Nike House of Deadly: Stadium #Exergame Installation

Playing football (soccer) is hard enough when you're playing against humans, and now with this Nike House of Deadly stadium installation, you get to learn what its like to face a computer in a virtually immersive #exergaming environment. BBH Asia Pacific created the a virtual- meets- physical football game for a single player to launch the NIKE Hypervenom football boot in Asia.

Using software from Arstic and infrared cameras to detect ball and player movements, a customized experience was developed to have players avoid the lights shining down on the surface of the mini-pitch and shoot at periodically flashing targets on the side walls. Would you like to try this #exergame installation for yourself, your soccer team, or PE class?

Via Digital Buzz

Check out after the jump for more photos of the installation

Move + Kinect = iDong

 News: This is What Move's and Kinect's Children Would Look Like: " [Via Techon]

At the China Hi-Tech Fair, the hybrid motion gaming controller "i-dong" (AKA knock-off), developed by Taishan Online Technology Co Ltd, showcased its use on a PC and as an STB (set-top box) for playing games.

The i-dong consists of a sensor unit to be used with a display and a dedicated controller to be held by the user. The sensor unit is connected to a PC or an STB via USB and powered via it. Price US $220. 

While presenting at the 2009 Korea Serious Games Festival I saw a ton of game controllers/remote controllers.

Battle Tag Brings Exergaming Outdoors and Console Free

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Play laser tag outdoors (FPS, Survival mode) or anywhere you want or even biatholon using Ubisoft's newest exergame - Battle Tag. At E3 last night, they unveiled exergaming's newest entry into an ever changing user interface market. In how Ubisoft describes Battle Tag as the first Live Shooter Game (LSG), the infrared (IR) lasers have a 70 meter range while the pc base needs to stay within a range of 300 meters in order to keep track of the game using the UbiConnect antennae.  You can pick up health, ammunition, or objective packs to keep your game going and they are scanned using the RFID sensors placed in both the gun and packs. This is somewhat reminiscent of Hyper Dash, Hyper Jump, Animal Scramble from Wild Entertainment  and an FRID toy called Swinxs that is finally available in the US. It would be neat to test all three systems to compare what kids like about each system. If you know someone that can get us a test kit - please get in touch with me at exergamelab@gmail.com. 
Other features include:

• UbiConnect Game Master program & antennae
• Up to 8 players can play together (4 v 4)
• User-generated data shared with Battle Tag community
• Laser sensing vests
• Voice prompting from Game Master transmitted via the laser gun's speakers

Exergaming Benefits

• Physical activity (primarily cardiovascular) away from a console.
• If most of the movements are near maximal and in short bursts, it could be one of the elusive exergames that elicit the vigorous intensity level that has shown to have excellent health benefits.
• Choice of many types of games and challenges.
• Social interaction with peers while playing and after receiving results.
• Strategies (individual and group) and group dynamics.
• Problem-solving during game-play.

Exergaming Concerns

• If we really want the kids to get outdoors, they probably should focus on making this game/ type of exergame a mobile-based system (think Jogging at Distance)  or one that can leave the range of UbiConnect and continue to be able play. Similar to some wireless real-time heart-rate monitors that leave the base range and continue to collect data - then when you get back in range, the data is streamed to the base.
• Tethered to the UbiConnect base (300m).
• "Shooting" / using humans as targets.
• Batteries and charging system.

Unverified

• Any haptic feedback in vest or gun?
• GPS / mobile systems in development? 
• Customizable games and features?
• Language packs?

Release date Holiday Season 2010.  I know what I'm going to ask Santa for this Christmas:-) Tag On!

UBISOFT BRINGS TOGETHER TOYS AND VIDEOGAMES WITH BATTLE TAG

Los Angeles, USA – June 14, 2010 –Today live at the E3 exposition in Los Angeles, Ubisoft demonstrated a unique new brand of video game toys. The new UbiConnect^TM brand brings video games and toys together to offer an immersive and innovative game experience. The brand launches in holiday 2010 with its first product, Battle Tag^TMa real shooter game that can be played between friends anywhere – at home or outside.

Battle Tagcombines the best of two worlds: a laser tag game and a shooter video game. Using unique real world accessories, players will be able to recharge and increase their life points. The PC will act as a Game Master, challenging players and keeping track of scores between teams. Players will also be able to download new content, create their own content and share with their friends and the Battle Tagcommunity.

“Today’s children grow up with video games and accept them as a part of their play time,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft. “UbiConnect brings together video games and physical toys, allowing players to play the game both at and away from a video screen.”

Battle Tagis a social, physical and fun experience that brings the interactivity of video games into real life using real world toys and accessories. Battle Tag will launch across North America during this fiscal year.

For more information on Battle Tag, please visit: www.battle-tag.com

Posted via web from ExerGame Lab's posterous

Tony Hawk's Ride: Hosoi & Rodriguez Guest Appearance (E3)

Call it karma, call it lucky, call it whatever you want. Seeing an astonishing young looking Christian Hosoi in the game trailer really made me sit-up and think of all the sick tricks we tried as kids back in the day.

In my previous post about the upcoming Ride game, I must have had a serious case of cosmic karma:

Now to dig out my closet and dust off my my Van's and find my Christian Hosoi and Mark Fawcett signed boards to re-live some glory days, wipeouts and old scars

Check out more game pics at Joystiq

And here is the rest of it.

Skate or Die: Tony Hawk going wireless

Tony Hawk Ride will come with a new wireless skateboard peripheral on its release June 2, 2009 (thride.com) . Despite having Wii games that use the Balance Board (like Shaun White's Snowboarding) Tony Hawk's game will require just the new controller to play. Built into the board is are two accelerometers and four other "motion sensors". According to reposts, the motion sensors are infra-red to detect board pick-ups and when you're foot hits the ground/carpet next to the board. Now to dig out my closet and dust off my my Van's and find my Christian Hosoi and Mark Fawcett signed boards to re-live some glory days, wipeouts and old scars.

Turns out the motion controls are quite detailed, and in advanced modes even allow for in-place 180s, but nothing seems to involve lifting the board actually off the ground. Grabs can be performed by actually grabbing the edge of the board, with infrared sensors picking up your hand position, and pushing is performed by running your foot along the side of the board. Ollies and flip tricks are obviously going to be a bit different than the real deal, while manuals and steering are pretty much spot on, and apparently there's a lot of choice as to how much "realism" you'd like in controlling the thing. Tony Hawk also sees the controller as a "standard," which could work with snowboarding games, surfing games, exercise games and other assorted cash cows for Activision.

[Via Ubergizmo, Kotaku, Tampa Bay Online News]

"Bouncing Star" rubber ball

As more and more developers work towards melding games and electronics, we're bound to see many more projects like this Bouncing Star which was presented at SIGGAPH 2008. In some ways it kind of reminds me of the Lacoste video and FiiWa we mentioned earlier. It looks like the accelerometer in the ball senses movement/acceleration and changes color and the ball can be played on it's own or with an interactive floor. Using the IR sensors to interact with the "digital court" with motion graphics or other interactive functions. Let the Night Games Begin!
[Via Gizmodo]