Kung Fu High Impact on Kinect for Xbox 360 Transforms You into a True Martial Arts Superstar

Image via Gamepress

The Finnish project formerly known as Kick-Ass Kung Fu has made another big jump in terms of making a real and marketable product from its humbler origins as a concept and project at an academic institution. The last incarnation made it big as a PlayStation Network (http://www.kungfulivegame.com/) downloadable game but the current version is getting charged for an Xbox 360 Kinect release for Europe and the Americas in time for Christmas.  Now its really time to clear out the furniture!

Kung Fu High Impact is the first of its kind for Kinect for Xbox 360--a side-scrolling brawler that uses the peripheral's incredibly accurate body tracking technology to insert the real image of the player on screen. The gamer will be literally transported into the action, as he or she will be able to see real-life combat movements interacting with the enemies and objects on screen.

[Via Gamasutra Kung Fu High Impact on Kinect for Xbox 360 Transforms You into a True Martial Arts Superstar]

Related articles

• Kung-Fu Live comes to Kinect as 'Kung Fu High Impact' (joystiq.com)

Is Basis the Best Fitness Monitor?

Is this another fitness watch or something more like a wrist-based monitor a la BodyMedia's SenseWear Armband?   Pulse Tracer will soon be releasing their Basis, a watch monitor that packs in a bunch of sensors that monitor not just movement but heart rate, temperature and skin response.The company recently announced the raising of $9 million in funding from Norwest Venture Partners and DCM. Can't wait to get this one in the lab to compare to the Armband.

Announced features and sensors:

• Price $199
• Accelerometer (presumably triaxial)
• Galvanic skin response
• Skin temperature
• Optical blood flow 
• Online tools to manage and analyze (and share) data. Think mini PHR/EHR 

[Via GigaOm: Basis Building the Ultimate Watch Fitness Monitor]

Exergaming Heart Rate and Perceived Exertion Self-Selected Intensities (study)

Abstract
Exergames may be useful for promoting physical activity in younger populations. Heart rate (HRs) responses and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) at self-selected intensities were compared in college-age participants during 2 modes of exergame activity vs. traditional exercise. Thirty-seven participants (men: 20, women: 17) completed 3 30-minute self-selected intensity trials: (a) video game interactive bicycle ergometer (GB) (CatEye GB300), (b) interactive video dance game (Dance Dance Revolution [DDR]), and (c) traditional cycle ergometer (CE) while watching television. Mean HR, peak HR (PkHR), and minutes above target HR (THR) were significantly higher for GB (144 ± 22 b·min⁻¹ [57% HR reserve (HRR)], 161 ± 23 b·min⁻¹, and 22.5 ± 11.1 minutes) than for DDR (119 ± 16 b·min⁻¹ [37% HRR], 138 ± 20 b·min⁻¹, and 11.2 ± 11.9 minutes) or for CE (126 ± 20 b·min⁻¹ [42% HRR], 144 ± 24 b·min⁻¹, and 14.2 ± 12.6 minutes). The RPE was significantly higher for GB (4.2 ± 1.5) and CE (3.8 ± 1.2) than for DDR (2.7 ± 1.3). Recovery HR (RecHR) (15 minutes postexercise) was significantly higher for GB (91 ± 14 b·min⁻¹) than for DDR (80 ± 11 b·min⁻¹) and neared significance vs. CE (84 ± 14 b·min⁻¹, p = 0.059). No difference in PkHR, RecHR, or minutes above THR was observed between DDR and CE. Session RPE was significantly higher for GB (4.6 ± 1.7) and CE (4.1 ± 1.6) than for DDR (2.8 ± 1.5). All modes elicited extended proportions of time above THR; GB: 75%, DDR: 37%, and CE: 47%. Results support that exergames are capable of eliciting physiological responses necessary for fitness improvements. Practitioners might consider exergames as periodic activity options for clients needing motivation to be regularly active.


Kraft JA, Russell WD, Bowman TA, Selsor CW 3rd, & Foster GD (2011). Heart rate and perceived exertion during self-selected intensities for exergaming compared to traditional exercise in college-age participants. Journal of strength and conditioning research / National Strength & Conditioning Association, 25 (6), 1736-42 PMID: 21386720


Click here for more studies in the ExerGame Lab archives. 

Games For Health 2011 (Cover It Live)

Check out the latest updates from the 2011 Games for Health Conference. I am sitting at the front of the the Ludica Medica I room talking about Games vs. Simulators: The Great Debate.

Click here for more studies involving screen-time in the ExerGame Lab archives. 

Re-Step for better balance. Motorized shoes create uncertain footing.

Glasgow's University of Strathclyde in collaboration with Israeli medical products company Step of Mind Ltd. (SoM) are making a product that forces users to be more attentive while walking. This deliberate focus on staying upright and keeping in balance while the motors force imbalance is the key foundation behing Chaos Theory. They remind me of my children's beginner rollerskates, but as a home product this innovation might extend the ability for therapists to prescribe routines and exercises and speed up the rehab process.


Be sure to check out the Rehabilitation track 2011 Games for Health Conference

This is your brain on exergames! Effects of exergaming on cognitive control (study)

What are the effects of single bouts of aerobic exercise, exergaming, and videogame play on task performance and neuroelectric indices of inhibitory aspects of cognitive control?


Details:

• 36 college students (18 female, 18 male)
• Wii Fit (6 minutes each game = Aerobic Step, Rhythm Boxing, Hula-Hoop) & and 20 minute bouts on MarioKart, treadmill walking and seated rest.

Findings

• Heart-rate
• Treadmill (117 bpm) > Wii Fit (115 bmp) > MarioKart (82 bpm)
• NSD in heart-rate between treadmill and Wii Fit.
• Response Time
• Single bout of treadmill exercise might reduce response time interference by 10% suggesting enhanced cognitive control through management of conflict in the stimulus environment."

Exergaming Questions/Potentials

• Using exergames that require more dynamic game environments and game play (stimulus) might mimic the effects only found in the treadmill condition. 
• Perhaps more intense levels of treadmill and exergaming might illicit more favorable changes to response time and inhibitory control.
• Did the variable nature of the exergames place greater demands on cognitive control thus reducing the chances of see changes in response time and inhibitory control?

O’Leary, K., Pontifex, M., Scudder, M., Brown, M., & Hillman, C. (2011). The effects of single bouts of aerobic exercise, exergaming, and videogame play on cognitive control Clinical Neurophysiology DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2011.01.049


Be sure to check out the 2011 Games for Health Conference track on Cognitive Training

Click here for more on cognitive function in the ExerGame Lab archives.