4,017 research outputs found
Modelling Physical Activity in Virtual Reality Games
This thesis was inspired by the possibility that virtual reality (VR) games, which are designed primarily to be fun, could also provide exercise. It aimed to gain insights about this by exploring whether people can gain beneficial levels of exercise while playing VR games and how they might use VR games for exercise over several weeks. Furthermore, this work also focuses on how the level of physical activity that can be captured during gameplay and how a long-term user model can be created for individual players, as a foundation for supporting the user in gaining personal informatics insights about their exertion as well as being used for personalisation and external recommendation for VR games. The key contributions of this research are: âą The first study of a diverse set of commercial VR games to gain insights about the level of actual and perceived exertion players have. âą The first long-term study of VR games in a sedentary workplace to gain insights about the ways people utilise it and the levels of exertion they gain. âą Based on reflections on the above studies, this thesis presents a framework and guidelines for designing physical activity VR games. âą The systematic creation of a user model for representing a personâs long-term fitness and their VR gameplay, exertion and preferences. âą A study of the ways that people can scrutinise their long-term personal informatics user model of exertion from VR game play and incidental walking. These contributions provide a foundation for future researchers and industry practitioners to design VR games that provide beneficial levels of exertion and allow people to gain insights into the relative contribution of the exercise from gameplay
Games against health: a player-centered design philosophy
This paper announces the âGames Against Healthâ (GAH) research agenda, a criticism of, and response to, the cultural imperialism of the âGames for Healthâ paradigm. Committed to player-centric design ethics, GAH seeks to dismantle the âgames for healthâ myth as neo-liberal elitist diktat. We acknowledge the values, tastes and pleasures of billions of game players worldwide. We argue that game designers should engage more efficiently in the disimprovement of player health and wellbeing in order to cater to those playersâ existing preferences. We hope the paper can serve as a convenient reference for those designing psychotic, sociopathic or antisocial games
Observations on Experience and Flow in Movement-Based Interaction
Movement-based interfaces assume that their users move. Users have to perform exercises, they have to dance, they have to golf or football, or they want to train particular bodily skills. Many examples of those interfaces exist, sometimes asking for subtle interaction between user and interface and sometimes asking for âbrute forceâ interaction between user and interface. Often these interfaces mediate between players of a game. Obviously, one of the players may be a virtual human. We embed this interface research in ambient intelligence and entertainment computing research, and the interfaces we consider are not only mediating, but they also âaddâ intelligence to the interaction. Intelligent movement-based interfaces, being able to know and learn about their users, should also be able to provide means to keep their users engaged in the interaction. Issues that will be discussed in this chapter are âflowâ and âimmersionâ for movement-based interfaces and we look at the possible role of interaction synchrony to measure and support engagement
Comparative Analysis of The Effects Of Virtual Reality Active Video Game And Controller-Free Active Video Game Play On Physiological Response, Perceived Exertion, And Hedonic Experience
Over 60% of US adults are overweight or obese. Sedentary lifestyles are considered major contributors to the high rates and increasing prevalence of obesity. Physical activity is a critical component in shifting from sedentary lifestyles. Studies indicate that less than half of U.S. adults meet the CDC/ACSM physical activity recommendations. Interactive video games can increase PA, but no study has yet assessed physiologic effort, hedonics, and perceived exertion for playing immersive virtual reality (VR) and controller-free screen-based active video games (AVGs), compared to treadmill walking and resting. We ran 25 subjects (9 female, 16 male) in 10-minute sessions of five conditions. Head Mounted Display VR: Oculus (Fruit Ninja and Boxing), Screen-based AVG: Kinect (Fruit Ninja and Boxing), and Treadmill walking at 3 mph. One, six-condition (Rest, Treadmill 3.0, Kinect Boxing, Kinect Fruit Ninja, Oculus Boxing, Oculus Fruit Ninja) repeated-measures ANOVA was used to examine differences in HRmean. Three, five-condition (Treadmill 3.0, Kinect Boxing, Kinect Fruit Ninja, Oculus Boxing, Oculus Fruit Ninja) repeated-measures ANOVA were used to examine differences in HRpeak, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and Hedonics (Liking). Post hoc analyses using pairwise comparisons were used to further assess significant main effects of the condition. A Pearson\u27s product-moment correlation was run to assess the relationship between activity condition HRmean and RPE VR Boxing elicited the greatest physiological effort, producing vigorous-intensity PA. There was no significant difference in average heart rate for the Treadmill, Kinect Fruit Ninja, Kinect Boxing, and VR Fruit Ninja. Thus, the Kinect and VR sport and casual games are comparable to treadmill walking PA levels and qualify as moderate-intensity activity. The VR Fruit Ninja, VR Boxing, Kinect Fruit Ninja were the most enjoyed activities. Despite having the highest Heart rate and the highest self-reported Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE), VR Boxing was significantly more enjoyable than Treadmill Walking. There was no statistically significant correlation between Activity Condition HRmean and RPE. Both casual and sports VR and AVG activities are enjoyable activities for adults, stimulating moderate-to-vigorous activity through a traditionally sedentary medium. This research extends previous works in active video gaming effects on physiological cost, perceived exertion and hedonics and fills the gap relating virtual reality active video games. The significance of the research outcomes is that this analysis provides a scientifically validated approach to support the establishment of physical activity level goals and guidelines in the development of active video games as a response and/or remedy to address the sedentary lifestyles that are contributing to American and global obesity
