The Impact of Gamification Design on Intelligent Information Interaction in Community

The Impact of Gamification Design on Intelligent Information Interaction in Community | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article The Impact of Gamification Design on Intelligent Information Interaction in Community Qiong Shen, Shuangyi Wang, Jiayou xu, Yichen Wang, Meina Tang, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7757903/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The process of modernization has presented significant challenges to the governance of community public affairs. To address the issues of low resident participation and limited initiative in decision-making, this study incorporates gamification design methods into smart community information systems to enhance both residents’ willingness and the sustainability of their involvement. Using the Xinhua Community in Shanghai as a case study, the research employed interviews and questionnaires to analyze residents’ information preferences, gamification motivations, and player models across different age groups. It identified the pain points and characteristics of three categories of community affairs: “notification and publicity,” “decision-making proposals,” and “practical participation.” Drawing on core motivations such as achievement and social interaction, the study integrated AR and interactive technologies to design a gamified community information system featuring mechanisms of generation, maintenance, unlocking, parallel reality integration, and identity recognition. The effectiveness of this system was validated through comparative testing against traditional methods of information dissemination. Results indicate that the system significantly improves residents’ comprehension, proactive engagement, and interactive experiences in community affairs, and it outperforms traditional approaches in stimulating creativity, curiosity, and positive emotions. This study offers a sustainable, accessible, and emotionally engaging design approach for smart community governance. Business and commerce/Business and management Social science/Business and management Humanities/Cultural and media studies Social science/Cultural and media studies Business and commerce/Information systems and information technology Gamification Design Smart Community Participatory Design Information Interaction AR Interaction Technology Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 1. Introduction As China’s urbanization enters a new phase, community development has attracted growing attention. Within this context, the concept of community empowerment—shifting from a model of “public service provision” to one of “community co-governance”—has been proposed as a pathway toward sustainable community development. Nevertheless, in most communities today, public affairs are still conveyed to residents primarily through bulletin boards or display screens, both of which suffer from limited interactivity and low efficiency in information transmission. Although emerging platforms such as official WeChat accounts and WeChat groups provide certain advantages in information dissemination, they remain insufficient in fostering active resident participation when a strong sense of community identity and belonging has yet to be cultivated [ 1 ] . Smart governance and citizen participation have become central themes in recent research on smart cities. As one of the six core objectives of smart cities [ 2 ] , smart governance emphasizes participatory creation through technology, fostering a shift from merely collecting citizen needs to co-designing with citizens and even encouraging citizens to initiate design proposals in urban and community governance. However, current forms of e-participation often exclude vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, who may face difficulties in using smart technologies [ 3 ] . In addition, many digital platforms provide only symbolic participation, highlighting the need for stronger support to move from passive empowerment toward more active forms of resident engagement [ 4 ] . At the same time, compared to online community co-governance, face-to-face offline participation remains indispensable [ 5 , 6 ] . Designing offline information interaction systems, combined with natural interaction technologies, can help mitigate the exclusion of disadvantaged groups, lower participation barriers, and enhance both social interaction and community engagement in offline settings. 1.1 Community Empowerment and Information Technology Community participation enables individuals to influence and transform their surrounding reality through their own actions. As people gradually gain control over their lives and actively engage in community activities, they develop a sense of empowerment [ 7 ] . The concept of community empowerment has been embedded in a range of programs and policies across both developed and developing countries. For example, Palutturi et al.’s practice in Indonesia demonstrates that mobilizing residents’ awareness, willingness, and capacity to participate is a core principle of community empowerment, playing a vital role in community development and in advancing public goals such as healthy city initiatives [ 8 ] . Similarly, research by Kearns and Whitley shows that community empowerment significantly affects residents’ mental health, with neighborhood empowerment and active empowerment showing particularly strong associations [ 4 ] . Active empowerment—such as influencing decision-making in specific areas through individual actions or improving conditions through collective efforts—is especially meaningful for strengthening both the sense of empowerment and psychological well-being in disadvantaged communities. In global research and practice on community empowerment, the participation pathways and methods of specific groups vary considerably. International studies in this field provide particularly valuable insights into promoting group participation. For instance, Tostan’s community empowerment program in Africa adopts a three-year informal education model, using collective learning sessions on culture, law, and health to strengthen residents’ capacity for participation and awareness of shared goals, particularly among the elderly, women, and youth [ 31 ] . Similarly, the Youth-Adult Partnership (YAP) model has yielded positive outcomes in several cities across Europe and North America. By establishing equitable collaboration mechanisms, it enhances young people’s involvement in community governance and broadens their expressive space, challenging the traditional perception of youth as merely “passive participants” [ 32 ] . Among the elderly, empowerment practices often rely on technological interventions and intergenerational collaboration mechanisms. For instance, the Polish Living Lab PJAIT project provides ICT courses and digital tasks to improve older adults’ proficiency with information technologies, foster social participation, and help bridge the digital divide [ 33 ] . Similarly, another study introduced the SPIRAL co-creation framework to directly engage older adults in designing community service applications, enabling them to voice opinions and advocate for their values during software prototype development [ 34 ] . By contrast, empowerment practices targeting middle-aged and younger populations—particularly within fast-paced urban communities—encounter more substantial challenges. For a long time, community development in China has primarily depended on the continuous allocation of government resources for community services. A survey on community governance in Shanghai shows that the government has assumed most public service functions within communities, including public safety, public health, urban environment management, community education and sports, cultural activities, and volunteer services. This government-centered approach has tended to overlook the role of the community itself and its potential for autonomous governance [ 9 ] . Consequently, residents have become more psychologically passive, increasingly dependent on government intervention, and have gradually lost their sense of ownership [ 10 ] . Moreover, with the accelerated pace of urban work and life, middle-aged and younger residents—often burdened by job demands, personal pressures, and limited time and energy—are less inclined to actively participate in community governance. In terms of government–resident interaction, ensuring effective public participation remains both a key challenge and an essential prerequisite for advancing community engagement [ 11 ] . Practical studies have further shown that community self-governance, as a comprehensive strategy, plays a vital role in strengthening community identity by increasing resident involvement in community affairs. Addressing issues such as low participation, weak engagement, and the challenge of sustaining long-term, effective involvement is therefore of great practical importance for the future of community governance [ 12 ] . Against this backdrop, the rise of smart technologies has created new means and platforms for community empowerment, serving as an important tool to promote resident participation and strengthen the sense of empowerment. Forms of “electronic participation,” such as online voting, opinion collection, and digital deliberation platforms, have expanded channels for public expression and enabled broader involvement in democratic practices [ 13 ][ 14 ] . Yet in many cases, these approaches only simulate participation rather than providing a genuinely participatory framework for decision-makers and stakeholders. As a result, they often fail to mobilize residents’ resources, knowledge, and experience to achieve meaningful knowledge exchange, distributed decision-making, and technology-enabled governance [ 15 ] . This highlights the need for deeper exploration of both participatory content and methods within technological empowerment. Research on community e-participation further suggests that participation benefits the community only when residents engage with these platforms consistently. However, most current studies emphasize the motivations for participation while neglecting the sustainability of participation over time [ 16 ] . For technological devices, convenience has been found to be the strongest factor influencing the willingness to continue use [ 17 ] . Therefore, further research is needed to determine how technology can best support participation that is simple in form yet multi-dimensional in function. In summary, while smart technologies provide important support for community empowerment, there remains a need to refine both the types of content that can be opened for empowerment and the frameworks that structure participation. From an interaction perspective, greater attention should be directed toward diverse groups, such as older adults and children, by designing participation mechanisms that are simple in form yet multi-dimensional in function. Focusing on community information and public affairs can help revitalize the community atmosphere and improve the effectiveness of information dissemination. In turn, this can encourage broader engagement across different user groups and strengthen residents’ sense of connection with their communities. 1.2 Gamification Design in Community Participation Gamification is commonly defined as “the use of game design elements in non-game contexts” [ 18 ] . According to Kapp et al., gamification applies game mechanics, aesthetics, and game-oriented thinking to engage people, motivate actions, promote learning, and solve problems [ 19 ] . Social gamification elements can help connect broader user groups, enabling participants to support one another and work toward shared goals [ 20 ] . Nevertheless, because different user groups display varied gaming preferences, the design of community gamification must account for participants’ diverse backgrounds and characteristics [ 21 ] . At present, gamified interaction forms in e-participation often exclude vulnerable groups, as not all target audiences can equally or universally experience gamified content. The digital divide and unequal access remain major challenges for the implementation of gamification [ 22 ] , making it essential to identify more effective methods to strengthen participants’ sense of control and capability [ 13 ] . In urban contexts, gamified digital design methods frequently produce unexpected effects on community interaction, blurring the boundaries between gameplay and everyday participation [ 23 ] . Werbach and Hunter (2012) proposed the 6D gamification framework, which defines a design process moving from clarifying business objectives to specifying target behaviors, identifying player types, designing behavior loops, creating fun, and deploying game elements [ 24 ] . Similarly, Hamari et al. conceptualize gamification as a motivational information system that begins with defining goals and tasks associated with system use, then challenges participants with goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound, while providing feedback throughout the process [ 25 ] . Building on this perspective, Krath et al. distilled gamification principles from extensive literature, emphasizing the progression from setting clear system objectives to defining personal goals, sustaining interest through immediate feedback and positive reinforcement, and fostering social ties via social comparison and norms. They also note that adaptive content, guided pathways, and multiple-choice options help accommodate dynamic changes, while streamlined user experiences support sustained engagement [ 20 ] . Likewise, Marcucci et al. summarized structural elements of gamification design, highlighting the importance of defining system objectives, categorizing players into behavioral groups, and selecting game elements aligned with player dynamics to motivate actions [ 26 ] . In summary, the gamification design of community intelligent information systems should focus on fostering participation in public affairs and enhancing individual empowerment. This requires a comprehensive analysis of participation mechanisms and target user groups, taking into account the diversity of users, their gamification preferences, and player models. In addition, design solutions and technical implementations should be guided by game mechanics to strengthen emotional bonds between individuals and their communities, thereby creating more opportunities for meaningful interaction among residents. 2. Materials and Methods This study seeks to advance community empowerment and development in the Xinhua Community of Shanghai by integrating gamification design methods into the practical design of community intelligent information systems. From the perspective of effective empowerment, it systematically organizes the content of a multi-level community participation system, encompassing message notifications, community decision-making, and community activities. By incorporating intelligent technologies—particularly natural interaction technologies—the system is designed to be more accessible and responsive to the needs of residents across different age groups and lifestyles. Gamification design is employed to address challenges of sustainability and limited active participation in the engagement process, while also exploring design pathways through which gamification can support collective activities and community well-being. This approach draws on the behavioral characteristics and gamification preferences of diverse groups, offering a reference point for understanding the role of gamification in public affairs. 2.1 Study 1: Age Group Preferences in Community Participation Systems and Gamification Design This study selected the Xinhua Community in Changning District, Shanghai, as its research case. The community is composed primarily of traditional lane-style residential buildings, supporting a harmonious coexistence between long-term residents and new tenants. It also features a diverse age structure, ranging from young children to older adults. To better understand the behavioral characteristics, information reception methods, and gamification preferences of residents across different age groups, this study designates “Study 1” as the foundational research phase. Two primary methods—field surveys and in-depth interviews—were employed to examine community participation patterns and gamification motivations among three core groups actively engaged in community activities: older adults (G1, aged 60 and above [ 27 ] ), middle-aged adults (G2, aged 25–59), and young adults (G3, aged 15–24 [ 28 ] ). The objectives of the gamified design for the Xinhua Community Smart Information System are shaped by both the community’s information content and the participation characteristics of its activities. The information content is grounded in community empowerment methods, which involve in-depth investigations of community activities to extract key data. Furthermore, analyzing participation methods, current characteristics, and user pain points helps identify the critical design requirements for the system. The gamification design framework also incorporates clustering analysis of the gamification preferences and offline activity patterns of different community groups, thereby informing the development of effective feedback and incentive mechanisms as well as the design of game dynamics and interaction models. Based on the gamification design principles for community participation outlined in Section 2.2 , the overall research framework for the Xinhua Community Smart Information System is illustrated in Fig. 1 . 2.1.1 Information System Content and Key Points Jarusriboonchai et al. argue that smart technologies support community empowerment in three key ways: by raising residents’ awareness of relevant issues, providing platforms for active participation, and enabling the establishment of new technology-driven practices. Through appropriate technological platforms and interactive methods, residents can organize within their environments and drive bottom-up change [ 29 ] . Similarly, Lawson et al. highlight that technological tools must support three dimensions of empowerment: psychological (the feeling of being empowered), political (the ability to participate in decision-making), and practical (the capacity to effect desired change). These forms range from passive engagement, such as “staying informed,” to more active involvement, including “influencing decisions” and “implementing improvements directly” [ 4 ] . Building on this analysis, and taking into account the current services and content offered in the Xinhua Community, the intelligent information system is categorized into three types: “Notification and Promotion,” “Decision-Making Proposals,” and “Practical Participation,” as presented in Table 1 . Table 1 Information Types and Specific Tasks in Xinhua Community Levels of empowerment type of information Specific tasks Psychological empowerment Notice and publicity category Civil affairs: subsidies, vaccination, hukou, etc Services: water tank cleaning and water stop arrangement, convenience service, face recognition system collection, physical examination, safety reminder, typhoon reminder, etc Management: epidemic prevention and control notice, community facilities rectification, etc Knowledge and publicity: fire prevention reminder, anti-fraud science popularization, garbage classification publicity, atmosphere construction, etc Political empowerment Proposal type decision Community public affairs: installation of elevator Internet of Things, complaints from residents about some community affairs, inconveniences, and repair of community facilities Personnel and government affairs: election, owners 'assembly (such as rules of procedure for owners' assembly, management regulations, special maintenance fund management regulations), residents' questions about public matters, etc Empowerment through practice Practice participation category Community public affairs: comprehensive community sanitation, garbage classification, replanting of greenery, removing small advertisements, adding parking lines, volunteer activities, census taker, civilized dog raising, fire drill, community renewable resources recycling, green contracting (task acceptance), etc Creation and collection category: arrangement of literary and artistic works, collection of activity works (celebrating the founding of the Party, etc.) Community activities: community summer vacation activities (for children), community festivals, etc To examine the participation patterns and characteristics of different user groups in the Xinhua Community’s information services, field interviews were conducted in Changning District, Shanghai, between October and November 2021 (Fig. 3 ). The interview questionnaire is provided in Appendix Table A (Table A1 ). Participants were classified into three groups according to their living conditions, lifestyle habits, economic status, and age: elderly (34 individuals), middle-aged adults (55 individuals), and young adults (14 individuals). In total, 103 participants were surveyed, of whom 24% were original residents, 32% were new homeowners, 24% were local tenants, and 20% were migrant family members. The survey results reveal a relatively diverse age distribution among respondents, with participants represented across different age groups but without a distinct concentration trend. The overall sample spans a wide age range (Fig. 2 ), reflecting demographic diversity. Career distribution likewise indicates broad representation across professional fields, with retirees (15 individuals) forming a notable subgroup. Most retirees belong to the elderly demographic, whose perspectives may exert a significant influence on the findings. The following analysis examines the preferences of different age groups regarding online and offline notification methods, as well as their responses to three categories of information: notification-based promotional materials, policy proposal documents, and practical participation initiatives. ① Online Notification Preferences of Different Age Groups Within the elderly group (G1, 34 participants), 21 individuals (61.8%) reported following online notifications, while 13 (38.2%) did not. The primary channels were WeChat group synchronization and WeChat Mini Program alerts. Some older adults relied on their children to monitor group messages on their behalf. The main reasons cited for non-use were the absence of a smartphone or WeChat account and limited experience with digital operations. Among middle-aged respondents (G2, 55 individuals), 46 (83.6%) reported actively monitoring online notifications, while 9 (16.4%) remained unengaged. WeChat groups were identified as the primary communication channel, though many respondents demonstrated selective filtering behaviors—for example, some reported checking only messages tagged with “All Members,” thereby ignoring the majority of group chat content. This group expressed a preference for targeted and efficient notifications, with non-engagement primarily attributed to busy schedules that left little time for message checking or the perception that group communications were redundant. Among young adults (G3, 14 individuals), 4 (28.6%) reported following online notifications, while 10 (71.4%) did not. Those who engaged primarily relied on WeChat group announcements for updates, though their overall level of involvement remained low. The main reasons cited for non-engagement were a lack of interest in community affairs and the perception that online notifications were irrelevant to their daily lives. ② Offline Notification Preferences of Different Age Groups Among the elderly (G1, 34 individuals), 24 (70.5%) reported paying attention to offline notifications, while 10 (29.5%) did not. Their primary sources of information were bulletin boards, verbal notices from neighborhood committees, and messages from building group leaders, reflecting a high level of acceptance for paper-based and face-to-face notification methods. Among middle-aged adults (G2, 55 individuals), 32 (58.2%) reported paying attention to offline notifications, while 23 (41.8%) did not. Their primary sources of information were bulletin boards and door-to-door notifications from property or community committees, though they generally prioritized online channels over offline ones. Among young adults (G3, 14 individuals), 5 (35.7%) reported paying attention to offline notifications, while 9 (64.3%) did not. Most of those who noticed offline messages did so passively, encountering them on bulletin boards near express delivery lockers or bulletin boards inside elevators. Active attention to offline notifications was rare, and overall willingness to engage remained low. ③ Preferences for Different Types of Information by Age Group The elderly group (G1, 34 individuals) demonstrated a strong interest in public service announcements, with civil affairs (28 participants) and service-oriented initiatives (25 participants) together accounting for more than 70% of their preferences. They prioritized updates related to subsidy distribution, vaccination schedules, and household registration policies, while also valuing notifications on daily necessities, such as water tank maintenance, water outage notices, and health checkup reminders. In terms of communication channels, offline methods were predominant, with online platforms serving only as supplementary tools or requiring family assistance. Regarding policy proposals, most participants (76.5%, 26 individuals) reported receiving such information, though actual engagement was limited: 15 occasionally participated, while 11 never did. Their attention focused primarily on practical matters directly affecting living conditions—such as elevator installations and public facility repairs—while showing limited interest in more abstract policy discussions. For community engagement activities, preferences leaned toward “social networking with acquaintances + low-impact participation”. The most common activities included square dancing (18 participants), charity sales (9 participants), and free blood pressure screenings (7 participants). By contrast, more complex or physically demanding events were generally avoided. Among middle-aged individuals (G2, 55 participants), the main areas of interest in public notices were management-related (42 participants) and service-oriented (38 participants), together accounting for more than 70%. Their priorities included pandemic prevention updates, facility renovations (e.g., elevator installations and parking policies), and information related to group purchase pickups, courier services, and children’s welfare. Engagement was primarily through online platforms, supplemented by offline channels. With respect to policy proposals, 48 participants (87.3%) reported receiving such information. Of these, 32 stated that they “regularly participated,” while 15 reported “occasional participation.” Their attention centered on issues closely tied to family interests, and they expressed high levels of trust in decision-making mechanisms such as public voting and the 12345 complaint feedback system. In terms of community participation, preferences leaned toward functional activities with direct, tangible benefits. Common examples included community group purchases (30 participants), pandemic disinfection volunteer work (18 participants), and family-oriented events (15 participants). By contrast, participation in more formalized activities, such as promotional lectures, remained relatively low. Among young adults (G3, 14 participants), service-oriented notifications were the most common preference (6 individuals, 42.9%). Engagement with such information was largely passive, with minimal active participation: only 4 participants reported checking WeChat group announcements, while 10 stated that they completely blocked group messages. With respect to policy proposals, interest was negligible. Ten participants explicitly indicated that they “never participate and have no interest,” perceiving such issues as irrelevant to their daily lives. The sole exception was one respondent who occasionally commented on rental-related matters. In terms of community engagement initiatives, only 3 participants reported involvement in activities such as stray cat rescue or DIY projects, while 11 explicitly declined to take part in traditional community events. In general, the information preferences of the three groups are summarized in the last three columns of Table 2 : Table 2 Comparison of information system content points and preferences of three groups Type of Information Concrete Content System Design Points Characteristics of the Elderly Middle-aged Characteristics Youth Characteristics Notice and publicity category Civil affairs, services, management, knowledge dissemination 1. Make important matters easier to understand with visual explanations and feedback 2. Make knowledge dissemination more vivid, emphasizing personal relevance 3. Organize and classify information reasonably, push targeted content 4. Strengthen the connection between the community and individuals Limited access to channels, need to enhance readability and understanding core demands: simplify operations, familiar transmission Focus on efficiency and relevance, and need to accurately push the core demands: efficient information and timely feedback It is necessary to stimulate interest and sense of belonging, and emphasize the core demands of life relevance: novel activities and no compulsory social interaction Proposal type decision Community public affairs, personnel matters, government affairs 1. Stimulate attention by emphasizing the relevance of affairs to individuals 2. Make opinion collection simple, engaging, and trackable 3. Visualize the importance and impact of opinions 4. Provide platforms for free expression and discussion Prefer simple procedures, pay attention to openness and feedback participation: passive participation They pay attention to practical effects and have a strong willingness to participate. They prefer transparent and efficient mechanisms. Participation methods: active feedback and reliance on wechat group interaction Low participation intention, need interest guidance and consciousness cultivation. Participation mode: almost no participation, lack of interest Practice participation category Community affairs participation, creative submissions, community activities 1. Increase publicity appeal and diversity 2. Strengthen feedback and incentive mechanisms to enhance sense of responsibility 3. Lower barriers to participation, boost confidence in abilities 4. Provide convenience for organizing and initiating activities They prefer to socialize with acquaintances and need concise and clear information and process to guide their participation in low-threshold social activities such as square dancing and charity sales Prefer functional activities, need to clarify the benefits and convenient entry to participate in the content: group buying, parent-child, volunteer service, etc They prefer to be oriented to social activities and need to be guided to actively explore and participate in content: public welfare, handicraft, and rarely participate The core findings from the Xinhua Community Information System analysis (Table 3 − 1) reveal distinct engagement patterns across demographic groups. Public notices. Seniors prioritized community affairs but relied heavily on offline channels or family assistance, underscoring the need for more accessible content delivery. Middle-aged users favored WeChat groups but often filtered information selectively, highlighting the importance of targeted notification strategies. Younger participants showed limited interest, largely due to content relevance gaps, suggesting that context-aware recommendations are necessary to increase engagement. Policy proposals. While seniors demonstrated relatively low levels of participation, they actively voiced concerns about everyday services through straightforward processes and offline feedback. Middle-aged users placed greater emphasis on transparency and institutional feedback mechanisms, whereas younger respondents showed minimal interest, except in matters directly related to personal concerns. To address these gaps, the system should provide diverse, low-threshold participation channels to enhance real-time interaction and strengthen connections, particularly among younger users. Practical engagement. Seniors expressed a preference for relaxed, community-based activities supported by clear notifications. Middle-aged adults were more attracted to practical, reward-driven initiatives, while younger participants tended to favor interest-driven or public welfare events over traditional community activities, which they found less appealing. Personalized recommendations and flexible participation methods are therefore essential to stimulate broader engagement across age groups. Given the current challenges of the Xinhua Community information system and the identified user pain points, the system design must urgently address several key issues: simplified organization, efficient initiation processes, user-friendly participation, and reduced entry barriers. By strengthening feedback mechanisms and incorporating gamified design elements, the system can not only enhance engagement across all user groups but also foster a stronger sense of community responsibility. 2.1.2 Game Preferences and Player Model Clustering In the context of gamification design, Yee—a leading researcher in the gaming field—conducted a factor analysis of approximately 140,000 participants in earlier studies. Using cluster analysis across 12 dimensions, he identified six distinct categories of player motivation: Action (destruction and excitement), Social (competition and community), Mastery (challenge and strategy), Achievement (competition and power), Immersion (fantasy and storytelling), and Creativity (design and discovery) [ 30 ] . This framework provides a valuable reference for analyzing the gamification motivation preferences of user groups in the Xinhua Community. To investigate daily gaming preferences and gamification motivations among different groups in the Xinhua Community, interviews were conducted with 103 participants (34 seniors, 55 middle-aged adults, and 14 young adults). The detailed questionnaire is provided in Appendix Table A, and results are summarized in Table 4 . Gaming preferences. Seniors predominantly favored traditional board and card games (e.g., chess, mahjong, poker) that require minimal setup. These activities were valued for enhancing social interaction, supporting cognitive activity, and offering modest achievement feedback. For seniors who relocated with their children, familiar gameplay also facilitated community integration and fostered a stronger sense of belonging (Fig. 4 ). Middle-aged adults preferred socially functional activities such as community group buying, competitive mobile games, and role-playing board games. They emphasized both communication opportunities and the combination of practical value with creative expression (Fig. 5 ). Young adults showed a stronger interest in esports, role-playing games, and immersive virtual environments. Their engagement was driven by the pursuit of emotional fulfillment and social validation, with particular emphasis on visual design, creative elements, and collaborative challenges (Fig. 6 ). Gamification motivations. Despite differences in preferences, “achievement” and “social interaction” emerged as common motivators across all groups, though manifested in distinct ways. Seniors prioritized low-threshold social connections and community bonding; middle-aged adults emphasized practicality and interactive value; while younger participants focused on immersive experiences and personalized expression. To examine gaming preferences across three demographic groups, this study analyzed six experiential dimensions of gameplay: social interaction, action engagement, mastery, achievement, immersion, and creativity. The results revealed clear differences among groups. Young adults scored highest in immersion (M = 4.43) and achievement (M = 3.79), indicating a strong preference for story-driven experiences and goal-oriented challenges. Middle-aged participants showed comparatively higher scores in creativity (M = 3.78), reflecting an emphasis on self-directed exploration and expression. By contrast, older adults recorded lower scores across all dimensions, particularly in immersion (M = 1.68) and creativity (M = 1.71), suggesting limited engagement with narrative-based or open-ended gameplay. Notably, the social interaction dimension demonstrated minimal variation across groups (means ranging from 3.6 to 3.9), underscoring its universal significance regardless of age. In conclusion, match-three puzzle games and simulation-building games emerged as popular choices across all three groups and can be incorporated into the thematic design of the Xinhua Community system. The gamified interaction framework should therefore emphasize game elements associated with achievement and social interaction, while ensuring simple operation, engaging interaction, intuitive control, and opportunities for creative user input. Table 3 Player Model Clustering Results Older persons (G1) Middle-aged (G2) Youth (G3) Daily Tours Types of play Traditional board games (playing cards, chess), synthetic elimination games, simple puzzle games Competitive mobile games (such as battle games), social story board games, synthesis elimination games, business development games Esports, role-playing mobile games, sandbox creation games, cultivation and exploration games gamification Motivational preferences Achievement, social, mastery Achievement, social interaction, action, creativity Immersive, creative, fulfilling, social Offline behavior characteristics 1. Time: Older people have more free time in the afternoon, which is suitable for in-depth interaction Middle-aged people are more available in the evenings and on weekends, making them suitable for participatory activities Young people have more fragmented time and are active at night, which is suitable for free participation 2. Location: Older people prefer to stick to one area (e.g. a small square) Middle-aged people prefer path node areas (such as express delivery cabinets, elevators) Young people prefer activity hubs and check-in spots 3. Demand: Older people expect easy to understand and easy to operate interaction; middle-aged people expect easy to participate and interesting interaction; young people expect creative and immersive interaction 2.2 Gamification Design Mechanisms and Practices Based on the content of the Xinhua Community information system, its key functional features, and the player model clustering of the three user groups, a gamification design framework was developed (Fig. 1 ) to guide the selection of feedback and incentive elements, the design of dynamic systems, and the creation of aesthetic and interactive experiences. This framework enables community participation in public affairs through gamification. The feedback and incentive elements were aligned with users’ gamification preferences, with appropriate mechanisms selected and adapted from the component library. The dynamic system design was informed by system requirements and aimed at sustaining users’ motivation over time. Finally, the aesthetic and interaction design accounted for the characteristics of different user groups and their offline interaction behaviors. The gamification design of the Xinhua Community information system centers on simulation-building games and match-three puzzle games, while incorporating AR technology to extend into parallel reality formats that provide real-time feedback linked to the physical world. Within this environment, real community scenes are integrated with a virtual AR community garden, where users can interact with digital organisms through multisensory experiences—including sight, sound, and touch—thus creating a more natural and immersive mode of interaction. The system presents seasonal plant and flower themes, with virtual flowers incorporating a synthesis mechanism whereby every five flowers beyond a baseline automatically merge into a higher-level flower. These flowers generate energy and accumulate energy points, with advanced flowers providing greater production efficiency, enhanced visual effects, and richer interactive experiences. On weekends, the system introduces energy-themed interactive gameplay: once the collective energy collection target is met, flowers are projected onto the ground at night as a visual celebration of task completion. In parallel, physical flower seeds corresponding to the virtual varieties are made available in designated community areas for residents to collect. Based on Fig. 6 , the game mechanism design can be categorized into five types: the Generation Mechanism, Nurturing Mechanism, Unlocking Mechanism, Parallel Reality Integration Mechanism, and Identity Mechanism. Generation Mechanism This mechanism is primarily associated with notification reading. Elements appear on the screen as keywords combined with bulb icons. When a user passes by and steps on the designated point, a detailed information box is triggered. After the user pauses and completes the reading process—monitored by a progress bar—a basic flower is randomly generated on the screen, serving as material for future synthesis. Knowledge-related content is delivered through themed stickers, mini-challenge games, or quiz activities. Successful