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EasyAffecta: A framework to develop serious games for virtual rehabilitation with affective adaptation

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Abstract

Serious games have been applied in many contexts, aiming to turn learning and training activities more attractive for users. The motor rehabilitation process is a scenario in which serious games present benefits such as keeping the user’s motivation. Nevertheless, the development of these games is a complex task, especially when user’s motivation is a key goal. Some strategies have been investigated to automatically adapt these games to keep one’s engagement. However, fast implementation with little effort is an open issue. To support a game with automatic adaptation considering the emotional state of the user, we propose an Affective Computing framework, called EasyAffecta. EasyAffecta provides benefits for physiotherapists, developers, and patients alike. The impact of our proposal was analyzed by conducting two experimental evaluations involving different actors. The first one was carried with patients of motor rehabilitation process. Additionally, we conducted an experimental evaluation with developers. The results showed that EasyAffecta was considered useful by developers and efficient to maintain the patient’s engagement.

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Acknowledgements

Authors thank the Brazilian National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Process 800585/2016-0), the National Institute of Science and Technology Medicine Assisted by Scientific Computing (INCT-MACC), and Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) by the financial support. Authors are also grateful for Freepik and Flaticon by the images used in this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Escola Politécnica, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Renan V. Aranha

  2. Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Marcos L. Chaim, Carlos B. M. Monteiro, Talita D. Silva, Francisca A. A. C. Guerreiro, Willian S. Silva & Fátima L. S. Nunes

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  1. Renan V. Aranha
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  2. Marcos L. Chaim
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  3. Carlos B. M. Monteiro
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  4. Talita D. Silva
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  7. Fátima L. S. Nunes
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Correspondence to Renan V. Aranha.

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Aranha, R.V., Chaim, M.L., Monteiro, C.B.M. et al. EasyAffecta: A framework to develop serious games for virtual rehabilitation with affective adaptation. Multimed Tools Appl 82, 2303–2328 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-022-12600-0

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