The Quest for the Perfect ExerGame

Failte gu Alba (Scots Gaelic for “Welcome to Scotland”) greeted me as I arrived in Glasgow yesterday morning. It was my fifth language (after French, Swedish and German) in as many days! When I finally got home I managed to unpack my case and have something to eat before heading to bed to catch up on sleep. I just didn’t have the energy to check out the Wii Fit. I slept solidly and woke refreshed this morning and started up the console this morning…

“Well… if it isn’t DrAT! Nice to see you again! It’s been 29 days since our last session.”

“By the way, I recently heard someone commenting that you looked more toned! I can’t tell you who I heard it from… But I can honestly say that I sensed that about you as well.”

Funny thing, my wife said the same thing just over 12 hours previously! So I had manage to spend 3 weeks in North America without being “Supersized”!

Today was my last day in Banff and the weather forecast was for sunshine. I awoke to mist, so wasn’t too optimistic, but a quick check on the webcam on the top of Sulphur Mountain confirmed clear blue skies. The local bus up to the gondola station was busy. On arrival, everybody piled off and headed for the terminal. I checked my kit, admired the view and set off up the 5 km Sulphur Mountain trail. It was fairly easy going at first and then began to steepen and zig-zag under the gondola wires. It wasn’t long before I reached some patches of snow.

With all the gondolas whisking past overhead carry their passengers up the 700 m ascent in 8 minutes, I began to think that maybe I would have been better taking a ride? No, I was heading up to what would be the highest point to date that I have stood on the planet earth (2256 m) and I was going to earn it. I pressed out, boosted by the breathtaking scenery and the abundant wildlife. One walker passed me and I caught up some others. Finally I arrived at the top station, some 87 minutes behind those who travelled up with me  on the bus.

The view from the top was amazing and well worth the climb. I very much enjoyed my climb and felt all the better for it. I had scaled new heights and on the way thought about a couple of ideas of how to make exercise the “Easy Option”. Oh, and I was CAN$26 better off!

But perhaps my story illustrates just how difficult the exercise option may actually or perceived to be for many people.

After enjoying the view and the summit wildlife, I left the “Tourists” behind and headed down the trail on the other side of the mountain into the wilderness. This chapter of the “Quest for the Perfect ExerGame” had come to a close.

So for now, enjoy the view…

Report from symposium entitled “Active Computer Games as a Tool to Promote Physical Activity Among Children” at the ISBNPA annual conference 2008. ISBNPA stands for the “International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity” (bit of a mouthful). Around 40 researchers in the field physical activity behavior attended the symposium. Dr Ingrid Bakker (chair) gave a brief introduction and then it was on to the first presentation.

Dr Alasdair Thin presented a review of a number of studies he has conducted into various different genres of “Active Video Games” and highlighted the features that tend to maximize the oxygen consumption and hence energy expenditure required to play them. He included a number of brief video clips to illustrate the games and these were well received by the audience, even provoking several periods of laughter (must be on to something here!).

Monique Simons followed on in a similar manner, with energy expenditure data from another set of active video games, again with a degree of variation in the physical exertion required to play them. In addition, she had studied periods of free play, where the children could choose which games to play. Feedback from the participants revealed that a the games that were most attractive incorporated a degree of challenge or competition that was neither too easy nor too difficult, but well matched to the player’s ability.

Dr Antonio Palmeira then described an intervention using “Active Video Games” in overweight adolescents. Conventional treatments had failed the patients and this was seen pretty much as a last resort. However, it was deliberately decided not to focus on weight loss, but rather behavioral change. The introduction of “Active Video Games” resulted in an increase in physical activity in parallel with a reduction in sedentary behavior. Whilst it is early days, this finding is a promising start.

Dr Bakker gave the last presentation on “Computer Technology in Outdoor Playgrounds”. She described a number of recent innovations and gave qualitative data on how they were received by the children. It was immediately apparent that different games appealed to different age groups and that there were distinct differences between primary school year groups. However, as the novelty of the games wore off over time, the games lost their popularity in favor of traditional activities.

A lively discussion followed the presentations and their were both positive and negative comments. Two key issues were how much of the participation effect is due to a “novelty factor” and would “Active Video Games” just “steal” physical activity time from more traditional play activities? To counter this, the early state of the field was acknowledged and the potential for “Active Video Games” to adapt to the player’s ability and move away from a “one size fits all”. Also there was recognition of the wider context of such games including networked games, leagues and other incentive schemes.

In closing, the symposium was attended by some established researchers in the physical activity behavior field and whilst there was a degree of healthy skepticism, a challenge was put down to prove them wrong. Therefore the quest continues…

L to R: Alasdair Thin, Ingrid Bakker, Antonio Palmeira & Monique Simons

The ISBNPA conference closed this afternoon and after an intense 3 days, it was time to get some air. Despite being rather cold and raining, I put on my running shoes and headed off on a trail into the forest. Immediately I began to relax and became absorbed in my surroundings. Having spent a good deal of my youth running around various forests in Europe whilst competing in orienteering competitions, I very much felt “at home”. There was however one very important exception. There were scratches on the bark on the lower half of the trees alongside the trail, which I presume was the local bear marking out his territory! Then I remembered that if needs must, run downhill…

Suddenly I felt very much more physically alive and was reminded of a Finnish saying that roughly translates as “Forest is Life”. I began to reflect on what it was that was so absorbing in the forest compared to plodding along a road or sidewalk/footpath? 