completion of these challenges allows users to obtain special flower species. Nurturing Mechanism This mechanism is associated with decision-making and voting interactions. Decision-related activities are represented by keywords combined with light array elements. When a user steps into the light array field, it unfolds, transitioning from flickering to steady illumination. Designated areas allow users to cast their votes: standing in the selected area for a set duration completes the voting process. The corresponding colored light points are then added to the array, collectively influencing its overall color. Unlocking Mechanism This mechanism is associated with activity events. When users interact with balloons in the activity area, they can access detailed event information. Each balloon contains a special animal pattern awaiting activation. As more participants read the information, the balloon gradually enlarges. Once the event is successfully completed, the animal—such as a butterfly or rabbit—is unlocked, becoming active on the screen, interacting with users, and announcing follow-up information related to the event. This mechanism incorporates game components such as mystery boxes, item collection, team-based tasks, and progress bars. Parallel Reality Integration Mechanism This mechanism manages the virtual flower-growing cycle over a period of 3–4 weeks. Once the collective energy target is reached, a projection device is activated at night to create an atmospheric display through ground projection. The organizing body then provides rewards such as flower seeds, which are also distributed offline. In addition, community users are encouraged to showcase and plant real flowers, reinforcing the connection between virtual gameplay and real-world participation. Identity Mechanism This mechanism leverages facial recognition systems to establish personal identity profiles, enabling users to accumulate points through participation in community affairs and upgrade their virtual garden identity. Different identity levels unlock a range of AR avatars and interaction privileges—such as gardener, flower protector, or master grower—within an honors system, while also granting access to differentiated forms of interactive gameplay. The technical implementation of the Xinhua Community information system centers on the community AR garden game and interaction system, which is composed of three core components: resource development, interface scene implementation, and system interaction functionality. As certain functions depend on the community’s facial recognition identity system, they are treated as optional extensions and are not implemented in this stage. The game development framework of the information system is illustrated in Fig. 7 . In terms of UI design, the primary elements include 3D animated virtual plants, light arrays, virtual animals, 2D information boxes, and text-based keywords for notifications, decisions, and event messages. Additional components include display area explanations and special interactive animations that integrate with physical objects. The visual style of the AR garden system adopts a low-poly aesthetic combined with glowing elements, creating a harmonious and familiar atmosphere. Through semi-transparent UI components, the system blends seamlessly with the real-world environment. Resource Development The content components of the community AR garden game and interaction system are organized into three categories: (a) images captured by the camera, (b) 2D and 3D elements placed within the virtual 3D space, and (c) screen-based UI elements anchored to the display device. The camera footage functions as a real-time background, while 3D models such as flowers serve as reusable system resources. UI elements, including message boxes, are treated as backend components and support low-code editing. The content and thematic design of the UI primarily draw upon information from the Xinhua Community public WeChat account in Changning District, Shanghai. In the 3D asset development process, a model resource library (sourced from online assets, hand-drawn content, or community-contributed creations) is created or updated based on seasonal themes. This library includes models for flowers of various levels (Fig. 8 ), special plants, animals, magical creatures, balloons, and other 3D interactive components. Models are tagged, and the tagging system distributes them accordingly. Unlockable creature models related to event organization can be selected or created by the event organizers from the backend and are dynamically generated through AR technology in real-world environments based on user interaction. On the other hand, the real-time background layer is primarily determined by the type and installation of the camera. The installation location is selected based on the average width of community roads and the height range of residents, ensuring full-body interaction for both children and adults within a distance of 1.5–2.5 meters. The camera is equipped with a 4 mm lens, providing a field of view between 45° and 55°. (2) Interaction Module Analysis The interaction input and output across different scenarios are supported by specific development modules, as outlined in Table 4 . The interaction input primarily relies on real-time face detection, including facial position recognition and tracking, hand position tracking, and key-point recognition of both the face and body, all implemented through machine vision algorithms. In addition, the question-and-opinion module requires speech recognition and speech-to-text processing, which are supported by natural language processing (NLP) algorithms. First, the LibFaceDetectionV3 algorithm is applied to detect faces in the training set, with facial key-point detection primarily used to enable AR interactive stickers. As the system functions as an offline interactive information device, short-link triggered interactions tolerate false positives in face recognition more than missed detections. Therefore, the confidence threshold is deliberately lowered to increase the likelihood of triggering information pop-ups. Hand position tracking is implemented using the hand-tracker algorithm in combination with its open-source dataset, with a focus on recognizing palm positions. Additionally, speech recognition and gesture recognition—both of which require large-scale datasets—are implemented using the Baidu Intelligent Cloud API for cloud-based processing. Online requests are transmitted to the cloud, where they are analyzed, and the results are returned to the system in JSON format for further interaction handling. Table 4 Interaction Modules Interaction Module Interaction Input Interaction Output Overall Face Detection (Position) Gesture Detection (Gesture Type + Position) AR Garden Notification Push Face Detection (Position, Face Detection), Age Recognition (Extended Feature, Not Implemented in Basic Version) Interactive Images (2D), Interactive Models (3D) Knowledge Promotion Face Detection (Position) Body Key Point Detection (Primarily Head and Hand Position Data) AR Portrait Stickers, Interactive Mini-Games Decision Participation Face Detection (Position, Dynamic Sequence) Interactive Animation Questions and Feedback Face Detection, Speech Recognition Interactive Animation Event Initiation Digital Input / Event Promotion / AR Interactive Images Event Participation Face Detection (Position), Digital Input Interactive Animation Event Summary Digital Input, Offline Physical Interaction Physical Interaction, 2D Images Expanded Gameplay Interaction Face Position and Body Key Point Detection AR Interactive Animation Ground Projection / Ground Projection Physical Interactive Projection Gesture Recognition, Speech Recognition Interactive Animation (2D) (3) Key Game Module Implementation The main development modules of the Xinhua Community information system include the database setup, interaction module, flower generation mechanism, nurturing mechanism, and parallel reality auxiliary module (Fig. 9 ). Database Setup The game database maintains logs for the flower system, themed mini-game challenges, decision-making activities, and event participation. These records form the foundation for gameplay tracking, performance evaluation, and long-term engagement analysis. Interaction Module AR content is implemented using the EasyAR Unity plugin, leveraging image tracking within AR sessions. The Image Target component is configured with the base scene model, with the display mode set to “hide before first found.” Once recognition occurs, the aligned model persists in its spatial location, even if the image becomes obstructed. For face recognition, an Empty GameObject script integrates the LibFaceDetectionV3 algorithm, retrieving the face bounding box. A UI control script calculates the midpoint position along the X-axis: face_Position = face_X + 12×face_Widthface_Position = face_X + 21​×face_Width The question feedback module is triggered by monitoring changes in face box width over a 45-frame window. A significant increase in box width (indicating approach toward the screen) activates the UI component. Flower Generation Mechanism Once a face position triggers the corresponding message box, a flag is set, and a timer script tracks dwell time. If the user remains in the message box area for more than 2 seconds, a progress bar confirms completion, and a flower is generated. Nurturing Mechanism Each flower level generates energy points based on its efficiency attribute. These points are both logged and visually represented through particle animations. During events, balloons in the AR event area expand dynamically, with transparency adjusted to reveal the creature inside. Once the event is marked as completed in the system, the creature (e.g., butterfly, rabbit) is unlocked. The animal model is then loaded into the AR target component with unique interactive effects. For example, butterflies randomly appear for two days post-unlock, accompanied by particle effects that automatically promote some lower-level flowers into higher levels. Parallel Reality Auxiliary Module The system captures the interactive area via camera every 0.5 seconds, transmitting image data to Baidu Intelligent Cloud for gesture recognition. Returned JSON data provides gesture type and position, which are mapped in real time to projection-based special effects. These effects create an immersive connection between user gestures and visual outputs in the AR environment. 2.3 Research 2: Verification of the Design Effect of the Intelligent Information Interaction System in Xinhua Community The Xinhua Community Intelligent Information Interaction System adopts gamified mechanisms to improve participation, sustainability, and user experience across different demographic groups. To verify the system’s effectiveness, a comparative evaluation was conducted using traditional information dissemination methods as a control. In Xinhua Community, traditional approaches include bulletin boards, public display screens, the official WeChat account, and WeChat groups for communicating public affairs information. In May 2022, usability tests were conducted with two groups: Group A (intelligent system) and Group B (traditional methods). Three demographic cohorts were targeted: seniors, middle-aged individuals, and young adults. First, a focus group consisting of designers, community administrators, and participants evaluated 26 criteria across four categories: Promotional notices Policy proposals Practical engagement activities Gamified experience Following preliminary testing, the criteria were refined to 17 items (Table B1 ). Participants then performed tasks in both groups and rated them using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree). A total of 157 valid responses were collected from Group A and 154 from Group B. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 for reliability testing and independent-samples t-tests. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed, as presented in Table 5 . Table 5 Comparison analysis data of group A and B Information category evaluating indicator Mean for group A Mean for group B P 1. Notification and publicity A1. Be clear about important community issues 4.18 3.02 0.036 A2. Attracting attention information 4.41 3.14 0.618 A3. Close relationships among community members 3.49 3.47 0.866 2. Decision proposal type B1. Participate in decision-making in a timely and simple manner 3.97 3.06 0.047 B2. Involve actively 3.94 3.11 0.021 B3. The matter concerns me and my opinion is of interest to the community 3.69 2.84 0.562 B4. The platform sees the opinions of other members and communicates them 3.71 3.51 0.588 3. Practical participation C1. Attract active viewing 4.29 3.08 0.039 C2. Have a clear understanding of the upcoming activities in the community 4.13 3.24 0.034 C3. The activities you participate in have an impact and will be known by others 4.06 3.36 0.827 C4. Be motivated to participate in activities 4.12 3.27 0.659 4. Participation tendency D1. Active participation 4.27 3.04 0.013 E2. Sustained engagement 3.89 2.97 0.781 5. Interactive experience F1. Fun and positive emotions 4.31 3.42 0.007 F2. Sense of connection 3.78 3.18 0.664 F3. Creativity, curiosity and imagination 4.09 3.56 0.029 F4. Dominance 4.13 3.41 0.697 The test results demonstrate that, compared to Group B, Group A’s gamified interaction approach in notification and promotional information significantly improved users’ comprehension of community priorities (p = 0.036 < 0.05). In terms of decision-making proposals, the interactive method facilitated timely participation across all demographics—particularly younger adults—while also encouraging active engagement from older and middle-aged groups (p = 0.021 < 0.05). For practical engagement initiatives, Group A’s gamified approach promoted proactive information checking among user groups (p = 0.039 < 0.05) and provided clearer insights into upcoming community events (p = 0.034 < 0.05). Moreover, in the category of gamified experience, Group A not only increased active participation rates (p = 0.013 < 0.05) but also enhanced user experience by fostering interactive enjoyment and positive emotions (p = 0.007 < 0.05). This design further stimulated users’ creativity, curiosity, and imagination (p = 0.029 < 0.05), highlighting the effectiveness of gamification in sustaining community engagement. Smart information systems employing gamified design effectively enhance user engagement by enabling different groups to clearly understand community priorities and activities. The “achievement” and “social interaction” elements, combined with intuitive controls, deliver greater enjoyment and positive emotions. However, several critical areas require deeper exploration: the relationship between public affairs decisions and individual perspectives, the role of personal values, and the communication dynamics among community members. Additionally, the design quality of continuous interaction with these intelligent systems requires further refinement. 3. Discussion of Results 3.1 Research 1: Discussion on the characteristics and pain points of community information interaction behavior Through interviews and questionnaire surveys, this study identified significant differences in residents’ behavioral responses across three types of community affairs: “notification and publicity,” “policy proposal,” and “practical participation.” For notification and publicity affairs, residents demonstrated high information accessibility and short action conversion paths, though cognitive efficiency and information quality strongly influenced behavior. In policy proposal affairs, weak participation willingness primarily stemmed from unfriendly expression mechanisms and the absence of feedback responses. While practical participation affairs showed high potential for action transformation, sustained engagement required strong incentive mechanisms. These findings align with Jarusriboonchai et al.’s proposition that “intelligent community systems should possess three core functions: informed decision-making, empowerment, and collaborative action” [ 29 ] . The three categories map a psychological empowerment path from passive reception to active expressionand ultimately to practical participation, providing a functional stratification basis for subsequent system design. The study further highlights two imbalance mechanisms in current community information systems: “information overload” and “task dilution,” both of which particularly affect perceived efficiency and interaction confidence among middle-aged and elderly users. Over 60% of respondents reported that community platform information is “disorganized, low-relevance,” and marked by “operational redundancy.” This cognitive load reflects the mechanism proposed by Hamari et al., where “participation behavior is constrained by the dynamic balance between perceived returns and interaction costs” in grassroots communities [ 25 ] . Additionally, residents commonly experience “ineffective expression” and a “feedback black box” phenomenon when voicing opinions. Middle-aged groups are especially sensitive to these issues, which significantly limits their willingness to participate in proposal-based and decision-making processes. The study also reveals significant differences in behavioral preferences, gaming motivations, and participation characteristics across age groups, indicating that gamification systems require tailored feedback mechanisms and aesthetic designs. For the elderly group (G1) , preferences lean toward offline social interactions and low-threshold gaming experiences, with core motivations centered on achievement and social connection. Design strategies such as social network sharing mechanisms and low-cognitive-load interactive methods (e.g., ground-palm gestures, gesture recognition) effectively stimulate their engagement. This aligns with Yee’s player motivation model, particularly the community belonging and social security component [ 30 ] . Middle-aged individuals (G2) emphasize functionality and feedback efficiency, showing a preference for activities with clear objectives and tangible rewards, such as group buying or community improvement initiatives. The system addresses their need for control and empowerment through structured feedback paths, progress bars, and leaderboards, thereby enhancing political empowerment experiences. Young adults (G3) demonstrate strong personalized and immersive demands, with participation willingness often influenced by perceived content relevance and guided interest. The system fosters immersion and achievement feedback through creative challenges, virtual identities, and personalized rewards, encouraging active exploration and indirect engagement. This approach corresponds to Hamari et al.’s model of driving deep engagement through personalization and challenge [ 25 ] . 3.2 Research 2: Analysis of Practical Effects of the Community Intelligent Information System Empowered by Gamification Building on the first study, the second study implemented the Xinhua Community information system as a pilot project, integrating gamification mechanisms to evaluate its practical effects in three dimensions: cognitive guidance, motivational stimulation, and behavioral transformation. By embedding gamified design into the community’s intelligent information system, significant improvements in user engagement were observed across all demographic groups. Compared with traditional communication methods, the system showed notable enhancements in cognitive clarity, interactive experience, and proactive participation within three core community functions: Notice and Promotion, Decision-Making Proposals, and Practical Participation.Particularly noteworthy were its effects in boosting users’ emotional investment and creative expression. For the dissemination of notification and promotional information, gamified mechanisms such as augmented floral elements and task-driven formats enabled residents to rapidly acquire key information through interactive operations. This achieved a cognitive path of “visible, perceptible, and actionable” information, significantly enhancing communication clarity (p = 0.036). This outcome supports Jarusriboonchai et al.’s three-dimensional empowerment model, which emphasizes that “intelligent technologies should enhance users’ environmental awareness and facilitate proactive actions” [ 29 ] . For decision proposal-type information, the system lowered expression barriers by introducing mechanisms such as alignment arrays and visual feedback, making it easier for middle-aged and elderly users to participate in decision-making processes. Particularly for middle-aged groups, the system’s rapid feedback and platform transparency significantly enhanced willingness to engage (p = 0.047). This finding aligns with Kearns and Whitley’s conclusion that “psychological empowerment is highly correlated with social participation intention” [ 4 ] . In incentivizing practical participation-based information, the system effectively extended online interactions into offline engagement through mechanisms such as activity unlocking and virtual rewards. This not only increased participation frequency (p = 0.039) but also strengthened recognition and dissemination of community affairs. Hamari et al. note that gamification, as an incentive-based information system, fundamentally sustains user actions through goal orientation and instant feedback [ 25 ] . The data further demonstrates that intelligent information systems outperform traditional communication methods in enhancing fun and positive emotions (p = 0.007) and creative imagination stimulation (p = 0.029). These findings validate Deterding et al.’s research on “gamification’s enhancement of emotional engagement and cognitive focus” [ 18 ] . Moreover, continuous interactive features such as plant cultivation simulations and AR companionship with virtual animals provided users with sustained feedback. This reinforced user belonging and emotional connections, supporting the psychological empowerment–participation control–community belonging pathway proposed by Zimmerman et al. [ 7 ] . 