Sunday, March 16, 2014

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?


Check out after the jump for more photos of the installation

Saturday, March 15, 2014

CHI 2014 #Exergaming Papers

Here are some of the papers that involve exergames, exergaming, or exertion games and interfaces for the upcoming CHI 2014 Conference in Toronto, Canada (April 26 - May 1, 2014).

Effects of Balancing for Physical Abilities on Player Performance, Experience and Self-Esteem in Exergames

    Kathrin M Gerling-Interaction Lab, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
    Matthew Miller-University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
    Regan L Mandryk-University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
    Max V Birk-University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
    Jan D Smeddinck-Digital Media Research Group, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
      
  • Game balancing can help players with different skill levels play multiplayer games together; however, little is known about how the balancing approach affects performance, experience, and self-esteem–especially when differences in player strength result from given abilities, rather than learned skill. We explore three balancing approaches in a dance game and show that the explicit approach commonly used in commercial games reduces self-esteem and feelings of relatedness in dyads, whereas hidden balancing improves self-esteem and reduces score differential without affecting game outcome. We apply our results in a second study with dyads where one player had a mobility disability and used a wheelchair. By making motion-based games accessible for people with different physical abilities, and by enabling people with mobility disabilities to compete on a par with able-bodied peers, we show how to provide empowering experiences through enjoyable games that have the potential to increase physical activity and self-esteem.

    “Healthifying” Exergames: Improving Health Outcomes through Intentional Priming-- Paper

  • Frank X ChenComputer Science Department, Stanford University, Palo Alto, United StatesAbby C KingSchool of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, United StatesEric B HeklerSchool of Nutrition and Health Promotion, Arizona State University, Phoenix, United States

  • Exergames, video game systems that require exertion and interaction, have been rising in popularity in the past years. However, research on popular exergames shows mixed health benefits, potentially due to minimal energy expenditure and decreasing use over time. This paper presents a 2x2 experimental study (N = 44), using a popular exergame, where we vary the framing of intention (i.e., “Gameplay” or “Exercise”) and feedback (i.e., “Health” or “No health”) to explore their single and interactive impacts on perceived exertion, objectively measured energy expenditure, affect, and duration of usage in a single session. Our study showed that participants primed with exercise used the system significantly longer than those primed with game play (M = 49.2 ±2.0 min versus M = 39.3 ±2.0 min). We discuss our results and possible design implications based on our single-session experiment. We conclude with a discussion on the potential impact of focusing on “healthifying” exergames—highlighting an exergames’ dual purpose as both a game and exercise—as opposed to gamifying health behaviors.
  • Exergaming,Priming,Persuasive Technology,Fitness

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Friday, March 14, 2014

Blue Goji #Exergame System Adds New Games (iPad)



Newly added games to Blue Goji's mobile exergaming system (iPad) gives it a total of 15 mini-games. (Full Disclosure: I have received two Goji Play units to test and have been reviewing the games). The new games include Plunder Pit, Trivia, and The Experiment to go along with Spin or Die, Smash the Blocks, Try Your Luck: Casino, Beat Drop, Fisticuffs, Ralaga, Riptide, Shine Runner, APO Snow, Goji Reader, and Super Moto X. Although I love the games, the prospect of reading RSS feeds while pedaling is very intriguing. Check back for more information and reviews of this speed-mediated gaming (SMG) system. (Images and video via Blue Goji). 






Click through to see the rest of screenshots...

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Oculus Rift + Leap Motion = Shark Punch + Game of Thrones #Exergaming VR

Time highlighted the Oculus Rift paired with a Leap Motion sensor to give you your best shot at beating up a great white shark. Virtual Reality superstar Oculus Rift also wowed the crowd at #SXSW incorporating their virtual-reality headset into a Game of Thrones like simulation of "the elevators that carry soldiers on the show's massive, icy wall."
The visuals are built using a gaming engine, and the booth's floor and walls are equipped with rumble packs that help create the illusion of movement. A set of air vents complete the experience, flicking on and off to cool the temperature and give the sense that the wearer has, indeed, exited the elevator into a howling wind above. - via CNN
Nobody is commenting on whether or not these mini-games will ever see commercial licensing, but at least they were fun to play for those that got the opportunity to be completely immersed (visually, auditory, tactile) in an engaging scenario.



Oculus Rift and Leap Motion Combine for Virtual Reality Shark Punching - TIME: "promo video"

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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Go Dance with Sega's Free Mobile App #Exergaming

Sega America released a free iOS mobile #exergame app called Go Dance in September 2013 but this weeks its free, so grab it before it goes back to $1.99. Using the iOS device camera and Extreme Reality's Extreme Motion SDK, Go Dance detects the players movements and awards points on how accurate the moves were to the game's sequence.

Exergaming Points @ Ponder (ExP2P)
  • One of the screenshots says that Go Dance is the world's first Dance game for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch devices with cameras, but its not the only one. Konami released their version a while back called DDR Pocket Edition but instead of using the camera, the iOS device has to be held while dancing in order to detect steps roughly in time with the DDR arrows scrolling on screen.
  • Given the two different games, I would lean in favor of using the camera option with Go Dance as holding the device while danceing is just waiting for a disaster to happen...especially with students.
  • It would be great to use your own songs to dance to and choreograph your own moves like in Exergame Station.
  • Judging by the number of ratings, Sega Go Dance has nearly 1000 ratings whereas Konami's DDR Pocket Edition has only 13, it appears the "people have spoken".....especially considering Pocket Edition is a free app.


Check out after the jump for the rest of the screenshots.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Moving More With @TouchMagix Wall in India

If there's one place where exergaming is definitely a good alternative to just sitting, its in a fast-food restaurant. Using a TouchMagix Interactive Wall (Full Disclosure: I am on Advisory Board Member to Exergame Fitness/Motion Fitness), content was specifically created for a McDonald's in India. From Rock 'N Fries, to Enjoy Party with a Coke, players need to move their Rockin' Ronnie to collect the falling objects (on screen).  I'm not one to advocate going to a fast-food restaurant and supporting food advertising to children, but if a parent has already brought you there to eat..... as long as you're there...you might as well get a little more activity.

Exergaming Points 2 Ponder (ExP2P)
  • Looking at the videos, it appears that the players are really close to the screen and I'm wondering if the sensor could be placed further back so that they won't have to have their neck/head in the extended position looking up the wall to see the objects.


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