GamerSize Science-Quest for the Perfect ExerGame

If you are counting down to midnight or wondering why you woke up a 1 second early today (presuming that you are reading this tomorrow), a “leap second” will be/has been added at 00:00 GMT. This is because the Earth’s spin is slowing down and therefore our clocks need to be adjusted to keep them in sync with the Earth’s rotation. You can read more about this problem and how you can help to keep the planet SPINNING in a previous post.

Last night I experienced my first “ExerGame Party” when I finally managed to get some thirty-something friends together with a selection of ExerGames. Obviously there is a great social aspect to ExerGames, but it is not something I have yet researched as it is hard to control in an experimental situation. Anyway, last night was a great fun and a very enjoyable experience. We tended to play more balance, skill and coordination games rather than out and out aerobic ones, although there were a few intense boxing matches! Having a random shuffle of music playing the background added interest with the lyrics of “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John being suitably apt for a particularly fast and furious segment of game play. On balance I reckon slightly more calories were consumed than expended. However at the end of the night there was a definite sense of euphoria (a.k.a “Feel Better Effect”).

Since it is almost holiday time, here is an interesting seasonal story. It follows on nicely from my Definition of ExerGaming Part 1. In order to both enhance their green credentials and save money, children at a school in the south of Scotland are using pedal power to light up their school’s Christmas tree. The aim of the “game” therefore is to try and keep the lights shining by taking it in turns to sit on the exercise bike and pedal. The teacher behind it all built a project around it and the pupils learnt about the physics of electricity generation, the efficiency and cost of production (mathematics) and also the reduced environmental impact (ecology). You can read the story and watch a video clip here.
It is just a pity that the pupils didn’t also learn about the expending of calories in humans and the health benefits of regular exercise. So what about a self (human) powered ExerGame?

As 2008 draws to a close, it is time to pause, take a breath and reflect. A review of my year in ExerGaming will follow in a future post, but first I have been searching for a theme to try and draw my rich and varied experiences together. A collection of thoughts, words and ideas kept coming to the fore: mobile, immersive, miniature, wireless, networked, social, audioscape, tactile.

I had previously written a post “When Worlds Collide” and it suddenly jumped out at me when reading an article in Wired Magazine - “The New Reality”. Simply put, the virtual worlds of the web and video games have become mainstream in a variety of many interesting and exciting ways (e.g. iPhone, Wii and Guitar Hero). Virtual reality is no longer the holy grail. These tactile technology mashups between virtual and physical worlds have brought immersive experiences to the masses.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but whilst there are many and varied problems facing the world today, there is one particular problem that has not received sufficient attention. It is the fact that our planet is now loosing its SPIN at a much faster rate than was predicted and is even beginning to wobble.
Scientists reckon that problem is due to the fact that people are not walking about on foot as much as the used to do and would have in the process helped to keep up the planet’s SPIN. Motor cars are particular disruptive in this regard, not only do they stop people from creating SPIN, but their high speed, tight cornering and rapid breaking all contribute to the wobble effect.
We urgently need to get people back on their feet and start generating SPIN again. Can we SPIN the planet? Yes we can!
For further information see my entry for the forthcoming Social Innovation Camp.

Thanks very much to everybody who took the time to vote for my entry in the the recent Handheld Learning awards. On this occasion it was not to be. Maybe next time…
However, only today have I received an invitation to writer a paper on the research for a new education technology journal!

Mobile ExerGaming is the obvious next step for ExerGaming and it is something I have been actively exploring for some time now. However, now I am asking for your help to help put Mobile ExerGaming on the map.

Most of what I currently get paid to do is teach students. I am an enthusiastic embracer of educational technology. Last year I was involved in a small proof of concept project to utilize a mobile phone as a platform to deliver audio specific educational information in an accessible format.

The basic idea behind the project was to label objects with 2D barcodes (Quick Response codes) and when recognized by a camera phone, call up a media server to deliver a streaming audio file to the phone.

What has that got to do with ExerGaming? Well, think “Interactive Treasure Hunt” and you will begin to get the idea.

To cut a long story short, the project is a finalist in the 2008 Handheld Learning Awards. It is one of three in the Special Needs - Innovation category. Scroll down to the bottom of the Awards page and click on “In-Class Utility, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh“. (You can check out the other two finalists too).

The winner will be decided by SMS Txt voting. If you want to help boost the profile of Mobile ExerGaming then Vote for In-Class Utility by Txting

INCLASS   to   +447786203140

Texts are charged at standard network rate and standard international rate outwith UK (this is NOT a premium number - see below for full details).

Voting closes at midnight (GMT) on Thursday 9 October.

Thank you very much for your support….

If you want more information you can read the full paper here which was an Award Winning paper at ED-MEDIA 2008 World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications in Vienna.

Note:

Vote for In-Class Utility. Txt INCLASS to : +447786203140

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To vote simply send the keyword to +447786203140. Shortly after you will receive a response, your vote has then been cast.
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Yesterday I gave a presentation to the European Union (EU) Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health under the auspices of the Director General for Health and Consumer Protection at the EU Commission in Brussels. It was a great honour to be invited and a growing recognition of the significance of my research.

