hours (2010) had more natural feel.
Table 2 Cross tabulation table
Symptoms of Claustrophobia Buried 127 Hours The Descent Escape room

(2010) (2010) (2005) (2019)
Sweating ✓ ✓ ✓
Trembling ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Hot Flashes ✓
Feeling intense fear or panic ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Becoming anxious ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Shortness of breath ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
hyperventilation ✓ ✓
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Rapid heartbeat ✓ ✓
Chest tightness or pain ✓ ✓ ✓
Nausea ✓
Feeling faint or lightheaded ✓ ✓
Feeling confused or disoriented ✓ ✓
Composition Techniques
Rule of Third ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Light and Dark ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Angles and Perspective ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
All four of the movies have been consistent with the symptoms such as trembling, feeling intense
fear or panic, becoming anxious and shortness of breath. This gives an outline of core symptoms that needs
to be included when designing a claustrophobic event or shot. Other symptoms seem to be very dependent
on the story, environment as well as the character’s personality. This is because experiencing claustrophobia
in a Grand Canyon is different from being buried underground or being stuck in a cave system. Having a
strong personality also affects the amount of symptoms, this is proved by the characters in Buried as well
as 127 Hours where they remained calm and rational compared to the characters in the other 2 movies.
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
Figure 4 Angle and Perspective Analysis
(a) Buried (Versus Entertainment, 2010)
(b) 127 Hours (Danny Boyle, 2010)
(c) The Descent (Celador Films, 2005)
(d) Escape Room (Neal H. Moritz, 2019)
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The Figure 4 gives information on the composition techniques where all the four films shared
similarities in creating their scenes. Although they shared similarities, they definitely convey a unique
message that is conclusive to the story. There were also different angles and perspectives which gives the
audience more information on what the director wants to relay. For instance, a low angle in Buried (2010)
gives the message of the character looking up in hope to survive whereas a high angle of character looking
up in 127 Hours (2010) relays the message of helplessness. Seeing all 4 directors use these composition
techniques, it encourages young and amateur filmmakers to include these elements to create an impactful
claustrophobic shot or scene.
Therefore, a guideline has been formed where the filmmakers can use the stated symptoms to
portray a claustrophobic event. Firstly, It is very important to be selective of the symptoms chosen to give
an impactful scene as the movie Buried (2010), rather than a dramatic scene like the Escape Room (2019)
which only exaggerates the claustrophobic event. In the cinematography perspective, it is important to
follow the basic composition rules to master the art of storytelling. Filmmakers are allowed to experiment
however amateur filmmakers are advised to master these techniques before spreading out your wings.
Contribution
Working on this research paper has provided tons of knowledge on claustrophobia. As a researcher, this
paper was intended to be used as a guideline to amateur film and content makers in their attempt on creating
a film or content on claustrophobia. The information in this paper is believed to educate the media society
on claustrophobia especially during the pandemic season. This guideline will help young filmmakers be able
to create claustrophobic events and scenes.
Conclusion and Future Work

