Video Games as Motivation for Exercise (original) (raw)

Development and evaluation of an exercycle game using immersive technologies

2015

Exercise video games have become increasing popular due to their promise to increase fitness and reduce obesity levels, and due to the emergence of cheap interface devices. Previous research reported mixed results about the effectiveness of such games. Common problems are the lack of long term motivation of users, games not taking into account specific patient requirements, repetitive gameplay, and vendor lockin. In this paper we design a novel exergame which addresses some of these shortcomings. The game employs an infinite randomly generated game environment, uses immersive technologies, and can be customized to take into account patient requirements. We present a prototype of this game design and evaluate its effectiveness using different levels of immersion. Our user study demonstrates a small but statistically significant increase in exercise performance and motivation when using the exergame. Employing the Oculus Rift resulted in a slightly higher motivation, but no noticeable...

Designing a Fantasy Bike-based Exergame to Foster Physical Activity

International Journal of Serious Games

Authorities recommend the practice of moderate physical activity to improve health and quality of life. "Play’n Ride" is a bike-based exergame aimed at promoting and controlling physical activity. This paper presents the usefulness of using extrinsic fantasy and a commonplace real bike to address a wide audience. It depicts the interactive universe in which the player pedals a bike equipped with sensors to control the flight altitude of an imaginary character. one hundred and seventy-eight fan park visitors from all age groups from youths to retirees tested the game during the ’Tour de France 2019’. Data were collected from an online questionnaire composed of SUS questionnaire items and a digital tracking system attached to the game-engine in order to assess the usability, the learnability and the acceptability of the system. Analysis shows that using extrinsic fantasy makes exercising fun and it engages people of all ages regardless of their interest in video games or spo...

Astrojumper: Motivating exercise with an immersive virtual reality exergame

2011

We present the design and evaluation of Astrojumper, an immersive virtual reality exergame developed to motivate players to engage in rigorous, full-body exercise. We performed a user study with 30 people between the ages of 6 and 50 who played the game for 15 min. Regardless of differences in age, gender, activity level, and video game experience, participants rated Astrojumper extremely positively and experienced a significant increase in heart rate after gameplay.

Gameplay as Exercise

Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2016

We designed and evaluated an exertion video game in order to overcome two challenges that are preventing exergames from becoming a viable sustained exercise alternative; insufficient physical exertion and player retention. This was achieved by implementing common features shared by the most popular video games and seamlessly merging them with the exertion found in exergames. A user study was performed where the exergame was played 132 times over three days by 8 participants. Compared to the control condition, a moderately paced walk, the exergame scored better on both subjective enjoyment and degree of physical activity. Further research could consider alternative versions of exergames, as well as different user groups.

The futuristic model for physical activity and exercise: active video games

Physical Activity Review, 2018

Physical inactivity is one of the main causes of noncommunicable diseases worldwide. In addition, obesity worldwide is increasing day by day due to insufficient energy expenditure, which is the result of physical inactivity. This review aimed to examine the physiological effects of active video games (AVGs) systems and tried to define whether the AVGs could be suggested as an alternative exercise model considering the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) criteria. This review was based on the physiological responses of the different AVGs that were discussed in previous studies. It was revealed that AVGs significantly increased the energy expenditure and metabolic equivalent according to resting state. The majority of AVGs were found to achieve physical activity levels of moderate intensity which meet ACSM criteria for health and fitness (3-6 MET). Especially, AVGs can be considered as an alternative exercise model that is integrated with fun and technology in everyday use of individuals, reducing obesity prevalence and improving physical activity level with the everevolving modern and sophisticated AVGs systems. AVGs can actually be considered among the exercise models for the future, with the increasing use of active video game systems around the world.