4. Conclusions The modernization process presents significant challenges to the governance of public affairs in communities, particularly in addressing residents’ lack of initiative and engagement in participation and decision-making. This study examined the integration of gamification design methods into the Xinhua Community intelligent information system, leveraging game mechanics and interactive technologies to stimulate user participation and enjoyment, thereby opening a new pathway for smart community governance. First, the participation mechanisms of Xinhua Community, along with the gamification preferences and player models of different user groups, were analyzed. Next, the system’s game mechanics and technical implementation were explored in detail to design the intelligent information platform. Finally, a comparative evaluation was conducted between the intelligent system and traditional information dissemination methods. Results showed that the intelligent system was more effective in helping user groups clearly understand important community affairs and activities. It also successfully encouraged proactive participation, with game elements such as achievement and social interaction delivering greater enjoyment and positive emotions. Research limitations. This study has not yet clearly determined the extent to which various actions affect the community participation rate. The mechanism explanation is still at an initial stage. Further, larger-scale and more systematic quantitative research needs to be conducted to verify these findings. The insufficient data volume, with the maximum sample size being only 157, may affect the robustness of the results. The research subjects are also relatively limited, focusing only on a specific community. The regional characteristics, governance experience, and group composition are local, which may affect individual opinions and group behaviors, making the results difficult to generalize to other regions. The qualitative methods used in this study also have the problem of insufficient extrapolation, making it difficult to support conclusions for a wider area. Future research should use quantitative models to test the key factors influencing community participation rate, participation methods, and cost-effectiveness, in order to enhance the universality and credibility of the results. At the strategic level of promoting community affairs participation, further deepening is still needed. Currently, there is no quantitative distinction based on the importance of the affairs and residents' participation willingness, nor is the proportion and key goals of different tasks clearly defined in the system design. In terms of visual, style, and interaction experience of the intelligent information system, the analysis of user group preferences and acceptance is still insufficient, making it difficult to cover diverse user needs. The willingness of residents to continuously participate in community activities has not been quantified, and the mechanism affecting continuous participation is still lacking in in-depth discussion. In the future, further analysis and optimization of relevant mechanisms and system design strategies should be conducted based on a larger sample size, combined with behavioral models and multi-group user research. Declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical approval This study has been approved by the Donghua University Science and Technology Ethics Committee (Approval No.: RLSSZYJ202510080060) on October 9, 2025. The research process strictly adheres to the ethical guidelines of the Helsinki Declaration and its subsequent amendments. Informed consent All participants signed an informed consent form before the study began to indicate informed consent. Funding This research was funded by General Project of Shanghai Education Science Research (C2023165), Shanghai Key Curriculum Construction Project (No. SKC-2024-23), 2024 National Natural Science Foundation of China Upper-Level Project (No. 52475248). Author Contribution Conceptualization, Q.S. and J.X.; methodology, Q.S. and M.T.; software, J.X.,Y.W. and S.W.; validation, S.W. and Y.W.; formal analysis, Q.S., S.W. and J.X.; investigation, Q.S. and J.X.; resources, Q.S., M.T. and H.W.; data curation, S.W. and H.W.; writing—original draft preparation, Q.S., S.W., J.X. and Y.W.; writing—review and editing, Q.S., S.W. and J.X.; visualization, J.X., Y.W. and M.T.; supervision and project administration, Q.S. and M.T.; funding acquisition, Q.S. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7757903","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":587370860,"identity":"18e5483d-7b00-4446-889d-0cd348ada18d","order_by":0,"name":"Qiong Shen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Donghua University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Qiong","middleName":"","lastName":"Shen","suffix":""},{"id":587370861,"identity":"61ed2718-f9c2-4f3a-99f8-d180de203311","order_by":1,"name":"Shuangyi Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Donghua 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4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":489417,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eWord cloud of daily game preferences of three groups\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7757903/v1/45599ea741dab606cf5a8283.png"},{"id":102874690,"identity":"374500e3-e660-40dc-8d4f-37f42593ac58","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-17 19:20:09","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":171782,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ePreferences of the Three Groups Across Six Dimensions of Game Experience\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7757903/v1/ea14dcdfaf1efcb98675906b.png"},{"id":102874687,"identity":"ef55534c-60df-43a8-8a75-8cf2a58ff904","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-17 19:20:09","extension":"png","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":538245,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eGamification Mechanism Framework for the Xinhua Community Information System\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage6.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7757903/v1/977271d44519367eb5805f1d.png"},{"id":102964266,"identity":"fd81f73d-1ec7-4f98-a07d-52e692800ec8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-19 04:21:56","extension":"png","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":248633,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eGame Development Framework for the Xinhua Community Information System\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage7.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7757903/v1/b8c8c1aa631e7d906aebffda.png"},{"id":102874695,"identity":"85c61d8b-a7d9-406a-b03e-eb52ed1aa4d9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-17 19:20:09","extension":"jpeg","order_by":8,"title":"Figure 8","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":281139,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e3D Model Assets\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage8.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7757903/v1/84db58fb291bcbbf87d501ad.jpeg"},{"id":102964535,"identity":"e07c0043-4148-4252-8721-a7a9c676773f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-19 04:22:38","extension":"jpeg","order_by":9,"title":"Figure 9","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":634642,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eXinhua Community Intelligent Information Interaction System\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage9.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7757903/v1/ebd74787ca96f508b83fb258.jpeg"},{"id":106943266,"identity":"ea06e03f-a3d9-4296-b853-0bbb69022752","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-15 05:56:39","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":4423428,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7757903/v1/0d2cbbd7-62ed-4795-9359-fa72ac60ee19.pdf"},{"id":102963810,"identity":"e3fc5af1-ac0f-48b5-8271-5999aa3b8d8e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-19 04:20:37","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":20489,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AppendixA.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7757903/v1/33e91b6045328791952c9d4a.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The Impact of Gamification Design on Intelligent Information Interaction in Community","fulltext":[{"header":"1. Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eAs China\u0026rsquo;s urbanization enters a new phase, community development has attracted growing attention. Within this context, the concept of community empowerment\u0026mdash;shifting from a model of \u0026ldquo;public service provision\u0026rdquo; to one of \u0026ldquo;community co-governance\u0026rdquo;\u0026mdash;has been proposed as a pathway toward sustainable community development. Nevertheless, in most communities today, public affairs are still conveyed to residents primarily through bulletin boards or display screens, both of which suffer from limited interactivity and low efficiency in information transmission. Although emerging platforms such as official WeChat accounts and WeChat groups provide certain advantages in information dissemination, they remain insufficient in fostering active resident participation when a strong sense of community identity and belonging has yet to be cultivated \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSmart governance and citizen participation have become central themes in recent research on smart cities. As one of the six core objectives of smart cities \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e, smart governance emphasizes participatory creation through technology, fostering a shift from merely collecting citizen needs to co-designing with citizens and even encouraging citizens to initiate design proposals in urban and community governance. However, current forms of e-participation often exclude vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, who may face difficulties in using smart technologies \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. In addition, many digital platforms provide only symbolic participation, highlighting the need for stronger support to move from passive empowerment toward more active forms of resident engagement \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. At the same time, compared to online community co-governance, face-to-face offline participation remains indispensable \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Designing offline information interaction systems, combined with natural interaction technologies, can help mitigate the exclusion of disadvantaged groups, lower participation barriers, and enhance both social interaction and community engagement in offline settings.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec2\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e1.1 Community Empowerment and Information Technology\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommunity participation enables individuals to influence and transform their surrounding reality through their own actions. As people gradually gain control over their lives and actively engage in community activities, they develop a sense of empowerment \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. The concept of community empowerment has been embedded in a range of programs and policies across both developed and developing countries. For example, Palutturi et al.\u0026rsquo;s practice in Indonesia demonstrates that mobilizing residents\u0026rsquo; awareness, willingness, and capacity to participate is a core principle of community empowerment, playing a vital role in community development and in advancing public goals such as healthy city initiatives \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Similarly, research by Kearns and Whitley shows that community empowerment significantly affects residents\u0026rsquo; mental health, with neighborhood empowerment and active empowerment showing particularly strong associations \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Active empowerment\u0026mdash;such as influencing decision-making in specific areas through individual actions or improving conditions through collective efforts\u0026mdash;is especially meaningful for strengthening both the sense of empowerment and psychological well-being in disadvantaged communities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn global research and practice on community empowerment, the participation pathways and methods of specific groups vary considerably. International studies in this field provide particularly valuable insights into promoting group participation. For instance, Tostan\u0026rsquo;s community empowerment program in Africa adopts a three-year informal education model, using collective learning sessions on culture, law, and health to strengthen residents\u0026rsquo; capacity for participation and awareness of shared goals, particularly among the elderly, women, and youth \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Similarly, the Youth-Adult Partnership (YAP) model has yielded positive outcomes in several cities across Europe and North America. By establishing equitable collaboration mechanisms, it enhances young people\u0026rsquo;s involvement in community governance and broadens their expressive space, challenging the traditional perception of youth as merely \u0026ldquo;passive participants\u0026rdquo; \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmong the elderly, empowerment practices often rely on technological interventions and intergenerational collaboration mechanisms. For instance, the Polish Living Lab PJAIT project provides ICT courses and digital tasks to improve older adults\u0026rsquo; proficiency with information technologies, foster social participation, and help bridge the digital divide \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Similarly, another study introduced the SPIRAL co-creation framework to directly engage older adults in designing community service applications, enabling them to voice opinions and advocate for their values during software prototype development \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. By contrast, empowerment practices targeting middle-aged and younger populations\u0026mdash;particularly within fast-paced urban communities\u0026mdash;encounter more substantial challenges.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor a long time, community development in China has primarily depended on the continuous allocation of government resources for community services. A survey on community governance in Shanghai shows that the government has assumed most public service functions within communities, including public safety, public health, urban environment management, community education and sports, cultural activities, and volunteer services. This government-centered approach has tended to overlook the role of the community itself and its potential for autonomous governance \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Consequently, residents have become more psychologically passive, increasingly dependent on government intervention, and have gradually lost their sense of ownership \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Moreover, with the accelerated pace of urban work and life, middle-aged and younger residents\u0026mdash;often burdened by job demands, personal pressures, and limited time and energy\u0026mdash;are less inclined to actively participate in community governance. In terms of government\u0026ndash;resident interaction, ensuring effective public participation remains both a key challenge and an essential prerequisite for advancing community engagement \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Practical studies have further shown that community self-governance, as a comprehensive strategy, plays a vital role in strengthening community identity by increasing resident involvement in community affairs. Addressing issues such as low participation, weak engagement, and the challenge of sustaining long-term, effective involvement is therefore of great practical importance for the future of community governance \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAgainst this backdrop, the rise of smart technologies has created new means and platforms for community empowerment, serving as an important tool to promote resident participation and strengthen the sense of empowerment. Forms of \u0026ldquo;electronic participation,\u0026rdquo; such as online voting, opinion collection, and digital deliberation platforms, have expanded channels for public expression and enabled broader involvement in democratic practices \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e][\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Yet in many cases, these approaches only simulate participation rather than providing a genuinely participatory framework for decision-makers and stakeholders. As a result, they often fail to mobilize residents\u0026rsquo; resources, knowledge, and experience to achieve meaningful knowledge exchange, distributed decision-making, and technology-enabled governance \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. This highlights the need for deeper exploration of both participatory content and methods within technological empowerment. Research on community e-participation further suggests that participation benefits the community only when residents engage with these platforms consistently. However, most current studies emphasize the motivations for participation while neglecting the sustainability of participation over time \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. For technological devices, convenience has been found to be the strongest factor influencing the willingness to continue use \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Therefore, further research is needed to determine how technology can best support participation that is simple in form yet multi-dimensional in function.