To put in a nutshell, claustrophobia is a wide field and there is not a checkbox to tick in order to portray a
claustrophobic story. However, it is very essential to get as much as information and knowledge regarding
it before working on this topic. Through this paper, a guideline has been developed to help young film and
content creators to follow so they do not fall off grid. This paper will educate content creators on how a
basic camera work technique helps to deliver an impactful message as well as understand more on the
symptoms of claustrophobia and how to use them in their scene in consideration of the environment and
character.
As mentioned above, claustrophobia is a wide field, this research paper has only gathered data on
developing a basic guideline. This means there are various interesting and creative ways to portray
claustrophobia in films. By breaking rules and experimenting, introduces a fresh new perspective in which
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interesting results can be achieved. Looking at creative ways of portraying claustrophobia will be a mission
for our future work. So this does not end here!
References
[1] Anand, R. (2015). All that you need to know about Claustrophobia. Medindia. Retrieved from
https://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/claustrophobia.htm
[2] Balarabe, U.B (2020). Impact of COVID-19 and Pandemic Lockdown in India: Role of Media
during Lockdown. Impact of COVID-19 & Pandemic Lockdown in India: Ramification in Environment
and Human Life". Retrieved from,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342787067_Impact_of_COVID19_and_Pandemic_L
ockdown_in_India_Role_of_Media_during_Lockdown/
[3] Between the Lines (2020). Battling the beast within: The psychological trauma of Covid-19.
Malaysiakini. Retrived from https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/522732
[4] David Trillo. (2015). Don’t lose it – 127 Hours Rescore [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://youtu.be/AQZ_UshNtVU
[5] Fandango [Movieclips] (2017). Buried (2010) – Pamela’s video scene (6/10) I Movieclips [Video
file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/RIzrkbF1-SU
[6] Fandango [Movieclips] (2019). Escape Room (2019) – Walls closing in scene (6110) I Movieclips
[Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/aW3-E3My-kc
[7] Issac, M. M., Varghese, M. C., Shaju, M. D., Lal, M. F. C., & Purushothaman, M. H. (2020).
Restructuring praxis for rebuilding humanity against challenges of COVID 19. Mukt Shabd Journal,
9 (7), 2812-2828. Retrieved from http://shabdbooks.com/gallery/288-july2020.pdf
[8] Just The Clips. (2020, March,8). The Descent – I'm stuck! (2006) [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://youtu.be/G7iaCsmHmQI
[9] LeDoux, J. (2007). The amygdala. Current Biology, 17(20), 868–874. Retrieved from
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(07)01779-4.pdf
[10] Mccullagh J. F. (2018, December 11). What do filmmakers mean when they refer to composition?
PremiumBeat. Retrieved from https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/create-compelling-film-
composition/
[11] Milad H.D. (2020, April 28). Malaysian expert: Silent mental illness ‘pandemic’ to arrive following
Covid-19 economic fallout. Malay Mail. Retrieved from https://www.malaymail.com/news/
life/2020/04/28/malaysian-expert-silent-mental-illness-pandemic-to-arrive-following-covid-
1/1860920
[12] Parkinson, H. J. (2018). Unsane: How film’s portrayal of mental illness is (slowly) improving. The
Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/mar/23/unsane-a-history-
of-mental-illness-in-film
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[13] Rachman, S., & Steven, T. (1993). Analyses of claustrophobia. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 7(4), 281-
291.
[14] Scaccia, A. (2016). Everything you should know about claustrophobia. Healthline. Retrieved from
https://www.healthline.com/health/claustrophobia
[15] Shaffer. C (2019). Claustrophobia Triggers and Causes. News Medical. Retrieved from
https://www.news-medical.net/health/Claustrophobia-Triggers-and-Causes.aspx
[16] Siddiqui, Z., Singh, P., Kushwaha, S. & Srivastava, R. (2017). MRI and fear of confined space: A
cause and effect relationship. International Journal of Contemporary Medicine Surgery and Radiology, 2(1),
19-24. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320798592_
MRI_and_Fear_of_ Confined_Space_A_Cause_and_Effect_Relationship
Acknowledgements
This article is written for dissecting an interesting emotional behaviour called "claustrophobic", which is
also related to a mental health of a person, and rarely public / people talk about it. The initial work was
presented in a design research writing course, and also as a part of a research output for
FRGS/1/2019/SS09/MMU/02/3 looking into mental wellness awareness among creative talents.
Authors’ Bio
Juvenah Washti is a student in Multimedia University, Cyberjaya. A final year student of Bachelor in
Multimedia (Hons) Animation and Visual Effects.
Dr. Vimala Perumal is a Malaysian director and screenwriter who became one of her country's most
successful filmmaker. She has worked on several independent short films and feature films throughout her
career. Her first three films, Vilaiyaatu Pasangge, Vetti Pasangge, and Vedigundu Pasangge – also known as
the Pasangge trilogy – became box-office hits. Graduated from Multimedia University, Cyberjaya, Malaysia,
in the field of Film and Animation in 2003, she began her career teaching visual research and
communication at Multimedia University, where she earned a Masters degree as well. She graduated with
PhD in the field of film communication at University Putra Malaysia in 2016.
Dr. Koo Ah-Choo received her B.Sc (Hons) from Technology University of Malaysia (UTM) and her PhD
on Educational Technology from Multimedia University (MMU). Her PhD area is "Online Collaborative
Learning ". Her research interests are mobile and ubiquitous learning, digital creation of interactive
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applications, and her current research interest is to study the use of creative multimedia for improving the
quality of life and the living skills through lifelong learning, especially for the group of disadvantaged
learners.
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Creative Multimedia
Film Review
The Green Ray By Eric Rohmer: An Attempt To Find The Real Story
Nazirull Safry Paijo & Hassan Abdul Muthalib

