Designing an effective exergame with lasting entertainment value

Kristoffer Hagen and Stian Weie

Supervisors: Letizia Jaccheri and Konstantinos Chorianopoulos

letiziajaccheri.org

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space

bodycomputer

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The way I see it – Electroboutique 2010

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Sonic Onyx – an interactive sound installation in a school playground 2007

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Trå for vann – Experts in team project 2012

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ICEC 2015 Trondheim 30 Sep – 2 October

• International Conference on Entertainment Computing• http://ICEC2015.info

• Floyd Mueller keynote on Exergames • http://exertiongameslab.org/

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Motivation

• In the last five years alone, average computer use in youths has increased by 40 minutes a day, or the equivalent of 240 hours a year.

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Exergame

• A term used for video games that are also a form of exercise

• One primary goal of exergaming is to get children or adults "off the couch" and more active.

• The first commercially available exergame, Computrainer, was created in 1986, since then many more, both commercial and experimental exergames have been developed

• Large diversity in the games created

Cycling simulators

Wii Fit

Dance Dance Revolution

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Paperdude

Table Tennis for Three

Efficacy of exergames

Metabolic equivalent of task (MET) for a sample of exergames

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Questions

• What features are important in an exergame in order to make it a healthy and sustainable exercise option?

• How can the gameplay provide incentive for further play once the novelty wears off?

• What exercise equipment is best suited for this, and how should such a prototype be designed and evaluated?

• Can long-term use of exergames help prevent lifestyle diseases?

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Our project

• Exergame with focus on lasting entertainment value

• Bike with buttons mounted on the handlebar for performing in-game actions (steering, shooting, etc.)

• Game based on the features of today's popular games

• Our target group is people (mainly youths) who play a significant amount of video games

Dual Flow

Features in today's top 10 most popular video games

Features in a selection of commercial and experimental exergames

Prototype

Core features in our exergame Pedal Tanks

• Cooperative• Online multiplayer• Persistence• Competetive• Real time• Depth / complexity• 3 dimentional

• Lower body muscles• Hands available for

precise controls• Interval driven

gameplay• Physical prowess an

advantage but not the deciding factor

Initial reception

Conclusions and further work

• Longitudinal study on the health benefits of exergames• Maintaining adherence once the novelty wears off• Intervention study on the energy expenditure during

regular use

"While these results are promising, there is a need for larger and better trials. Future work should explore mechanisms present in games that make them more appealing than traditional exercise to inform game design. Research should also examine long term effects of exergame use, and unpack how long term behaviour change can be encouraged once the novelty of a game has worn off." -Douglass-Bonner and Potts 2013