The effects of a bike active video game on players' physical activity and motivation

Background: Players may not acquire adequate levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) when playing commercial video games. This study's goal was to evaluate the effects of an exercise bike video game played by using a mobile application-based exergame that was designed exclusively to promote participants' MVPA, with additional attention paid to this game's ability to promote greater situational interest. Methods: An experimental design was used with 163 students (aged 20.31 ± 1.30, 18-26 years, 61.3% male), all of whom were randomly allocated into an experimental group and a control group. Physical activity (PA) levels were assessed with ActiGraph GT3X+ (ActiGraph Inc., Fort Walton Beach, FL, USA) accelerometers. The situational interest scale was used to evaluate students' situational interest in both groups. Multivariate analysis of variance was conducted to examine the differences between sedentary behavior, PA levels, and situational interest between groups. Regression analyses were also used, with the purpose being to evaluate the strength of the relationship between PA and situational interest. Results: Results revealed that the experimental group had higher degrees of sedentary behavior, light PA, total interest, instant enjoyment, exploration intention, attention demand, novelty, and challenge, whereas the control group received higher scores for MVPA (control 95.01% vs. experimental group 89.94%). Regression analysis indicated that instant enjoyment (β = 0.49, p < 0.01), exploration intention (β = 0.18, p < 0.05), and attention demand (β = 0.17, p < 0.05) were positive predictors for total interest, explaining 43% of its variance. Conclusion: A newly designed mobile application-based exergame played via an exercise bike may enhance situational interest and provide a decent level of PA for players.

Exerlearn Bike: An Exergaming System for Children's Educational and Physical Well-Being

2012 IEEE International Conference on Multimedia and Expo Workshops, 2012

Recently, games that incorporate exertion interfaces have emerged and are gaining attention from both academic researchers and commercial companies. Exergaming refers to video games that promote physical activity through playing. Exergames are believed to be a good method of promoting physical activity in children. Such games encourage children to engage in physical activity while enjoying their gaming experience. Nonetheless, we wanted to investigate whether combining exercising and learning modalities could be more beneficial for children's well-being. In this paper, we present our exergaming system called the ExerLearn Bike System, which combines both physical and educational aspects. The ExerLearn Bike System not only engages children in exercising through playing, but also provides them with learning experiences at the same time. We adopted a modular design approach that makes it possible to use any stationary bicycle as an input interface by attaching a number of devices on the bike.

Physical Activity Motivating Games

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 2012

ABSTRACT People’s daily lives have become increasingly sedentary, with extended periods of time being spent in front of a host of electronic screens for learning, work, and entertainment. We present research into the use of an adaptive persuasive technology, which introduces bursts of physical activity into a traditionally sedentary activity: computer game playing. Our game design approach leverages the playfulness and addictive nature of computer games to motivate players to engage in mild physical activity. The design allows players to gain virtual in-game rewards in return for performing real physical activity captured by sensory devices. This article presents a two-stage analysis of the activity-motivating game design approach applied to a prototype game. Initially, we detail the overall acceptance of active games discovered when trialing the technology with 135 young players. Results showed that players performed more activity without negatively affecting their perceived enjoyment of the playing experience. The analysis did discover, however, a lack of balance between the amounts of physical activity carried out by players with various gaming skills, which prompted a subsequent investigation into adaptive techniques for balancing the amount of physical activity performed by players. An evaluation of additional 90 players showed that adaptive techniques successfully overcame the gaming skills dependence and achieved more balanced activity levels. Overall, this work positions activity-motivating games as an approach that can potentially change the way players interact with computer games and lead to healthier lifestyles.

Exploration games played on a DDR pad can constitute beneficial physical exercise

2012 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC), 2012

The addition of an exercise component to computer games is a method that attempts to increase exercise compliance among the population. Various attempts at such games have been made, both commercially and as research projects, but the set of studied game mechanics that are both entertaining and provide beneficial exercise are relatively small. In our work, a game mechanic was designed for a floor-based input controller (DDR Pad). Rather than the standard mechanic usually employed for this device, our approach allows the player to explore a virtual world, requiring exertive movements on the input device in order to progress. The exercise is motivated implicitly through the game goals and a mechanism exists to control the pace of the game by monitoring the player's heart rate. In our trials, we have found that the game is engaging for the participants. The game also provides a beneficial level of exercise, with the player's heart rate, on average, rising to a level that constitutes moderate exercise after three minutes and forty seconds, and increasing from thereon.