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn summary, while smart technologies provide important support for community empowerment, there remains a need to refine both the types of content that can be opened for empowerment and the frameworks that structure participation. From an interaction perspective, greater attention should be directed toward diverse groups, such as older adults and children, by designing participation mechanisms that are simple in form yet multi-dimensional in function. Focusing on community information and public affairs can help revitalize the community atmosphere and improve the effectiveness of information dissemination. In turn, this can encourage broader engagement across different user groups and strengthen residents\u0026rsquo; sense of connection with their communities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e1.2 Gamification Design in Community Participation\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eGamification is commonly defined as \u0026ldquo;the use of game design elements in non-game contexts\u0026rdquo; \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. According to Kapp et al., gamification applies game mechanics, aesthetics, and game-oriented thinking to engage people, motivate actions, promote learning, and solve problems \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Social gamification elements can help connect broader user groups, enabling participants to support one another and work toward shared goals \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Nevertheless, because different user groups display varied gaming preferences, the design of community gamification must account for participants\u0026rsquo; diverse backgrounds and characteristics \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt present, gamified interaction forms in e-participation often exclude vulnerable groups, as not all target audiences can equally or universally experience gamified content. The digital divide and unequal access remain major challenges for the implementation of gamification \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e, making it essential to identify more effective methods to strengthen participants\u0026rsquo; sense of control and capability \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. In urban contexts, gamified digital design methods frequently produce unexpected effects on community interaction, blurring the boundaries between gameplay and everyday participation \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWerbach and Hunter (2012) proposed the 6D gamification framework, which defines a design process moving from clarifying business objectives to specifying target behaviors, identifying player types, designing behavior loops, creating fun, and deploying game elements \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Similarly, Hamari et al. conceptualize gamification as a motivational information system that begins with defining goals and tasks associated with system use, then challenges participants with goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound, while providing feedback throughout the process \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Building on this perspective, Krath et al. distilled gamification principles from extensive literature, emphasizing the progression from setting clear system objectives to defining personal goals, sustaining interest through immediate feedback and positive reinforcement, and fostering social ties via social comparison and norms. They also note that adaptive content, guided pathways, and multiple-choice options help accommodate dynamic changes, while streamlined user experiences support sustained engagement \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Likewise, Marcucci et al. summarized structural elements of gamification design, highlighting the importance of defining system objectives, categorizing players into behavioral groups, and selecting game elements aligned with player dynamics to motivate actions \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn summary, the gamification design of community intelligent information systems should focus on fostering participation in public affairs and enhancing individual empowerment. This requires a comprehensive analysis of participation mechanisms and target user groups, taking into account the diversity of users, their gamification preferences, and player models. In addition, design solutions and technical implementations should be guided by game mechanics to strengthen emotional bonds between individuals and their communities, thereby creating more opportunities for meaningful interaction among residents.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"2. Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study seeks to advance community empowerment and development in the Xinhua Community of Shanghai by integrating gamification design methods into the practical design of community intelligent information systems. From the perspective of effective empowerment, it systematically organizes the content of a multi-level community participation system, encompassing message notifications, community decision-making, and community activities. By incorporating intelligent technologies\u0026mdash;particularly natural interaction technologies\u0026mdash;the system is designed to be more accessible and responsive to the needs of residents across different age groups and lifestyles. Gamification design is employed to address challenges of sustainability and limited active participation in the engagement process, while also exploring design pathways through which gamification can support collective activities and community well-being. This approach draws on the behavioral characteristics and gamification preferences of diverse groups, offering a reference point for understanding the role of gamification in public affairs.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1 Study 1: Age Group Preferences in Community Participation Systems and Gamification Design\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study selected the Xinhua Community in Changning District, Shanghai, as its research case. The community is composed primarily of traditional lane-style residential buildings, supporting a harmonious coexistence between long-term residents and new tenants. It also features a diverse age structure, ranging from young children to older adults. To better understand the behavioral characteristics, information reception methods, and gamification preferences of residents across different age groups, this study designates \u0026ldquo;Study 1\u0026rdquo; as the foundational research phase. Two primary methods\u0026mdash;field surveys and in-depth interviews\u0026mdash;were employed to examine community participation patterns and gamification motivations among three core groups actively engaged in community activities: older adults (G1, aged 60 and above \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e), middle-aged adults (G2, aged 25\u0026ndash;59), and young adults (G3, aged 15\u0026ndash;24 \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe objectives of the gamified design for the Xinhua Community Smart Information System are shaped by both the community\u0026rsquo;s information content and the participation characteristics of its activities. The information content is grounded in community empowerment methods, which involve in-depth investigations of community activities to extract key data. Furthermore, analyzing participation methods, current characteristics, and user pain points helps identify the critical design requirements for the system. The gamification design framework also incorporates clustering analysis of the gamification preferences and offline activity patterns of different community groups, thereby informing the development of effective feedback and incentive mechanisms as well as the design of game dynamics and interaction models. Based on the gamification design principles for community participation outlined in Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec8\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2.2\u003c/span\u003e, the overall research framework for the Xinhua Community Smart Information System is illustrated in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1.1 Information System Content and Key Points\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eJarusriboonchai et al. argue that smart technologies support community empowerment in three key ways: by raising residents\u0026rsquo; awareness of relevant issues, providing platforms for active participation, and enabling the establishment of new technology-driven practices. Through appropriate technological platforms and interactive methods, residents can organize within their environments and drive bottom-up change \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Similarly, Lawson et al. highlight that technological tools must support three dimensions of empowerment: psychological (the feeling of being empowered), political (the ability to participate in decision-making), and practical (the capacity to effect desired change). These forms range from passive engagement, such as \u0026ldquo;staying informed,\u0026rdquo; to more active involvement, including \u0026ldquo;influencing decisions\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;implementing improvements directly\u0026rdquo; \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBuilding on this analysis, and taking into account the current services and content offered in the Xinhua Community, the intelligent information system is categorized into three types: \u0026ldquo;Notification and Promotion,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;Decision-Making Proposals,\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;Practical Participation,\u0026rdquo; as presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInformation Types and Specific Tasks in Xinhua Community\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLevels of empowerment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003etype of information\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpecific tasks\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePsychological empowerment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotice and publicity category\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCivil affairs: subsidies, vaccination, hukou, etc\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eServices: water tank cleaning and water stop arrangement, convenience service, face recognition system collection, physical examination, safety reminder, typhoon reminder, etc\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eManagement: epidemic prevention and control notice, community facilities rectification, etc\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKnowledge and publicity: fire prevention reminder, anti-fraud science popularization, garbage classification publicity, atmosphere construction, etc\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePolitical empowerment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProposal type decision\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommunity public affairs: installation of elevator Internet of Things, complaints from residents about some community affairs, inconveniences, and repair of community facilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePersonnel and government affairs: election, owners 'assembly (such as rules of procedure for owners' assembly, management regulations, special maintenance fund management regulations), residents' questions about public matters, etc\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmpowerment through practice\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePractice participation category\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommunity public affairs: comprehensive community sanitation, garbage classification, replanting of greenery, removing small advertisements, adding parking lines, volunteer activities, census taker, civilized dog raising, fire drill, community renewable resources recycling, green contracting (task acceptance), etc\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCreation and collection category: arrangement of literary and artistic works, collection of activity works (celebrating the founding of the Party, etc.)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommunity activities: community summer vacation activities (for children), community festivals, etc\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo examine the participation patterns and characteristics of different user groups in the Xinhua Community\u0026rsquo;s information services, field interviews were conducted in Changning District, Shanghai, between October and November 2021 (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). The interview questionnaire is provided in Appendix Table A (Table \u003cspan refid=\"Tab6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003eA1\u003c/span\u003e). Participants were classified into three groups according to their living conditions, lifestyle habits, economic status, and age: elderly (34 individuals), middle-aged adults (55 individuals), and young adults (14 individuals). In total, 103 participants were surveyed, of whom 24% were original residents, 32% were new homeowners, 24% were local tenants, and 20% were migrant family members.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe survey results reveal a relatively diverse age distribution among respondents, with participants represented across different age groups but without a distinct concentration trend. The overall sample spans a wide age range (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e), reflecting demographic diversity. Career distribution likewise indicates broad representation across professional fields, with retirees (15 individuals) forming a notable subgroup. Most retirees belong to the elderly demographic, whose perspectives may exert a significant influence on the findings. The following analysis examines the preferences of different age groups regarding online and offline notification methods, as well as their responses to three categories of information: notification-based promotional materials, policy proposal documents, and practical participation initiatives.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e① Online Notification Preferences of Different Age Groups\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWithin the elderly group (G1, 34 participants), 21 individuals (61.8%) reported following online notifications, while 13 (38.2%) did not. The primary channels were WeChat group synchronization and WeChat Mini Program alerts. Some older adults relied on their children to monitor group messages on their behalf. The main reasons cited for non-use were the absence of a smartphone or WeChat account and limited experience with digital operations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmong middle-aged respondents (G2, 55 individuals), 46 (83.6%) reported actively monitoring online notifications, while 9 (16.4%) remained unengaged. WeChat groups were identified as the primary communication channel, though many respondents demonstrated selective filtering behaviors\u0026mdash;for example, some reported checking only messages tagged with \u0026ldquo;All Members,\u0026rdquo; thereby ignoring the majority of group chat content. This group expressed a preference for targeted and efficient notifications, with non-engagement primarily attributed to busy schedules that left little time for message checking or the perception that group communications were redundant.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmong young adults (G3, 14 individuals), 4 (28.6%) reported following online notifications, while 10 (71.4%) did not. Those who engaged primarily relied on WeChat group announcements for updates, though their overall level of involvement remained low. The main reasons cited for non-engagement were a lack of interest in community affairs and the perception that online notifications were irrelevant to their daily lives.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e② Offline Notification Preferences of Different Age Groups\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmong the elderly (G1, 34 individuals), 24 (70.5%) reported paying attention to offline notifications, while 10 (29.5%) did not. Their primary sources of information were bulletin boards, verbal notices from neighborhood committees, and messages from building group leaders, reflecting a high level of acceptance for paper-based and face-to-face notification methods.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmong middle-aged adults (G2, 55 individuals), 32 (58.2%) reported paying attention to offline notifications, while 23 (41.8%) did not. Their primary sources of information were bulletin boards and door-to-door notifications from property or community committees, though they generally prioritized online channels over offline ones.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmong young adults (G3, 14 individuals), 5 (35.7%) reported paying attention to offline notifications, while 9 (64.3%) did not. Most of those who noticed offline messages did so passively, encountering them on bulletin boards near express delivery lockers or bulletin boards inside elevators. Active attention to offline notifications was rare, and overall willingness to engage remained low.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e③ Preferences for Different Types of Information by Age Group\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe elderly group (G1, 34 individuals) demonstrated a strong interest in public service announcements, with civil affairs (28 participants) and service-oriented initiatives (25 participants) together accounting for more than 70% of their preferences. They prioritized updates related to subsidy distribution, vaccination schedules, and household registration policies, while also valuing notifications on daily necessities, such as water tank maintenance, water outage notices, and health checkup reminders.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn terms of communication channels, offline methods were predominant, with online platforms serving only as supplementary tools or requiring family assistance. Regarding policy proposals, most participants (76.5%, 26 individuals) reported receiving such information, though actual engagement was limited: 15 occasionally participated, while 11 never did. Their attention focused primarily on practical matters directly affecting living conditions\u0026mdash;such as elevator installations and public facility repairs\u0026mdash;while showing limited interest in more abstract policy discussions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor community engagement activities, preferences leaned toward \u0026ldquo;social networking with acquaintances\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;low-impact participation\u0026rdquo;. The most common activities included square dancing (18 participants), charity sales (9 participants), and free blood pressure screenings (7 participants). By contrast, more complex or physically demanding events were generally avoided.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmong middle-aged individuals (G2, 55 participants), the main areas of interest in public notices were management-related (42 participants) and service-oriented (38 participants), together accounting for more than 70%. Their priorities included pandemic prevention updates, facility renovations (e.g., elevator installations and parking policies), and information related to group purchase pickups, courier services, and children\u0026rsquo;s welfare. Engagement was primarily through online platforms, supplemented by offline channels.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith respect to policy proposals, 48 participants (87.3%) reported receiving such information. Of these, 32 stated that they \u0026ldquo;regularly participated,\u0026rdquo; while 15 reported \u0026ldquo;occasional participation.\u0026rdquo; Their attention centered on issues closely tied to family interests, and they expressed high levels of trust in decision-making mechanisms such as public voting and the 12345 complaint feedback system.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn terms of community participation, preferences leaned toward functional activities with direct, tangible benefits. Common examples included community group purchases (30 participants), pandemic disinfection volunteer work (18 participants), and family-oriented events (15 participants). By contrast, participation in more formalized activities, such as promotional lectures, remained relatively low.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmong young adults (G3, 14 participants), service-oriented notifications were the most common preference (6 individuals, 42.9%). Engagement with such information was largely passive, with minimal active participation: only 4 participants reported checking WeChat group announcements, while 10 stated that they completely blocked group messages.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith respect to policy proposals, interest was negligible. Ten participants explicitly indicated that they \u0026ldquo;never participate and have no interest,\u0026rdquo; perceiving such issues as irrelevant to their daily lives. The sole exception was one respondent who occasionally commented on rental-related matters.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn terms of community engagement initiatives, only 3 participants reported involvement in activities such as stray cat rescue or DIY projects, while 11 explicitly declined to take part in traditional community events.