nazirull@gmail.com
Abstract
This paper intends to go below the surface of Eric Rohmer’s 1986 masterpiece, to discover what is really
being said in the film. It is but a brief look at the film’s naturalistic approach that carries elements of
philosophy while also giving it a psychological touch. It is not too difficult a task as clues to what the film
is really about are scattered throughout the screenplay. Eric Rohmer alludes to cinema being an art,
eschewing the visual fireworks of commercial cinema and instead explores a character’s imagination and
obsession.
Keywords Email writing; Online teaching platform; Digital natives
Introduction
Definition: Green ray - noun (Astronomy) a flash of bright green light sometimes seen as the sun passes below the horizon,
caused by a combination of the dispersion, scattering, and refraction of light.
The Green Ray by Eric Rohmer (1986) is adapted from the novel by the French writer Jules Verne. It was
published in 1882 and named after the optical phenomenon of the same name. It is the story of a French
girl, Delphine (Marie Riviere), who just broken up with her boyfriend via a phone call. Distraught, she goes
on a journey around France in a bid to find a new relationship. She will soon discover that she is not going

to have one anytime soon, mostly because of how picky she is about almost everything, let alone when it
comes to the choice of a man. Where will it eventually take her? A more important question would be: Can
the audience understand the director’s very personal treatment of an issue that is becoming more and more
prevalent among young people in the modern age? This is the question that was raised in my mind after I
watched the film.
Federico Fellini, the doyen of Italian filmmakers, notes that: “I don’t like the idea of ‘understanding’
a film. I don’t believe that rational understanding is an essential element in the reception of any work of art.
Either a film has something to say to you or it hasn’t. If you are moved by it, you don’t need it explained
to you. If not, no explanation can make you be moved by it.” Al Jafree Md Yusop, one of Malaysia’s
Terajumuda (young director) says: “A good film is supposed to produce questions rather than answers.”
If The Green Ray were to be screened today, it will be deemed rubbish by the general audience after
about ten minutes of viewing, as it seems to be plotless, and appears to be headed nowhere. It is, however,
aimed at a specific audience. It is a film that requires the audience to be involved with its storytelling, and
is consonant with the manifesto of Cahiers du Cinema. It is, in short, ‘cinema’ and of cinema being an art.
Even Hollywood director Martin Scorsese has been emphatic on this. Hence, the recent viral take on Marvel
movies which he declared were “not cinema”. Needless to say, it has managed to put the house on fire!
I am not a film scholar, and so will not be able to tell you what cinema is. But I think this piece by
Eric Rohmer with his naturalistic approach, comes close to what is termed cinema. True to the manifesto
of the Cahiers du Cinema movement to which he belonged, he eschewed the plot approach to filmmaking
so as to express feelings that lie buried deep in his characters’ consciousness. He developed the
conversational, liberating style that would become his trademark, and which has led him to be recognised
at the prestigious 1986 Venice Film Festival with four wins, including the coveted Golden Lion. The film
has participated at the 1986 Toronto International Film Festival, the 1987 Rotterdam International Film
Festival, and most recently, was rescreened at the 2003 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Czech
Republic).
The Adventures of Delphine

Delphine’s trip around France could be named an adventure because the first and second part of the film
is all about her going around city and country, meeting and having interaction and conversations with
people along the way. But it all leads nowhere and there is no resolution. Her story of the journey is also
like a fairy tale (I will talk about this later on). Along the way, Eric Rohmer cues the viewer subconsciously
with scenes that have items that are green in color. My brain drew this conscious connection because the
film’s title has the word 'green' in it. Also, every time a green item is seen, a tune, which later I took as a
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theme, comes on, as if indicating the significance of the moment. The tune itself takes on a significance
because, nowhere else in the film is there any background music.
These elements hooked me into the narrative, peaking my curiosity about what else would crop up
in her adventure, aside from the green paper advertisement, a couple of green playing cards, and a
companion dressed in green who comforts her, and then, only in the third act, whilst walking down the
beach, Delphine came across a group of old ladies talking about a novel called 'The Green Ray' by Jules
Verne. This finally becomes the inciting incident that will bring the end to her personal journey. And at the
very end of the film in a shop by the beach, she mentions it clearly: “The Green Ray’. But what is the
significance of the green ray to her and her search?
When a Film Talks About Itself