DESIGNING BETTER EXERGAMES: APPLICATION OF FLOW CONCEPTS AND THE FITT PRINCIPLE TO FULL BODY EXERTION VIDEO GAMES AND FLEXIBLE CHALLENGE SYSTEMS
Exercise video games have a recognized potential for widespread use as tools for effective exercise. Current exergames do not consistently strike a successful balance between the âfun gameplayâ and âeffective exerciseâ aspects of the ideal exergame. Our research into the design of better exergames applies existing gameflow research and established exercise guidelines, such as those published by the American College of Sports Medicine, to a collection of four custom exergames: Astrojumper, Washboard, Sweet Harvest and Legerdemain implement full-body motion mechanics that support different types of exercise, and vary in intended duration of play, game complexity, and level of physical challenge. Each game also implements a difficulty adjustment system that detects player performance from in-game data and dynamically adjusts game difficulty, in order to balance between a playerâs fitness level and the physical challenge presented by the game. We have evaluated the games produced by our design approach through a series of user studies on playersâ physiological and psychological responses to gameplay, finding that balance between challenge types (cognitive or physical) is an important consideration along with challenge-skill balance, and further, that game mechanics able to support creativity of movement are an effective means of bridging between gameplay and exercise in order to improve the player experience
Virtual reality gaming in rehabilitation after musculoskeletal injur: user experience pilot study
The purposes of this study were twofold: (1) to describe a new technological solution for
the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries based on virtual reality (VR) gaming, and (2) to analyze
the variation in rated perceived exertion (RPE) and heart rate (HR) of the participants when
undergoing a rehabilitation session based on different VR games. Thirty-seven participants aged
23.7 ± 7.0 years tested during five customized VR games to provide a complete rehabilitation session
after a musculoskeletal injury. The results of the Friedman test indicated a statistically significant
difference in RPE scale and HR across the five VR games throughout a complete rehabilitation
session (Ï2 (4, n = 35) = 75.59; p < 0.001 and Ï2 (4, n = 35) = 27.75, p < 0.001, respectively). RPE and HR
increased significantly from Game 1 to Game 2 (z = â5.16, p < 0.001), from Game 1 to Game 3 (z = â
5.05, p < 0.001), from Game 1 to Game 4 (z = â4.87, p < 0.001), and from Game 1 to Game 5 (z = â3.61,
p < 0.001). Moreover, the results showed a high perceived usability of the system, greater intrinsic
motivation to perform the rehabilitation exercises, a high level of immersion, and a good experience
in the VR gaming environment. Our study stimulates extended intervention programs following up on this immersive virtual reality rehabilitation system to support soccer players recovering from
musculoskeletal injuries.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
VR-Hiking: Physical Exertion Benefits Mindfulness and Positive Emotions in Virtual Reality
Exploring the great outdoors offers physical and mental health benefits. Hiking is healthy, provides a sense of accomplishment, and offers an opportunity to relax. However, a nature trip is not always possible, and there is a lack of evidence showing how these beneficial experiences can be replicated in Virtual Reality (VR). In response, we recruited (N=24) participants to explore a virtual mountain landscape in a within-subjects study with different levels of exertion: walking, using a chairlift, and teleporting. We found that physical exertion when walking produced significantly more positive emotions and mindfulness than other conditions. Our research shows that physically demanding outdoor activities in VR can be beneficial for the user and that the achievement of hiking up a virtual mountain on a treadmill positively impacts wellbeing. We demonstrate how physical exertion can be used to add mindfulness and positive affect to VR experiences and discuss consequences for VR designers
Efficacy of augmented reality-based virtual hiking in cardiorespiratory endurance: a pilot study
Exergames can be used to overcome a sedentary lifestyle. Virtual Reality (VR) has made exergames
successful, and they can be used to increase heart rate, but some limitations are found, such as the adaptation
of the heart rate in exergames to the player's fitness profile. VR technology has been used to simulate virtual
cycling and walking experiences. We designed and developed an exergame' Virtual Levadas' in a cave-based
VR environment to simulate the Levadas hiking tracks. They are the main attraction for tourists in Madeira
Island, Portugal. This study's main objective was to assess player exertion, usability, participation, and realism
of the simulation of the Levadas tracks. We performed this study with 13 participants who played Virtual
Levadas for 6 minutes and found a significant increase in player's average physical activity and heart rate.
Overall, our results demonstrate that Virtual Levada's exergame provides a higher exertion level, immersion,
and realism of the virtual environment than the literature.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
- âŠ