Progressing to the Next Level (ExerGaming 3.0)
May 20, 2008 5:43 pm QuestHaving 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? 
May 21st, 2008 at 9:10 am
I don’t know how current technology is shaping up, but I think it’d be good if games could adapt not just to the player’s skill/experience, but to their physical condition as a whole. If you were able to develop small, cheap and uninstrusive devices to measure heart rate, blood pressure etc. while playing, you could monitor the player’s fitness and current exertion levels, and adapt accordingly. (You could also allow them to link their game profile up with a Google Health profile, or similar, and use their medical data to make specific suggestions about training programs.)
Ideally, you could develop a profile system that went bigger than individual games. Your profile would be portable, so you could take it across different machines/consoles, and it would remember which Exergames you already owned. Each Exergame would be expected to identify its own strengths (e.g. suitable/unsuitable for children, providing low/moderate/high levels of exertion, and having specific aims such as lowering blood pressure.) A personal training program could then monitor your health over time as you played a variety of Exergames, and could suggest specific programs to you based on your needs. (”You have spent an average of 31 minutes per day on Dance Dance Revolution this week. This meets your daily exercise requirements. You should also aim to lower your blood pressure: try 45 minutes per week of Game X, Y or Z.”)
May 25th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
I like the idea of aqua-based exergames!