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn general, the information preferences of the three groups are summarized in the last three columns of Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eComparison of information system content points and preferences of three groups\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eType of Information\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcrete Content\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSystem Design Points\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCharacteristics of the Elderly\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMiddle-aged Characteristics\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYouth Characteristics\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotice and publicity category\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCivil affairs, services, management, knowledge dissemination\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1. Make important matters easier to understand with visual explanations and feedback\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2. Make knowledge dissemination more vivid, emphasizing personal relevance\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3. Organize and classify information reasonably, push targeted content\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4. Strengthen the connection between the community and individuals\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLimited access to channels, need to enhance readability and understanding core demands: simplify operations, familiar transmission\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFocus on efficiency and relevance, and need to accurately push the core demands: efficient information and timely feedback\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt is necessary to stimulate interest and sense of belonging, and emphasize the core demands of life relevance: novel activities and no compulsory social interaction\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProposal type decision\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommunity public affairs, personnel matters, government affairs\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1. Stimulate attention by emphasizing the relevance of affairs to individuals\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2. Make opinion collection simple, engaging, and trackable\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3. Visualize the importance and impact of opinions\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4. Provide platforms for free expression and discussion\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrefer simple procedures, pay attention to openness and feedback participation: passive participation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThey pay attention to practical effects and have a strong willingness to participate. They prefer transparent and efficient mechanisms. Participation methods: active feedback and reliance on wechat group interaction\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow participation intention, need interest guidance and consciousness cultivation. Participation mode: almost no participation, lack of interest\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePractice participation category\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommunity affairs participation, creative submissions, community activities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1. Increase publicity appeal and diversity\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2. Strengthen feedback and incentive mechanisms to enhance sense of responsibility\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3. Lower barriers to participation, boost confidence in abilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4. Provide convenience for organizing and initiating activities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThey prefer to socialize with acquaintances and need concise and clear information and process to guide their participation in low-threshold social activities such as square dancing and charity sales\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrefer functional activities, need to clarify the benefits and convenient entry to participate in the content: group buying, parent-child, volunteer service, etc\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThey prefer to be oriented to social activities and need to be guided to actively explore and participate in content: public welfare, handicraft, and rarely participate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe core findings from the Xinhua Community Information System analysis (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1) reveal distinct engagement patterns across demographic groups.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003ePublic notices.\u003c/b\u003e Seniors prioritized community affairs but relied heavily on offline channels or family assistance, underscoring the need for more accessible content delivery. Middle-aged users favored WeChat groups but often filtered information selectively, highlighting the importance of targeted notification strategies. Younger participants showed limited interest, largely due to content relevance gaps, suggesting that context-aware recommendations are necessary to increase engagement.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003ePolicy proposals.\u003c/b\u003e While seniors demonstrated relatively low levels of participation, they actively voiced concerns about everyday services through straightforward processes and offline feedback. Middle-aged users placed greater emphasis on transparency and institutional feedback mechanisms, whereas younger respondents showed minimal interest, except in matters directly related to personal concerns. To address these gaps, the system should provide diverse, low-threshold participation channels to enhance real-time interaction and strengthen connections, particularly among younger users.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003ePractical engagement.\u003c/b\u003e Seniors expressed a preference for relaxed, community-based activities supported by clear notifications. Middle-aged adults were more attracted to practical, reward-driven initiatives, while younger participants tended to favor interest-driven or public welfare events over traditional community activities, which they found less appealing. Personalized recommendations and flexible participation methods are therefore essential to stimulate broader engagement across age groups.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGiven the current challenges of the Xinhua Community information system and the identified user pain points, the system design must urgently address several key issues: simplified organization, efficient initiation processes, user-friendly participation, and reduced entry barriers. By strengthening feedback mechanisms and incorporating gamified design elements, the system can not only enhance engagement across all user groups but also foster a stronger sense of community responsibility.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1.2 Game Preferences and Player Model Clustering\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the context of gamification design, Yee\u0026mdash;a leading researcher in the gaming field\u0026mdash;conducted a factor analysis of approximately 140,000 participants in earlier studies. Using cluster analysis across 12 dimensions, he identified six distinct categories of player motivation: Action (destruction and excitement), Social (competition and community), Mastery (challenge and strategy), Achievement (competition and power), Immersion (fantasy and storytelling), and Creativity (design and discovery) \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. This framework provides a valuable reference for analyzing the gamification motivation preferences of user groups in the Xinhua Community.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo investigate daily gaming preferences and gamification motivations among different groups in the Xinhua Community, interviews were conducted with 103 participants (34 seniors, 55 middle-aged adults, and 14 young adults). The detailed questionnaire is provided in Appendix Table A, and results are summarized in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGaming preferences. Seniors predominantly favored traditional board and card games (e.g., chess, mahjong, poker) that require minimal setup. These activities were valued for enhancing social interaction, supporting cognitive activity, and offering modest achievement feedback. For seniors who relocated with their children, familiar gameplay also facilitated community integration and fostered a stronger sense of belonging (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). Middle-aged adults preferred socially functional activities such as community group buying, competitive mobile games, and role-playing board games. They emphasized both communication opportunities and the combination of practical value with creative expression (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e). Young adults showed a stronger interest in esports, role-playing games, and immersive virtual environments. Their engagement was driven by the pursuit of emotional fulfillment and social validation, with particular emphasis on visual design, creative elements, and collaborative challenges (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGamification motivations. Despite differences in preferences, \u0026ldquo;achievement\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;social interaction\u0026rdquo; emerged as common motivators across all groups, though manifested in distinct ways. Seniors prioritized low-threshold social connections and community bonding; middle-aged adults emphasized practicality and interactive value; while younger participants focused on immersive experiences and personalized expression.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo examine gaming preferences across three demographic groups, this study analyzed six experiential dimensions of gameplay: social interaction, action engagement, mastery, achievement, immersion, and creativity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results revealed clear differences among groups. \u003cb\u003eYoung adults\u003c/b\u003e scored highest in immersion (M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;4.43) and achievement (M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.79), indicating a strong preference for story-driven experiences and goal-oriented challenges. \u003cb\u003eMiddle-aged participants\u003c/b\u003e showed comparatively higher scores in creativity (M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.78), reflecting an emphasis on self-directed exploration and expression. By contrast, \u003cb\u003eolder adults\u003c/b\u003e recorded lower scores across all dimensions, particularly in immersion (M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.68) and creativity (M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.71), suggesting limited engagement with narrative-based or open-ended gameplay.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotably, the social interaction dimension demonstrated minimal variation across groups (means ranging from 3.6 to 3.9), underscoring its universal significance regardless of age.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn conclusion, match-three puzzle games and simulation-building games emerged as popular choices across all three groups and can be incorporated into the thematic design of the Xinhua Community system. The gamified interaction framework should therefore emphasize game elements associated with achievement and social interaction, while ensuring simple operation, engaging interaction, intuitive control, and opportunities for creative user input.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlayer Model Clustering Results\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOlder persons (G1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMiddle-aged (G2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYouth (G3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDaily Tours\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTypes of play\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"No\" id=\"Taba\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"1\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTraditional board games (playing cards, chess), synthetic elimination games, simple puzzle games\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"No\" id=\"Tabb\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"1\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCompetitive mobile games (such as battle games), social story board games, synthesis elimination games, business development games\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"No\" id=\"Tabc\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"1\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEsports, role-playing mobile games, sandbox creation games, cultivation and exploration games\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003egamification\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMotivational preferences\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAchievement, social, mastery\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAchievement, social interaction, action, creativity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eImmersive, creative, fulfilling, social\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOffline behavior characteristics\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1. Time:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOlder people have more free time in the afternoon, which is suitable for in-depth interaction\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMiddle-aged people are more available in the evenings and on weekends, making them suitable for participatory activities\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eYoung people have more fragmented time and are active at night, which is suitable for free participation\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2. Location:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOlder people prefer to stick to one area (e.g. a small square)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMiddle-aged people prefer path node areas (such as express delivery cabinets, elevators)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eYoung people prefer activity hubs and check-in spots\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3. Demand:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOlder people expect easy to understand and easy to operate interaction; middle-aged people expect easy to participate and interesting interaction; young people expect creative and immersive interaction\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2 Gamification Design Mechanisms and Practices\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on the content of the Xinhua Community information system, its key functional features, and the player model clustering of the three user groups, a gamification design framework was developed (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e) to guide the selection of feedback and incentive elements, the design of dynamic systems, and the creation of aesthetic and interactive experiences. This framework enables community participation in public affairs through gamification.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe feedback and incentive elements were aligned with users\u0026rsquo; gamification preferences, with appropriate mechanisms selected and adapted from the component library. The dynamic system design was informed by system requirements and aimed at sustaining users\u0026rsquo; motivation over time. Finally, the aesthetic and interaction design accounted for the characteristics of different user groups and their offline interaction behaviors.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe gamification design of the Xinhua Community information system centers on simulation-building games and match-three puzzle games, while incorporating AR technology to extend into parallel reality formats that provide real-time feedback linked to the physical world. Within this environment, real community scenes are integrated with a virtual AR community garden, where users can interact with digital organisms through multisensory experiences\u0026mdash;including sight, sound, and touch\u0026mdash;thus creating a more natural and immersive mode of interaction.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe system presents seasonal plant and flower themes, with virtual flowers incorporating a synthesis mechanism whereby every five flowers beyond a baseline automatically merge into a higher-level flower. These flowers generate energy and accumulate energy points, with advanced flowers providing greater production efficiency, enhanced visual effects, and richer interactive experiences. On weekends, the system introduces energy-themed interactive gameplay: once the collective energy collection target is met, flowers are projected onto the ground at night as a visual celebration of task completion. In parallel, physical flower seeds corresponding to the virtual varieties are made available in designated community areas for residents to collect.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e, the game mechanism design can be categorized into five types: the Generation Mechanism, Nurturing Mechanism, Unlocking Mechanism, Parallel Reality Integration Mechanism, and Identity Mechanism.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGeneration Mechanism\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis mechanism is primarily associated with notification reading. Elements appear on the screen as keywords combined with bulb icons. When a user passes by and steps on the designated point, a detailed information box is triggered. After the user pauses and completes the reading process\u0026mdash;monitored by a progress bar\u0026mdash;a basic flower is randomly generated on the screen, serving as material for future synthesis. Knowledge-related content is delivered through themed stickers, mini-challenge games, or quiz activities. Successful completion of these challenges allows users to obtain special flower species.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNurturing Mechanism\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis mechanism is associated with decision-making and voting interactions. Decision-related activities are represented by keywords combined with light array elements. When a user steps into the light array field, it unfolds, transitioning from flickering to steady illumination. Designated areas allow users to cast their votes: standing in the selected area for a set duration completes the voting process. The corresponding colored light points are then added to the array, collectively influencing its overall color.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnlocking Mechanism\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis mechanism is associated with activity events. When users interact with balloons in the activity area, they can access detailed event information. Each balloon contains a special animal pattern awaiting activation. As more participants read the information, the balloon gradually enlarges. Once the event is successfully completed, the animal\u0026mdash;such as a butterfly or rabbit\u0026mdash;is unlocked, becoming active on the screen, interacting with users, and announcing follow-up information related to the event. This mechanism incorporates game components such as mystery boxes, item collection, team-based tasks, and progress bars.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eParallel Reality Integration Mechanism\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis mechanism manages the virtual flower-growing cycle over a period of 3\u0026ndash;4 weeks. Once the collective energy target is reached, a projection device is activated at night to create an atmospheric display through ground projection. The organizing body then provides rewards such as flower seeds, which are also distributed offline. In addition, community users are encouraged to showcase and plant real flowers, reinforcing the connection between virtual gameplay and real-world participation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIdentity Mechanism\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis mechanism leverages facial recognition systems to establish personal identity profiles, enabling users to accumulate points through participation in community affairs and upgrade their virtual garden identity. Different identity levels unlock a range of AR avatars and interaction privileges\u0026mdash;such as gardener, flower protector, or master grower\u0026mdash;within an honors system, while also granting access to differentiated forms of interactive gameplay.