The old ladies in the afore-mentioned group have all read the novel. Each one shares her romantic take on
it, drawing parallels with the likes of the Cinderella and Snow White fairy tales. Is The Green Ray, therefore,
a fairy tale? A bearded old man then appears to share his take about the novel. He, however, gives a scientific
explanation about the green ray phenomenon in the manner that the author of the novel has done. That is,
the green ray effect appears just as the sun is setting. And it is just for a moment. (The old man might have
just been Jules Verne himself!) These elements raise more questions as to what the film is really about.
Delphine has been eavesdropping but the conversation of the group seems to have had an effect on her.
And she was not even part of the group! Has she finally discovered what it is that she is looking for? For
me, this scene calls attention to the film’s intent. Delphine appears to be confused. Does she see herself as
being in a fairy tale, as being part of a fiction?
Delphine, the self-aware protagonist

She now comes to the realisation that she is actually a ‘damsel in distress’ in her own fairy tale. She decides
to end the journey and go back to Paris. But at the railway station, her 'handsome prince' appears. He is
reading a book (the connection to Jules Verne); they get into a conversation and they are attracted to each
other straight away. But it is not yet the end of the story. Delphine remembers the Jules Verne description
of the green ray that appears just as the sun is setting. It is late evening. Delphine decides to take him to the
beach to experience the green ray. As she watches the sun setting, she is emotionally overcome. She begins
to cry, the 'handsome prince' consoles her. The film ends when both of them seem to see the green ray.
Significantly, the audience does not. Well, I certainly did not! So it must all have been in Delphine’s mind.
But is that all there is to it? A fairy tale happy ending for Delphine? Not quite. We need to consider
the film’s subtext in relation to the character psychology. Fiction, though of the realm of fantasy, has in
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fact, led Delphine to a psychological transformation, taking her back to her original self. And so inventing
her own narrative becomes a necessity for her.
The Art of Eric Rohmer

In the 1960s and 1970s, Rohmer began to make films with his own unique voice. His Six Moral Tales were
of fragile men and the women who tempt them. The six films that made up the tales were The Bakery Girl
of Monceau, My Night at Maud’s, Claire’s Knee, Suzanne’s Career, La Collectionneuse and Love in the Afternoon. The
films explored all manner of men and their character, and their relationship with an ‘unknowable’ woman.
Issues ranged from the men as just being naïve or indecisive, to living with a strict moral code that becomes
challenged, having complications in friendship and romance, to lust and infidelity.
Rohmer once said that, that in his films, he was interested in showing how someone’s imagination worked.
And that obsession can replace reality for his characters. These themes, including that of the Six Moral
Tales, later appeared in his films like The Aviator’s Wife (1980), Le Beau Mariage (1981), Pauline at the Beach
(1982), Full Moon in Paris (1984), and, of course, The Green Ray (1986). Delphine’s obsession with her search
for a partner results in her imagination working overtime. It is fiction that initiates a change in her character
with the (overheard) conversation about Jules Verne’s novel becoming the inciting incident that takes her
to the (her own) satisfying conclusion seeing the sunset on the beach. She has broken free finally of the
(Jungian) shadow that was stifling her.
The Animus and The Shadow Archetype

Shadow, in the psychologist Carl Jung's definition, is all outside the light of consciousness. It is sort of a
circle where our conscious self or our ego, is at the middle of it and the shadow is at the bottom half.
Animus is the female shadow in the form of a male. The young man Delphine meets in the train station
exists only in her mind, because for her, the idea of the perfect man she is searching for (the handsome
prince), is only in her mind. It is this animus that motivates her to take the final step to her self-realisation.
However, the film has no happy ending in the usual sense. Eric Rohmer takes us into the realms of
philosophy, to raise questions of ontology, about who we are, and where we are headed, and what would
satisfy us. It is about the human condition in the modern world where nothing is certain.
These issues have been the subjects of many films by different directors from all over the world.
Some films with female protagonists are Out of Africa (Sydney Pollack, 1985), Three Colours: Blue (Krzysztof
Kieślowski, 1993), Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003), My Blueberry Nights (Wong Kar Wai, 2007), Fish
Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009), and Dear Frankie (Shona Auerbach, 2004), to name a few. They portray
characters who are restless, in search of what they themselves are not sure about, and sometimes the search
leads to tragic and painful consequences. These subjects are becoming very relevant as more and more
young people – like Delphine – struggle with their lives and try to make sense of what happens to them.
Vol 2 No 1 (2021) E-ISSN: 2716-6333
Jung has said that here is no coming to consciousness without pain. Going through some pain is necessary
for the soul. And certainly Delphine has her share of it. Witness the release of pain through her tears as she
sees the green ray at the end of the film.
What Eric Rohmer might be trying to say with The Green Ray is that fairy tales do not happen. They
are fiction and will remain fictive. It is the same with the hope of meeting ‘the perfect man’. The chance is
as rare and random as witnessing a green ray. But on the other hand, is Rohmer also saying – as with the
character of Delphine – that a little fiction is sometimes necessary in our lives? These are the questions that
stayed with me long after seeing the film. It was a good journey for me. And I’m all the better for it.
References
[1] Downes, B. & Miller, S. (1998). Teaching Yourself Media Studies, London: Hodder & Stoughton.
[2] Gilmore, R. A. (2005). Doing philosophy at the movies. New York: State University of New York Press.
[3] McKee, R. (1997). Story - Substance, Structure, Style & Principles of Screenwriting. New York: Harper-Collins.
[4] Mannion, J. (2002). The Everything Philosophy Book. Littlefield Streets: Adams Media.
[5] Singh, G. (2009). Film After Jung: Post-Jungian Approaches to Film Theory. United Kingdom: Routledge.
72
-END-
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International Journal of Creative