Was I in the “Flow” state? Could I learn from my experience and apply it to “ExerGames”?

So was it that you can’t ever see too far into the distance and therefore can only focus on the moment? In fact you need to keep one eye on what is immediately in front so that you don’t trip up, step in a deep puddle or fall in a bog!

Was it the way the light and textures continually change as move along to create a very visually stimulating tapestry? Was it the calmness and lack of distraction from vehicles and engine noises?

Was it the fresh, exhilarating “natural” smell? Since you can’t see too far into the distance, was it the air of uncertainty/expectation as to what might be round the next corner? (a bear perhaps?)

Clearly, there were many things contributing to the “Flow” experience, but I think that I can take something from it as I continue my quest for the “Perfect ExerGame”.

I am currently in Banff, Alberta, Canada at the International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity’s Annual Conference 2008 and will be speaking as part of a symposium on “ExerGaming” / “Active Video Games” tomorrow morning. In the meantime I have been attending several sessions around the environmental factors that affect human behavior including the provision of public parks, play areas and the ability to move around on foot.

Whilst it is good that these important factors are now being properly considered, my perception as to how they are presented is that they are fairly passive or benign in their influence on human physical activity behavior.

Contrast this to technology which may have a much more active and dynamic influence on behavior. I had an interesting discussion over lunch with somebody with an IT background who graphically described what he termed the “BlackBerry Twitch” every time a user received a new message. As such technologies become widely adopted, they have the potential to result in significant change in human behavior.

Over the years I have become rather attached to a number of small rectangular pieces of plastic with a small micro chip embedded in them. For a good few years now, the UK has had a “chip and pin” system where you use a pin number rather than sign to authorize payment transactions. Mobile terminals and cashier-less facilities are commonplace in a number of settings.

Traveling round the US, the reversion to a signature felt uncomfortable and provoked feelings of separation as I handed over my card, albeit temporarily, to effect payment. I was therefore surprised to see a chip and pin terminal here in Banff, but to my astonishment it was only for debit and not credit cards. So yet again I felt somewhat anxious as I offered up my card.

So whilst the rate of technology adoption may be highly variable, we must not underestimate the potential impact on human behavior and that it may occur, often over a short time scale.

There have been quite a few news items on “ExerGaming” in which my work has featured, often alongside that of others. It gives a good flavor of what I am up to and how the various media perceive the field.

Animation World Magazine

The Wii Workout: Getting Healthy Through Gameplay

March 31, 2008. By Janet Hetherington

http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=3594&page=1

seattlepi.com

Live Interview

May 9, 2008. By Videoblogging 206

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/videoblogging/archives/138531.asp

http://odeo.com/audio/19196333/view 

US National Public Radio

Gaming Your Way to Fitness

May 15, 2008. By Allison Aubrey

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90448872

U.S.News & World Report

The Power of Wii: Getting in Shape with Video Games

May 16, 2008. By Katherine Hobson 

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/on-fitness/2008/5/16/will-public-get-exercised-over-exergames.html

Toronto Star

Wii Fit looking to ignite `exer-gaming’ revolution

May 16, 2008. By Daphne Gordon

http://www.thestar.com/article/425836

http://www.healthzone.ca/health/article/425836

For media enquiries, please contact Dr Alasdair Thin. email: a.g.thin@hw.ac.uk

“Everything is BIG in America!” was the advice/warning given to me the last time I ventured across the pond. This time I was in the US to try and find out just how BIG “ExerGaming” really was. Suffice to say, it is maybe not quite as BIG as I had expected, but it is getting BIGGER. As I travelled round this BIG country, it became apparent the US was even BIGGER than I realized (despite the World getting smaller).

I had many BIG experiences and met many BIG hearted people who gave me BIG welcomes and shared with me their BIG ideas and how they might address BIG problems.

I would like to say a BIG BIG BIG thank you to each and every one of you.

This is for you…

Physiology = the study of the form and function of the human body
Physiotherapy = the fixing of broken form and function of the human body
Video Games = something completely different from above

Today I was in LA to meet with Belinda Lange at the Institute for Creative Technologies, USC. Belinda is a physiotherapist/physical therapist who researches into applications of video games. We talked about many things, and in particular how our technological society is changing Life and the way we live. The interior design of the building she works in has inspiration from Star Trek – hence the Universe. Finally, we got on to Video Games. Somewhat surreal perhaps, but many ideas were shared and issues discussed. Low cost applications was one key theme that emerged, such that they can reach the widest population group possible. Reaching out to engage with Game Developers was another. I think too we caught a glimpse of ExerGaming 3.0 and beyond and the wish to “boldly go……..”

Having completed the current level, I am beginning to turn my thoughts to the next. My working title is “ExerGaming 3.0″. As I looked out to sea last night, I was struck by the vastness of the Pacific ocean. So unless it involves a Swimming ExerGame, there are very many possibilities. What do you think?