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe technical implementation of the Xinhua Community information system centers on the community AR garden game and interaction system, which is composed of three core components: resource development, interface scene implementation, and system interaction functionality. As certain functions depend on the community\u0026rsquo;s facial recognition identity system, they are treated as optional extensions and are not implemented in this stage. The game development framework of the information system is illustrated in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn terms of UI design, the primary elements include 3D animated virtual plants, light arrays, virtual animals, 2D information boxes, and text-based keywords for notifications, decisions, and event messages. Additional components include display area explanations and special interactive animations that integrate with physical objects. The visual style of the AR garden system adopts a low-poly aesthetic combined with glowing elements, creating a harmonious and familiar atmosphere. Through semi-transparent UI components, the system blends seamlessly with the real-world environment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eResource Development\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe content components of the community AR garden game and interaction system are organized into three categories: (a) images captured by the camera, (b) 2D and 3D elements placed within the virtual 3D space, and (c) screen-based UI elements anchored to the display device. The camera footage functions as a real-time background, while 3D models such as flowers serve as reusable system resources. UI elements, including message boxes, are treated as backend components and support low-code editing. The content and thematic design of the UI primarily draw upon information from the Xinhua Community public WeChat account in Changning District, Shanghai.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the 3D asset development process, a model resource library (sourced from online assets, hand-drawn content, or community-contributed creations) is created or updated based on seasonal themes. This library includes models for flowers of various levels (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig8\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e), special plants, animals, magical creatures, balloons, and other 3D interactive components. Models are tagged, and the tagging system distributes them accordingly. Unlockable creature models related to event organization can be selected or created by the event organizers from the backend and are dynamically generated through AR technology in real-world environments based on user interaction.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn the other hand, the real-time background layer is primarily determined by the type and installation of the camera. The installation location is selected based on the average width of community roads and the height range of residents, ensuring full-body interaction for both children and adults within a distance of 1.5\u0026ndash;2.5 meters. The camera is equipped with a 4 mm lens, providing a field of view between 45\u0026deg; and 55\u0026deg;.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ul\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(2) Interaction Module Analysis\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe interaction input and output across different scenarios are supported by specific development modules, as outlined in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e. The interaction input primarily relies on real-time face detection, including facial position recognition and tracking, hand position tracking, and key-point recognition of both the face and body, all implemented through machine vision algorithms. In addition, the question-and-opinion module requires speech recognition and speech-to-text processing, which are supported by natural language processing (NLP) algorithms.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirst, the LibFaceDetectionV3 algorithm is applied to detect faces in the training set, with facial key-point detection primarily used to enable AR interactive stickers. As the system functions as an offline interactive information device, short-link triggered interactions tolerate false positives in face recognition more than missed detections. Therefore, the confidence threshold is deliberately lowered to increase the likelihood of triggering information pop-ups. Hand position tracking is implemented using the hand-tracker algorithm in combination with its open-source dataset, with a focus on recognizing palm positions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditionally, speech recognition and gesture recognition\u0026mdash;both of which require large-scale datasets\u0026mdash;are implemented using the Baidu Intelligent Cloud API for cloud-based processing. Online requests are transmitted to the cloud, where they are analyzed, and the results are returned to the system in JSON format for further interaction handling.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInteraction Modules\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInteraction Module\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInteraction Input\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInteraction Output\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOverall\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFace Detection (Position)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGesture Detection (Gesture Type\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Position)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAR Garden\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotification Push\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFace Detection (Position, Face Detection), Age Recognition (Extended Feature, Not Implemented in Basic Version)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInteractive Images (2D), Interactive Models (3D)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eKnowledge Promotion\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFace Detection (Position)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBody Key Point Detection (Primarily Head and Hand Position Data)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAR Portrait Stickers, Interactive Mini-Games\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDecision Participation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFace Detection (Position, Dynamic Sequence)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInteractive Animation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eQuestions and Feedback\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFace Detection, Speech Recognition\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInteractive Animation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEvent Initiation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDigital Input\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e/\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEvent Promotion\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e/\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAR Interactive Images\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEvent Participation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFace Detection (Position), Digital Input\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInteractive Animation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEvent Summary\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDigital Input, Offline Physical Interaction\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical Interaction, 2D Images\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExpanded Gameplay Interaction\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFace Position and Body Key Point Detection\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAR Interactive Animation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGround Projection\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e/\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGround Projection\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical Interactive Projection\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGesture Recognition, Speech Recognition\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInteractive Animation (2D)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e(3) Key Game Module Implementation\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe main development modules of the Xinhua Community information system include the database setup, interaction module, flower generation mechanism, nurturing mechanism, and parallel reality auxiliary module (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig9\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eDatabase Setup\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe game database maintains logs for the flower system, themed mini-game challenges, decision-making activities, and event participation. These records form the foundation for gameplay tracking, performance evaluation, and long-term engagement analysis.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eInteraction Module\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAR content is implemented using the EasyAR Unity plugin, leveraging image tracking within AR sessions. The Image Target component is configured with the base scene model, with the display mode set to \u0026ldquo;hide before first found.\u0026rdquo; Once recognition occurs, the aligned model persists in its spatial location, even if the image becomes obstructed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor face recognition, an Empty GameObject script integrates the LibFaceDetectionV3 algorithm, retrieving the face bounding box. A UI control script calculates the midpoint position along the X-axis:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eface_Position\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;face_X\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;12\u0026times;face_Widthface_Position\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;face_X\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;21​\u0026times;face_Width\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe question feedback module is triggered by monitoring changes in face box width over a 45-frame window. A significant increase in box width (indicating approach toward the screen) activates the UI component.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eFlower Generation Mechanism\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOnce a face position triggers the corresponding message box, a flag is set, and a timer script tracks dwell time. If the user remains in the message box area for more than 2 seconds, a progress bar confirms completion, and a flower is generated.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eNurturing Mechanism\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEach flower level generates energy points based on its efficiency attribute. These points are both logged and visually represented through particle animations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDuring events, balloons in the AR event area expand dynamically, with transparency adjusted to reveal the creature inside. Once the event is marked as completed in the system, the creature (e.g., butterfly, rabbit) is unlocked. The animal model is then loaded into the AR target component with unique interactive effects. For example, butterflies randomly appear for two days post-unlock, accompanied by particle effects that automatically promote some lower-level flowers into higher levels.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eParallel Reality Auxiliary Module\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe system captures the interactive area via camera every 0.5 seconds, transmitting image data to Baidu Intelligent Cloud for gesture recognition. Returned JSON data provides gesture type and position, which are mapped in real time to projection-based special effects. These effects create an immersive connection between user gestures and visual outputs in the AR environment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003e2.3 Research 2: Verification of the Design Effect of the Intelligent Information Interaction System in Xinhua Community\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Xinhua Community Intelligent Information Interaction System adopts gamified mechanisms to improve participation, sustainability, and user experience across different demographic groups. To verify the system\u0026rsquo;s effectiveness, a comparative evaluation was conducted using traditional information dissemination methods as a control. In Xinhua Community, traditional approaches include bulletin boards, public display screens, the official WeChat account, and WeChat groups for communicating public affairs information.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn May 2022, usability tests were conducted with two groups: Group A (intelligent system) and Group B (traditional methods). Three demographic cohorts were targeted: seniors, middle-aged individuals, and young adults.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirst, a focus group consisting of designers, community administrators, and participants evaluated 26 criteria across four categories:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003ePromotional notices\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003ePolicy proposals\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003ePractical engagement activities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eGamified experience\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFollowing preliminary testing, the criteria were refined to 17 items (Table \u003cspan refid=\"Tab7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003eB1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eParticipants then performed tasks in both groups and rated them using a 5-point Likert scale (1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;strongly disagree, 2\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;disagree, 3\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;neutral, 4\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;agree, 5\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;strongly agree). A total of 157 valid responses were collected from Group A and 154 from Group B.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinally, the data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 for reliability testing and independent-samples t-tests. Statistically significant differences (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) were observed, as presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eComparison analysis data of group A and B\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInformation category\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eevaluating indicator\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean for group A\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean for group B\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1. Notification and publicity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA1. Be clear about important community issues\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4.18\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3.02\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan type=\"BoldUnderline\" class=\"BoldUnderline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003e0.036\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eA2. Attracting attention information\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.41\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.618\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eA3. Close relationships among community members\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.47\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.866\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2. Decision proposal type\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eB1. Participate in decision-making in a timely and simple manner\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3.97\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3.06\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan type=\"BoldUnderline\" class=\"BoldUnderline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003e0.047\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eB2. Involve actively\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3.94\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3.11\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan type=\"BoldUnderline\" class=\"BoldUnderline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003e0.021\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eB3. The matter concerns me and my opinion is of interest to the community\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.562\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eB4. The platform sees the opinions of other members and communicates them\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.51\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.588\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3. Practical participation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eC1. Attract active viewing\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4.29\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3.08\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan type=\"BoldUnderline\" class=\"BoldUnderline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003e0.039\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eC2. Have a clear understanding of the upcoming activities in the community\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4.13\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3.24\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan type=\"BoldUnderline\" class=\"BoldUnderline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003e0.034\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC3. The activities you participate in have an impact and will be known by others\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.06\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.36\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.827\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC4. Be motivated to participate in activities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.659\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4. Participation tendency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eD1. Active participation\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4.27\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3.04\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan type=\"BoldUnderline\" class=\"BoldUnderline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003e0.013\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eE2. Sustained engagement\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.89\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.97\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.781\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5. Interactive experience\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eF1. Fun and positive emotions\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4.31\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3.42\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan type=\"BoldUnderline\" class=\"BoldUnderline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003e0.007\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eF2. Sense of connection\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.664\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eF3. Creativity, curiosity and imagination\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4.09\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3.56\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan type=\"BoldUnderline\" class=\"BoldUnderline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003e0.029\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eF4. Dominance\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.41\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.697\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe test results demonstrate that, compared to Group B, Group A\u0026rsquo;s gamified interaction approach in notification and promotional information significantly improved users\u0026rsquo; comprehension of community priorities (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.036\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). In terms of decision-making proposals, the interactive method facilitated timely participation across all demographics\u0026mdash;particularly younger adults\u0026mdash;while also encouraging active engagement from older and middle-aged groups (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.021\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). For practical engagement initiatives, Group A\u0026rsquo;s gamified approach promoted proactive information checking among user groups (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.039\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) and provided clearer insights into upcoming community events (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.034\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). Moreover, in the category of gamified experience, Group A not only increased active participation rates (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.013\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) but also enhanced user experience by fostering interactive enjoyment and positive emotions (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.007\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). This design further stimulated users\u0026rsquo; creativity, curiosity, and imagination (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.029\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), highlighting the effectiveness of gamification in sustaining community engagement.