Contextual design for the creation of avirtual reality-based videogame usedin physical rehabilitation therapy forpeople with stroke.

User demographics, perceptions, and motivation data obtained from actual observation andexperience surveys provide contextualized and first-hand information for game designers.However, this type of information can be misinterpreted if it is presented as numbers. ContextualDesign (CD) is a user-centered method that allows a better understanding of the user’swork environment, as well as the requirements that the interactive systems must have to covertheir needs. According to the CD, the user Personas (also called archetypes) are representationsof users created to establish behaviors, likes and motivations of a representative group of userswho share common patterns. These types of profiles can represent user groups during the designand development process of a videogame, thus allowing a more focused design. This paperdescribes step by step the process of designing user Personas for a group of 25 participantswith stroke. This information was obtained from contextual interviews and gaming experiencesurveys, which allowed a more homogeneous interpretation of the dislikes, limitations andmotivations of the participants. The CD methodology showed to be very useful, generating fouruser profiles, which were used for the creation of a serious video game in virtual reality thatallows therapeutic support in a physical rehabilitation process for people with stroke. Finally,this work presents the preliminary design of the videogame and the importance of the informationin the creation of user models.