Executive Director Associate Editors

Aim and Scope

Copyright © 2021 by MMU Press and Multimedia University.

The International Journal of Creative Multimedia (E-ISSN: 2716-6333) is published biannually.

Typeset by MMU Press.

International Journal of Creative Multimedia (2021)

1. Promoting Positive Values while Emphasising on Aesthetical Perspectives 1

2. Design, Implementation and Evaluation of a Serious Game for Obesity Prevention 19

3. Understanding the Potential of Music Learning Application as a Tool for Learning 42

4. The Portrayal of Claustrophobic Behaviours and Events in Film 57

International Journal of Creative Multimedia (2021)

Promoting Positive Values While Emphasising on Aesthetical Perspectives in

Keywords Aesthetical perspectives; Animation; Andragogy; Moral and cultural values

International Journal of Creative Multimedia (2021) 2, 1, 20210101:1-18

2. Encourage Students to Know their Purpose of Telling Stories

Figure 1 Images Taken from Kring! (Image Courtesy from BrainyBones)

3. Educator and Students Identifying the Needs of Good Acting Skills

5. Nurturing Passion and Patience in Student Animators to Create National Identities

6. Creating Local Animation and Avoiding Foreign Influences

7. Evaluating Own Creation for Continuous Development

Critical Thinking: Why Should We Think Outside the Box?

Design, Implementation and Evaluation of a Serious Game for Obesity Prevention

International Journal of Creative Multimedia (2021) 2, 1, 20210102:19-41

Game Design and Development

Game Design and Development Model

Figure 1 The Game Creation and Research Model (Tan, 2010)

Gamification for Childhood Obesity Prevention

Preparing Content Knowledge

Figure 2 Constructive Alignment Model Used in the Game Design Process

Fight Obesity 2.0 Mobile Game

Table 1 Combination of game challenges in Fight Obesity 2.0

Figure 3 The Splash Screen of Fight Obesity 2.0

Figure 7 Finalized Gameplay for Level 2

Virtual Consultation Animation

Figure 8 The Storyboard of Virtual Consultation in Fight Obesity 2.0

Game Evaluation and Analysis

Table 4 Validation methods of this four-phase research

Methods Purpose Types of N Scope of

Age Rating of Fight Obesity 2.0

Overall of usability validation through playtesting

Table 5 Frequency of modes attained by Fight Obesity 2.0 in the playtesting

Figure 9 The Overall Usability Performance of Fight Obesity 2.0

Likeability evaluation of Fight Obesity 2.0

Table 6 Testers’ perception on likeability of Fight Obesity 2.0

Item Perception Mode N

Efficiency evaluation of Fight Obesity 2.0

Table 7 Testers’ perception on efficiency of Fight Obesity 2.0

Helpfulness evaluation of Fight Obesity 2.0

Table 8 Testers’ perception on helpfulness of Fight Obesity 2.0

Control Evaluation of Fight Obesity 2.0

Table 9 Testers’ perception on control of Fight Obesity 2.0

Learnability Evaluation of Fight Obesity 2.0

Table 10 Testers’ perception on learnability of Fight Obesity 2.0

Content Evaluation by Interviewing Pediatricians

Conclusions and Discussions

Graphics of Food and Drinks Created for Fight Obesity 2.0

Understanding the Potential of Music Learning Application as a Tool for Learning

Yun Yi Tan & Sinthu Thiruvarul

Keywords Music learning; Mobile application; Music skills; Yousician

International Journal of Creative Multimedia (2021) 2, 1, 20210103:42-56

Music Learning and Music Learning Applications

Figure 2 Progress Tracking