Design of a Serious Game to Teach Water Scarcity Concepts in Rural Communities

The scarcity of natural resources such as water is a growing problem and society is trying to raise awareness of the issue. This problem mainly affects communities that have limited or no access to water. In Mexico, specifically in the Guadalupe Valley, water scarcity has greatly affected the community due to the overexploitation of aquifers, the excessive growth of agriculture and viticulture, and the lack of adequate infrastructure for water management. For this reason, governments around the world are educating children at an early age about water scarcity using new technological and interactive methods. In this article, we present ‘Arroyuelo’, a serious game on a mobile device embedded in a 3D printed model. We followed a user-centered design methodology and considered that it should be accessible, and engaging and encourage teamwork in rural communities. This article contributes to a serious game called Arroyuelo, to educate children about water scarcity through school group activities, and provides design implications for creating serious games that promote water awareness in rural communities.