How exactly do you define “ExerGaming”? This post has been a while coming in that it has taken me some to try and come up with a coherent answer. In the past I have tended to favor the term “Active Video Games” as being more descriptive of the phenomenon that I was researching. Having now broadened my interests, the simple concatenation of “Exercise” and “Gaming” (or “Game Play”) seems to me to sum things up clearly and succinctly.
However, when you consider that the term “Gaming” is in fact generally held to be taken from “Video Gaming” then it becomes harder to define what an Exergame is. Is it a video game that is controlled by body movement? What about electronic games that require exertion but don’t have a video display component?
I would like to propose an alternative approach to defining “ExerGaming” based on functional outcome rather than game play mechanics. In formulating this proposal, I recalled a while back when I completed the first qualification in training to be a ski instructor. Given that alpine skiing is an adventure sport we were taught that our primary consideration was the safety of our class and that second came the development of technique and our final consideration was fun such that the class members enjoyed themselves. However, the “secret” of being a good instructor was that each pupil experienced fun, had a chance to improve their technique and developed some safety awareness. Put simply the instructor planned technique and fun that order, but the pupils experienced fun, technique and safety in the opposite order.
Extending this functional approach to defining “ExerGaming”, health professionals etc. are concerned are intending to improve health by promoting exercise using a gaming medium.
From the individual player’s point of view, “ExerGaming” is an engaging and challenging game play activity which is facilitated by some physical exertion and is likely to be in some way good for their health.
So there you have it, except that this functional definition might now be considered too broad. For me the key is the phrase “engaging and challenging”. Carefully designed ExerGames have the potential to match an individual player’s skills and abilities no matter what they are – something which is not easy to do with conventional exercise and sporting activities.
A recent magazine feature on the top 50 Fitness Gadgets ranging from electronic devices through to high tech clothing that would obviously help you on your way to any New Year’s resolutions to take some/more exercise and get fit/fitter, has got me thinking.
“What would my top fitness gadgets be?” After pondering the question on and off for some time, I decided that my choice of gadget(s) would have to do some extra that was that little bit special – some added feature or function that you couldn’t get any other way. As my thoughts turned to narrowing down my list, there was something I couldn’t just put my finger on. Then it came to me – what they were about was “Electronic Awareness Raising (EAR)”.
So in raising my awareness whilst exercising of my speed/distance and heart rate, one of my top fitness gadgets has to be an advanced sports watch (in my case a Garmin Forerunner 50).
My other choice of top fitness gadget goes to the Nintendo Wii Fit. Here’s the rub – it is not to do with increasing my fitness – but rather raising my awareness of when I am NOT exercising. Somehow that small, slightly irritating, anthropomorphic character that monitors your progress has got inside my head. I know it is only a computer program responding to when I do and don’t exercise. And I know that it knows that I know that it is only a program, but somehow I have become very aware of when I am NOT exercising and that I should do something about it!
On Wednesday evening I attended a session of the Edinburgh Entrepreneurship Club. The speaker was Ewan McIntosh, an educational technology and social media pioneer with a very well read blog. He gave an very informative talk, pointing out that really social media technology itself should be boring, and that it is good, creative ideas and applications that are the interesting bit. Ewan works for Channel 4 and heads up the Scottish (also N.Ireland and N.England) branch of the 4iP startup fund for new social media projects.
I spoke to a varied and interesting bunch of people after the talk. One prominent feature of our conversations was how a large number of people “just don’t get social media”. Obviously there are conceptual issues to convey, but also is it perhaps only now that useful and relevant applications for the population at large are starting to emerge?
As 2008 draws to a close, I am reflecting on all my wide and varied ExerGaming experiences (post coming soon), but there is one nagging issue at the back of mind. When explaining “ExerGaming” to people, they just don’t seem to get beyond the “novelty factor”.
What excites me about ExerGaming is that it offers the potential to do things that could never be done before. No longer need there be a “one size fits all” approach to sport and physical activity. ExerGames can be designed to adapt to an individual player’s level of skill and ability. Furthermore, networked ExerGames enable players to overcome the constraints of physical location and seek out meaningful challenges and competitions across the globe.
