Mobile exergaming in adolescents’ everyday life—contextual design of where, when, with whom, and how: the SmartLife case

Exergames, more specifically console-based exergames, are generally enjoyed by adolescents and known to increase physical activity. Nevertheless, they have a reduced usage over time and demonstrate little effectiveness over the long term. In order to increase playing time, mobile exergames may increase potential playing time, but need to be engaging and integrated in everyday life. The goal of the present study was to examine the context of gameplay for mobile exergaming in adolescents’ everyday life to inform game design and the integration of gameplay into everyday life. Eight focus groups were conducted with 49 Flemish adolescents (11 to 17 years of age). The focus groups were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed by means of thematic analysis via Nvivo 11 software (QSR International Pty Ltd., Victoria, Australia). The adolescents indicated leisure time and travel time to and from school as suitable timeframes for playing a mobile exergame. Outdoor gameplay should be restricted to the personal living environment of adolescents. Besides outdoor locations, the game should also be adaptable to at-home activities. Activities could vary from running outside to fitness exercises inside. Furthermore, the social context of the game was important, e.g., playing in teams or meeting at (virtual) meeting points. Physical activity tracking via smart clothing was identified as a motivator for gameplay. By means of this study, game developers may be better equipped to develop mobile exergames that embed gameplay in adolescents’ everyday life

Mobile Kinetic and Physiological Interaction for Persuasive Health

Many industrialized societies are observing the effects of an increasingly sedentary lifestyle on the health of their populations and are actively seeking ways of encouraging physical activity to promote better health and well being that are relevant to their population lifestyles. The increasing ubiquity and sensor enhancement of mobile phones coupled with the emergence of personal heart rate monitors, aimed at dedicated amateur runners, means there is now a possibility to develop persuasive mobile health applications that promote personal well being through the use of real-time physiological data and kinetic interaction so that users can better reflect on their levels of physical activity and may ultimately persuade them to adopt a healthier lifestyle. In this paper we examine the effectiveness on player heart rate and usability of different combinations of physiological and kinetic interaction with a mobile ‘exergame’ which forms part of novel mobile persuasive health application. In addition to the exergame the application enables users to monitor, record and improve their fitness level through in built-in cardio-respiratory tests, location tracking for analyzing heart rate exertion over time and location. The results not only highlight the potential for encouraging greater physical activity in a novel and fun way but also highlight the potential benefits of using mobile phones for the health monitoring of patients outside the traditional hospital environment