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Exergames for adult users: a preliminary pilot study

Published: 06 May 2010 Publication History

Abstract

This paper examines fitness videogames (exergames) and factors surrounding their adoption by novice users over 40, first through a literature review and then by discussing a pilot study. Digital games have been promoted as a way to reduce the barriers to embracing an ongoing exercise program. However, understanding the game's instructions also affects a novice player's gameplay experience. In the pilot study, reactions of novice players to two commercially available games with exertive interfaces were systematically analyzed so obstacles to communication between players and software could be identified. The social affordances of game design for adults over 40 are also discussed in order to develop protocols for a larger study analyzing how digital games can be used to sustain exercise adherence over time.

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Cited By

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  • (2016)Design, Implementation, and Wide Pilot Deployment of FitForAll: An Easy to use Exergaming Platform Improving Physical Fitness and Life Quality of Senior CitizensIEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics10.1109/JBHI.2014.237881420:1(189-200)Online publication date: Jan-2016
  • (2014)From Simulation to ImitationSimulation and Gaming10.1177/104687811454231645:3(332-355)Online publication date: 1-Jun-2014
  • (2012)Towards videogame design guidelines to promote significant leisure activities in Mexican older adultsProceedings of the 4th Mexican Conference on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/2382176.2382186(43-46)Online publication date: 3-Oct-2012
  • Show More Cited By

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cover image ACM Other conferences
Futureplay '10: Proceedings of the International Academic Conference on the Future of Game Design and Technology
May 2010
282 pages
ISBN:9781450302357
DOI:10.1145/1920778
  • Conference Chairs:
  • Bill Kapralos,
  • Andrew Hogue,
  • Simon Xu
Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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  • Algoma University College

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

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Published: 06 May 2010

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Author Tags

  1. Wii Fit
  2. Dance Dance Revolution
  3. adult fitness
  4. exergames
  5. exertive interface and fitness program
  6. fitness videogames

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Futureplay '10
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Futureplay '10: Futureplay '10 @ GDC Canada
May 6 - 7, 2010
British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

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Cited By

View all
  • (2016)Design, Implementation, and Wide Pilot Deployment of FitForAll: An Easy to use Exergaming Platform Improving Physical Fitness and Life Quality of Senior CitizensIEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics10.1109/JBHI.2014.237881420:1(189-200)Online publication date: Jan-2016
  • (2014)From Simulation to ImitationSimulation and Gaming10.1177/104687811454231645:3(332-355)Online publication date: 1-Jun-2014
  • (2012)Towards videogame design guidelines to promote significant leisure activities in Mexican older adultsProceedings of the 4th Mexican Conference on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/2382176.2382186(43-46)Online publication date: 3-Oct-2012
  • (2012)Design of an exergaming station for children with cerebral palsyProceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/2207676.2208652(2619-2628)Online publication date: 5-May-2012
  • (2011)SmartRabbitProceedings of the 2011 Brazilian Symposium on Games and Digital Entertainment10.1109/SBGAMES.2011.34(232-240)Online publication date: 7-Nov-2011

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