Trying to help people “Get it” about ExerGaming is not easy. It requires a conceptual jump in thinking. In preparing for my review I have been tidying up files on my computer and game across a link to a video clip, which to me, totally “Gets it” in terms of doing new things with technology. Enjoy and let me know if it “Gets it” for you…
I have been very busy of late writing up the results of some of my experiments into energy expenditure whilst playing active video games (ExerGames). I am glad to report that I made the submission deadline yesterday. The paper was more of a magazine type article than a pure research paper so it was quite hard going. Writing it made me think hard about how I communicate to readers both my research findings and my enthusiasm in a clear and concise manner.
It occurred to me that, “If the levels of physical exertion required to play active video games were actually quite modest, would they still be worth getting excited about?” My response was that even if all that playing the games achieved was that the player learned to become comfortable with the bodily sensations associated with physical exertion and it gave them confidence to try out new activities then that would be worth it. So whilst they might seem like two small steps for a Gamer, lack of body awareness and low self-efficacy are known barriers to exercise. Now if active video games were to succeed in moving large numbers of people closer to a habitually active lifestyle, then that would be two giant steps for Gamerkind.
It is that time of year again when I need to start thinking about projects for the forthcoming academic year. I am currently investigating a possible project involving a snowboarding game. I managed (via the web of course) track down a Playstation 2 compatible “sportsboard” and a snowboarding game (SSX3). I plugged in the sportsboard controller and away I went – well not quite… In fact not at all! A few jerky moves were all I could muster. The on/off light didn’t seem to be very bright and on closer inspection appeared to flicker on and off in a random manner.
I was beginning to despair as I came across a number of stories on the web of various controller problems deemed to be due to faulty hardware. I had enough difficulty tracking down the board so I wasn’t going to give up that easily. A couple of reports of dim lights on some controllers pointed me towards the voltage being supplied to the controller. What on earth could be wrong? To cut a long story short, I had the idea to test the sportsboard with another PS2. I plugged it in, the on/off light positively glowed and away I went down the slope at high speed…
So why does one PS2 supply enough power and the other PS2 doesn’t? Well I guess there are tolerance limits in all these various pieces of electronic circuitry. As more and more controllers become available for different forms of “ExerGames”, it looks like we need some form of connectivity standard to ensure compatibility.
It is a bit of standing joke, but with summer soccer being televised, this brings the kids out into the streets and play areas kicking a football around. Then when the Wimbledon tennis tournament starts, out come the tennis rackets. Next it is time to dust off the golf clubs when the British Open commences. Finally the football season starts and out come the footballs again, this time accompanied by the new season’s replica kit.
Except that for the past week, the weather has been very wet and cold and I haven’t seen a tennis racket in sight, despite a Scottish interest in Wimbledon. Perhaps the kids are all “ExerGaming” away with an indoor virtual tennis tournament? “You cannot be serious…”
Just a thought, but what would embodied interactive work look like? If you have enough money, you can buy really expensive tables and walls that have embedded interactive screens where you can drag and drop files round the screen to your heart’s content.
Alternatively, imaging sitting/standing in front of a computer gesturing frantically to make things happen. I know some people literally punch out letters on a keyboard, but what about in the air?
Y. M. C. A. would be pretty obvious. Also reaching up with one hand would give the number after 4 (high five)!
Any thoughts?
Oh and though in a treadmill to walk on while you are at it…
This week I have spent a good deal of time marking exam scripts. In order to give my brain a bit of a break, I have been playing a great ExerGame…called “Spring Cleaning My Office”! I have expended a great deal of energy lifting and opening rather heavy and long forgotten files. I then had a series of “sprint” events where I had to sort the contents into “good” white paper and lob it into the recycling bin with the other stuff going into a bag for “inferior” paper, card and magazines. When this gets full, the endurance event kicks in where I have to run down 3 flights of stairs to deposit the contents in a receptacle in the car park and back up again to my office. It’s hard work!
So how about it? What about an ExerGame that takes up this recycling theme and incorporates a bit of environmental awareness education at the same time?
I have been passing the time as I try to adjust time zones exploring the possibilities for mobile gaming. I am struck by the widespread compatibility and inertia of SMS texting and its relatively high cost. Data services offer the possibility of Instant Messaging and Voice over IP but appear limited in their availability and/or uptake. Phones are now available with motion sensors and GPS. Clearly the latest technology opens up many possibilities. But how do you plot a course between using the latest technology and going for the widest compatibility?
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.