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSmart information systems employing gamified design effectively enhance user engagement by enabling different groups to clearly understand community priorities and activities. The \u0026ldquo;achievement\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;social interaction\u0026rdquo; elements, combined with intuitive controls, deliver greater enjoyment and positive emotions. However, several critical areas require deeper exploration: the relationship between public affairs decisions and individual perspectives, the role of personal values, and the communication dynamics among community members. Additionally, the design quality of continuous interaction with these intelligent systems requires further refinement.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3. Discussion of Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1 Research 1: Discussion on the characteristics and pain points of community information interaction behavior\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThrough interviews and questionnaire surveys, this study identified significant differences in residents\u0026rsquo; behavioral responses across three types of community affairs: \u0026ldquo;notification and publicity,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;policy proposal,\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;practical participation.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor notification and publicity affairs, residents demonstrated high information accessibility and short action conversion paths, though cognitive efficiency and information quality strongly influenced behavior. In policy proposal affairs, weak participation willingness primarily stemmed from unfriendly expression mechanisms and the absence of feedback responses. While practical participation affairs showed high potential for action transformation, sustained engagement required strong incentive mechanisms. These findings align with Jarusriboonchai et al.\u0026rsquo;s proposition that \u0026ldquo;intelligent community systems should possess three core functions: informed decision-making, empowerment, and collaborative action\u0026rdquo; \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. The three categories map a psychological empowerment path from passive reception to active expressionand ultimately to practical participation, providing a functional stratification basis for subsequent system design.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study further highlights two imbalance mechanisms in current community information systems: \u0026ldquo;information overload\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;task dilution,\u0026rdquo; both of which particularly affect perceived efficiency and interaction confidence among middle-aged and elderly users. Over 60% of respondents reported that community platform information is \u0026ldquo;disorganized, low-relevance,\u0026rdquo; and marked by \u0026ldquo;operational redundancy.\u0026rdquo; This cognitive load reflects the mechanism proposed by Hamari et al., where \u0026ldquo;participation behavior is constrained by the dynamic balance between perceived returns and interaction costs\u0026rdquo; in grassroots communities \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditionally, residents commonly experience \u0026ldquo;ineffective expression\u0026rdquo; and a \u0026ldquo;feedback black box\u0026rdquo; phenomenon when voicing opinions. Middle-aged groups are especially sensitive to these issues, which significantly limits their willingness to participate in proposal-based and decision-making processes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study also reveals significant differences in behavioral preferences, gaming motivations, and participation characteristics across age groups, indicating that gamification systems require tailored feedback mechanisms and aesthetic designs.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor the \u003cem\u003eelderly group (G1)\u003c/em\u003e, preferences lean toward offline social interactions and low-threshold gaming experiences, with core motivations centered on achievement and social connection. Design strategies such as social network sharing mechanisms and low-cognitive-load interactive methods (e.g., ground-palm gestures, gesture recognition) effectively stimulate their engagement. This aligns with Yee\u0026rsquo;s player motivation model, particularly the community belonging and social security component \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eMiddle-aged individuals (G2)\u003c/em\u003e emphasize functionality and feedback efficiency, showing a preference for activities with clear objectives and tangible rewards, such as group buying or community improvement initiatives. The system addresses their need for control and empowerment through structured feedback paths, progress bars, and leaderboards, thereby enhancing political empowerment experiences.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eYoung adults (G3)\u003c/em\u003e demonstrate strong personalized and immersive demands, with participation willingness often influenced by perceived content relevance and guided interest. The system fosters immersion and achievement feedback through creative challenges, virtual identities, and personalized rewards, encouraging active exploration and indirect engagement. This approach corresponds to Hamari et al.\u0026rsquo;s model of driving deep engagement through personalization and challenge \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2 Research 2: Analysis of Practical Effects of the Community Intelligent Information System Empowered by Gamification\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBuilding on the first study, the second study implemented the Xinhua Community information system as a pilot project, integrating gamification mechanisms to evaluate its practical effects in three dimensions: cognitive guidance, motivational stimulation, and behavioral transformation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy embedding gamified design into the community\u0026rsquo;s intelligent information system, significant improvements in user engagement were observed across all demographic groups. Compared with traditional communication methods, the system showed notable enhancements in cognitive clarity, interactive experience, and proactive participation within three core community functions: Notice and Promotion, Decision-Making Proposals, and Practical Participation.Particularly noteworthy were its effects in boosting users\u0026rsquo; emotional investment and creative expression.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor the dissemination of notification and promotional information, gamified mechanisms such as augmented floral elements and task-driven formats enabled residents to rapidly acquire key information through interactive operations. This achieved a cognitive path of \u0026ldquo;visible, perceptible, and actionable\u0026rdquo; information, significantly enhancing communication clarity (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.036). This outcome supports Jarusriboonchai et al.\u0026rsquo;s three-dimensional empowerment model, which emphasizes that \u0026ldquo;intelligent technologies should enhance users\u0026rsquo; environmental awareness and facilitate proactive actions\u0026rdquo; \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor decision proposal-type information, the system lowered expression barriers by introducing mechanisms such as alignment arrays and visual feedback, making it easier for middle-aged and elderly users to participate in decision-making processes. Particularly for middle-aged groups, the system\u0026rsquo;s rapid feedback and platform transparency significantly enhanced willingness to engage (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.047). This finding aligns with Kearns and Whitley\u0026rsquo;s conclusion that \u0026ldquo;psychological empowerment is highly correlated with social participation intention\u0026rdquo; \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn incentivizing practical participation-based information, the system effectively extended online interactions into offline engagement through mechanisms such as activity unlocking and virtual rewards. This not only increased participation frequency (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.039) but also strengthened recognition and dissemination of community affairs. Hamari et al. note that gamification, as an incentive-based information system, fundamentally sustains user actions through goal orientation and instant feedback \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe data further demonstrates that intelligent information systems outperform traditional communication methods in enhancing fun and positive emotions (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.007) and creative imagination stimulation (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.029). These findings validate Deterding et al.\u0026rsquo;s research on \u0026ldquo;gamification\u0026rsquo;s enhancement of emotional engagement and cognitive focus\u0026rdquo; \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e. Moreover, continuous interactive features such as plant cultivation simulations and AR companionship with virtual animals provided users with sustained feedback. This reinforced user belonging and emotional connections, supporting the psychological empowerment\u0026ndash;participation control\u0026ndash;community belonging pathway proposed by Zimmerman et al. \u003csup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4. Conclusions","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe modernization process presents significant challenges to the governance of public affairs in communities, particularly in addressing residents\u0026rsquo; lack of initiative and engagement in participation and decision-making. This study examined the integration of gamification design methods into the Xinhua Community intelligent information system, leveraging game mechanics and interactive technologies to stimulate user participation and enjoyment, thereby opening a new pathway for smart community governance.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirst, the participation mechanisms of Xinhua Community, along with the gamification preferences and player models of different user groups, were analyzed. Next, the system\u0026rsquo;s game mechanics and technical implementation were explored in detail to design the intelligent information platform. Finally, a comparative evaluation was conducted between the intelligent system and traditional information dissemination methods. Results showed that the intelligent system was more effective in helping user groups clearly understand important community affairs and activities. It also successfully encouraged proactive participation, with game elements such as achievement and social interaction delivering greater enjoyment and positive emotions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eResearch limitations.\u003c/b\u003eThis study has not yet clearly determined the extent to which various actions affect the community participation rate. The mechanism explanation is still at an initial stage. Further, larger-scale and more systematic quantitative research needs to be conducted to verify these findings. The insufficient data volume, with the maximum sample size being only 157, may affect the robustness of the results. The research subjects are also relatively limited, focusing only on a specific community. The regional characteristics, governance experience, and group composition are local, which may affect individual opinions and group behaviors, making the results difficult to generalize to other regions. The qualitative methods used in this study also have the problem of insufficient extrapolation, making it difficult to support conclusions for a wider area. Future research should use quantitative models to test the key factors influencing community participation rate, participation methods, and cost-effectiveness, in order to enhance the universality and credibility of the results. At the strategic level of promoting community affairs participation, further deepening is still needed. Currently, there is no quantitative distinction based on the importance of the affairs and residents' participation willingness, nor is the proportion and key goals of different tasks clearly defined in the system design. In terms of visual, style, and interaction experience of the intelligent information system, the analysis of user group preferences and acceptance is still insufficient, making it difficult to cover diverse user needs. The willingness of residents to continuously participate in community activities has not been quantified, and the mechanism affecting continuous participation is still lacking in in-depth discussion. In the future, further analysis and optimization of relevant mechanisms and system design strategies should be conducted based on a larger sample size, combined with behavioral models and multi-group user research.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eEthical approval\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study has been approved by the Donghua University Science and Technology Ethics Committee (Approval No.: RLSSZYJ202510080060) on October 9, 2025. The research process strictly adheres to the ethical guidelines of the Helsinki Declaration and its subsequent amendments.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eInformed consent\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003e All participants signed an informed consent form before the study began to indicate informed consent.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFunding\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis research was funded by General Project of Shanghai Education Science Research (C2023165), Shanghai Key Curriculum Construction Project (No. SKC-2024-23), 2024 National Natural Science Foundation of China Upper-Level Project (No. 52475248).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eConceptualization, Q.S. and J.X.; methodology, Q.S. and M.T.; software, J.X.,Y.W. and S.W.; validation, S.W. and Y.W.; formal analysis, Q.S., S.W. and J.X.; investigation, Q.S. and J.X.; resources, Q.S., M.T. and H.W.; data curation, S.W. and H.W.; writing\u0026mdash;original draft preparation, Q.S., S.W., J.X. and Y.W.; writing\u0026mdash;review and editing, Q.S., S.W. and J.X.; visualization, J.X., Y.W. and M.T.; supervision and project administration, Q.S. and M.T.; funding acquisition, Q.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo new data were created or analyzed in this study. Data sharing is not applicable to this article.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYang XY, Gao H (2021) Can the application of new media in communities improve the level of community governance: An empirical analysis based on community survey data in Qingdao. J Party School CPC Hangzhou 04:66\u0026ndash;75\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLebrument N, Zumbo-Lebrument C, Rochette C, Roulet TJ (2021) Triggering participation in smart cities: Political efficacy, public administration satisfaction and sense of belonging as drivers of citizens\u0026rsquo; intention. 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J Community Psychol 33(1):1\u0026ndash;10\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKopeć P, Abramczuk K, Biele C, Kowalska M, Purgat M (2017) LivingLab PJAIT: Towards Better Urban Participation of Seniors. arXiv preprint, arXiv:1707.00030\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKopeć W, Nielek R, Wierzbicki A (2018) Guidelines Towards Better Participation of Older Adults in Software Development Processes using a new SPIRAL Method and Participatory Approach. arXiv preprint, arXiv:1803.10177.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Gamification Design, Smart Community, Participatory Design, Information Interaction, AR Interaction Technology","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7757903/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7757903/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe process of modernization has presented significant challenges to the governance of community public affairs. To address the issues of low resident participation and limited initiative in decision-making, this study incorporates gamification design methods into smart community information systems to enhance both residents\u0026rsquo; willingness and the sustainability of their involvement. Using the Xinhua Community in Shanghai as a case study, the research employed interviews and questionnaires to analyze residents\u0026rsquo; information preferences, gamification motivations, and player models across different age groups. It identified the pain points and characteristics of three categories of community affairs: \u0026ldquo;notification and publicity,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;decision-making proposals,\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;practical participation.\u0026rdquo; Drawing on core motivations such as achievement and social interaction, the study integrated AR and interactive technologies to design a gamified community information system featuring mechanisms of generation, maintenance, unlocking, parallel reality integration, and identity recognition. The effectiveness of this system was validated through comparative testing against traditional methods of information dissemination. Results indicate that the system significantly improves residents\u0026rsquo; comprehension, proactive engagement, and interactive experiences in community affairs, and it outperforms traditional approaches in stimulating creativity, curiosity, and positive emotions. This study offers a sustainable, accessible, and emotionally engaging design approach for smart community governance.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The Impact of Gamification Design on Intelligent Information Interaction in Community","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-17 19:20:02","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7757903/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"04912931-0b88-45f9-8a25-fbc54fc51ae1","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 17th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":62500576,"name":"Business and commerce/Business and management"},{"id":62500577,"name":"Social science/Business and management"},{"id":62500578,"name":"Humanities/Cultural and media studies"},{"id":62500579,"name":"Social science/Cultural and media studies"},{"id":62500580,"name":"Business and commerce/Information systems and information technology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-15T05:54:49+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-17 19:20:02","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7757903","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7757903","identity":"rs-7757903","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}