I was out for a walk at lunchtime and suddenly was aware of a perceptible in my posture. Was it that it was a fine day, the birds were singing and spring was in full bloom? Or was it wishful thinking after a number of days of Wii Fit play? I can’t objectively say, but it is something I will look out for.
Having been enthusiastically working my was through the various Wii Fit activities, I suddenly wondered “Where’s the training schedule?” Whilst the guidance given when performing the various activities is very helpful and readily picks up where you are going wrong – there does not appear to be a specific “Programme”/”Program”! Has personal interest replaced the personal trainer or am I missing something? Perhaps this is a subtle (or not so subtle) to place the player very much in control?
It is a few years ago now, but at one time I was a pretty proficient Alpine Skier. I was a keen arm chair fan of Ski Jumping – but have always wanted a go. Anyway, thanks Wii Fit, one of the balance games is “Virtual” ski jumping. The game appears a very good simulation and an understanding of the sport definitely appears to help. Anyway, having regularly managed to jump over 150 metre, I have reached the rank of “Professional”.
Despite getting my hands on a Wii Fit when the shops opened at 9:00 am this morning, it was straight to the lab to set it up for GamesLab 2008. Whilst I glances enviously as the students in my class put it through its paces, it wasn’t till this evening that I finally stepped on…
I was barely into the balance tests, when an obvious weakness in my right ankle was picked up. I had sprained it whilst out running 5 days previously. To be honest, I was pretty tired from being on my feet all day and didn’t really do that well at all.
Today was a very exciting day. It was the Europe-wide launch of the Wii Fit balance board and associated games. A couple of months of careful planning came to fruition. I organised a Games Lab for my final year undergraduate students as part of a module on Physical Activity and Health Promotion. In order to enhance research-teaching linkages, I was able to devise a small study to assess the physical exertion in terms of heart rate of a variety of different ExerGames. The students moved round in a randomised order, different stations which included two Wii Fit games, two EyeToy games, a dance mat and control conditions of a walk on a treadmill and a coventional video game.
Although very much a preliminary study, was this a first? What about the first university course to study the Wii Fit?
Whilst waiting for an imminent new product launch, I managed to take a brief fly through a virtual island in Second Life that has been developed by students taking a multi-media design course at my institution. I had already seen a live demo of some of features, one of which was a virtual gaming centre. Another was a dance zone which helpfully applies some dancing animation to any avatar willing to accept it. However, I had a bit of difficulty stopping it and continued my travels round the island to a certain dance beat. I managed to email myself a couple of virtual postcards (screen shots) back from Second Life and they are shown below.
It got me thinking. What if rather than simply been able to zoom effortlessly through the Second Life terrain, some physical effort on the part of the real world user could be incorporated?
I am just putting the finishing touches to my presentation for the forthcoming Games for Health conference. I am very excited about it as there will be a good number of ExerGaming researchers there. My talk will be based on a review of several studies that have been undertaken in my research lab. Pooling the results has given me new insight into some of the factors that make a “good” ExerGame.
Two days to go to the Europe wide launch of the Wii Fit balance board. I didn’t manage to get hold of a preview version, so the next best thing is having one on reserve at a local store. I intend to pick it up as soon as the store opens and take it straight into the the exercise physiology laboratory.
An invite to the launch of a book at the science museum in London reminded me that it has now been published. It is titled “Powering Up: Are Computer Games Changing Our Lives?” by Rebecca Mileham. Link to publisher’s page. The author interviewed me last autumn for a chapter on ExerGaming. A review will follow when I get my hand’s on a copy.