Recently, exergames have become a viable aspect of physical activity interventions, with their ability to facilitate exercise within an enjoyable and motivating context. However, in order to develop optimally effective exergames suitable for a wide and diverse audience, adaptive exergames capable of adapting to suit the personality of the user are required. In this article, we discuss how an understanding of the background of players can be used to explain their in-game behavior and how this could be used to progress the exergame genre.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
DeckelbaumR, WilliamsC. Childhood obesity: The health issue. Obes Res, 2001; 9:239–243.
PuhlR, HeuerC. The stigma of obesity: A review and update. Obesity, 2008; 17:941–64.
4.
StunkardA, WaddenT. Psychological aspects of severe obesity. Am J Clin Nutr, 1992; 55:524–532.
5.
FalknerN, Neumark-SztainerD, StoryMet al.Social, educational, and psychological correlates of weight status in adolescents. Obes Res, 2001; 9:32–42.
6.
MikkilaV, Lahti-KoskiM, PietinenPet al.Associates of obesity and weight dissatisfaction among Finnish adolescents. J Public Health Nutr, 2003; 6:49–56.
7.
SchwimmerJ, BurwinkleT, VarniJ. Health related quality of life of severely obese children and adolescents. JAMA, 2003; 289:1813–1819.
8.
ReillyJ, ArmstrongJ, DorostyAet al.Early life risk factors for obesity in childhood: Cohort study. BMJ, 2005; 330:1357.
9.
MarshallS, BiddleS, GorleyTet al.Relationships between media use, body fatness and physical activity in children and youth: A meta analysis. Int J Obes, 2004; 28:1238–1246.
10.
CurrieC, ZanotiC, MorganAet al.Social Determinants of Health and Well-Being Among Young People. HBSC International Report from the 2009/2010 Survey. Health Policy for Children and Adolescents No. 6. Copenhagen. WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2012.
11.
TroianoR, BerriganD, DoddKet al.Physical activity in the United States measured by accelerometer. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2008; 40:181–188.
12.
KilliK, MerilampiS. Developing engaging exergames with simple motion detection. MindTrek, 2010New York, NY: ACM Press, 2010; 103–110.
13.
LinJ, MamykinaL, LindtnerS. Fish'n'steps: Encouraging physical activity with an interactive computer game. UbiComp, 2006New York, NY: ACM Press, 2006; 261–278.
14.
MurphyE, CarsonL, NealWet al.Effects of an exercise intervention using Dance Dance Revolution on endothelial function and other risk factors in overweight children. Int J Pediatr Obes, 2009; 4:205–214.
15.
NitzJ, KuysS, IslesR, FuS. Is the WiiFit a new-generation tool for improving balance, health and well-being? A pilot study. Climacteric, 2010; 13:487–491.
16.
PooleE, MillerA, XuYet al.The place for ubiquitous computing in schools: Lessons learned from a school-based intervention for youth physical activity. UbiComp, 2011New York, NY: ACM Press, 2011; 395–404.
17.
GravesL, StrattonG, RidgersND, CableNT. Comparison of energy expenditure in adolescents when playing new generation and sedentary computer games: Cross sectional study. BMJ, 2007; 335:1282–1284.
18.
OlsonC. Children's motivations for video game play in the context of normal development. Rev Gen Psychol, 2010; 14:180–187.
NichollsJ. Achievement motivation: Conceptions of ability, subjective experience, task choice and performance. Psychol Rev, 1984; 91:328–346.
21.
BanduraA, SimonK. The role of proximal intentions in self-regulation of refractory behaviour. Cogn Ther Res, 1977; 1:177–193.
22.
BanduraA, CervoneD. Self-evaluative and self-efficacy mechanisms governing the motivational aspects of goal systems. Pers Soc Psychol, 1983; 45:1017–1028.
23.
ButtussiF, ChittaroL. Smarter phones for healthier lifestyles: An adaptive fitness games. Pervasive Comput, 2010; 9,4:51–57.
24.
ButtussiF, ChittaroL, RanonR, VeronaA. Adaptation of graphics and gameplay in fitness games by exploiting motion and physiological sensors. Smart Graphics LNCS 4569. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 2007; 85–96.
25.
BerkovskyS, FreyneJ, CoombeM. Recommender algorithms in activity motivating games. RecSys, 2010New York, NY: ACM Press, 2010; 175–182.
26.
MacveanA. Developing adaptive exergames for adolescent children. IDC, 2012New York, NY: ACM Press, 2012; 339–342.
27.
MacveanA, RobertsonJ. iFitQuest: A school based study of a mobile location-aware exergame for adolescents. MobileHCI, 2012New York, NY: ACM Press, 2012(in press).