Fifteen minutes is not long to give an overview of ExerGaming/Active Video Games, summarize my Research Data and suggest Future Directions. Furthermore it was a very varied and disparit audience representing 34 member European level organisations ranging from the food industry to consumer protection groups and NGOs. In addition there were a number of observers drawn from WHO, EU Presidency, Member States, EFSA and the European Parliament.

I was not quite sure what to expect as I arrived at the meeting venue. In fact it was very much like I had seen in the media, rows of seats with microphones and headphones and booths for translators around the perimeter of the room. The support staff were friendly and helpful and I started to feel a bit more relaxed. It wasn’t long before the meeting started. The chairman started proceedings in english with no sign of any translators. The opening exchanges were fairly relaxed and I began to sit somewhat easier in my chair.

Given that my presentation was the last item before lunch, my teaser by way of introduction was well received and got a bit of a laugh! I then set about trying to convey the idea that ExerGaming offers the possibility of a new way of doing things before “reminding” the audience of the massive size of video games industry. I then gave an illustrated overview of various ExerGames before moving onto my describing the range of laboratory measures including oxygen consumption involved in my work. I then gave a brief summary of my results - all games are not equal - maximize active muscle mass in rapid fire movements.

In order to get people thinking about how ExerGaming to promote physical activity - I outlined my list of list of actual and possible “persuasive technology” features developed by applying Fogg’s principles to ExerGaming. Looking to the future, I outlined the current ExerGame sensor technologies before moving on to GPS enabled mobile phones, a Garmin heart rate and gps sports watch and the Nike+ iPod system. I then described some of the immense range of possibilities when you add Web 2.0 social networking to the mix. I had a map of Brussels from the Nokia Sports Tracker System showing routes people had uploaded including a close-up of one person’s rollerblading route around the European Quarter close the location of the meeting! I made a particular point of emphasizing the advanced nature of the European mobile phone network and suggested that Mobile ExerGaming was an area in which Europe could lead the way.

Bringing things towards a close, I suggested that there is a paradigm shift from a Persuasive Message to a Persuasive Interactive Experience. At this point I tried to provoke a bit of a response by suggesting that video game industry initiatives such as Nintendo’s Touch! Generations (e.g. DS Cooking Guide and Wii Fit) could start to set the the diet and physical activity agenda. My closing slide indicated that it is vital to Maximize the Opportunity presented by ExerGaming and create a Sustainable Future.

Phew! It was over! A few questions later and we were breaking for lunch. Despite the call for sustenance, several people spoke to me immediately, excited about the possibilities for ExerGaming. I was then taken for lunch and sampled some of the local cuisine in cafe-restaurant and continued chatting.

Proceedings commenced in the afternoon with the main business being a debate on future actions concerning Physical Activity. As I was in no rush to catch a plane, I continued several conversations after the meeting finished.

Overall, it was an amazing experience and I trust that I have managed to raise awareness of ExerGaming/Active Video Games at a European level and prompted some actions. Personally, I have a number of exciting contacts to follow up.

I have been invited to speak at the European Union Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health in Brussels, Belgium, next Wednesday. It provides a common forum for all interested “actors” (organizations) in the field at a European level. In 15 minutes I plan to give a whistle-stop overview of the past, present and future of Active Video Games / ExerGaming.

By way of introduction, I am planning a little teaser which I will share with you now. It comprises 4 scenarios and you have to select the odd one out. The first is a group of indigenous men out hunting with bows and arrows. The second is a group of women working in a field harvesting a crop by hand. The third is a couple out jogging in the street. The fourth one is a person playing a martial arts-based ExerGame. Suggestions in a Comment as to the odd one out…

Update 1:

I have had a suggestion that the ExerGamer is the odd one out as they are the only one not in a “social” setting. Good point - but that is not the answer I am looking for, so keep the suggestions coming

Update 2:

I have had another suggestion (by email) that the joggers are the odd ones out as the physical exertion is the primary focus of their activity, whereas in all the other cases it is not the primary focus. All I can say is that this is getting pretty close!!!

Update 3: - Solution

The odd one out is indeed the joggers, as in the other three cases, there is a life or death necessity to be physically active. Either to catch (hunters) or harvest (women in field) some food. In the case of the ExerGamer, if they don’t keep active, they will die in the game, but it is not quite such a problem, as you get several lives.

The point I am trying to make with this metaphor is the potential to which active video games can be a highly engaging experience.

I don’t watch that much TV, but last night I caught an episode of “New Tricks” on BBC1. Basically the show centers around a bunch of semi-retired detectives doing some good old fashioned detective work to solve “cold” cases. In order to strike up a conversation with a potential witness, one of the detectives picks up a Wiimote and joins in a shot ‘em up game. He gets right into the game and actually ends up outplaying the witness. Having earned a degree of respect, the witness is forthcoming with vital new information.

Fast forward to the end of the show when the case is solved and it is time for a small celebration. But where is the said detective? Well now he is giving his all on the arcade version of the game! So there you have it, grey gaming on mainstream TV!