Thighrim and Calf-Life: A Study of the Conversion of Off-the-Shelf Video
Games into Exergames
Game and Design
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Ketcheson, Mallory
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Walker, Luke
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Graham, T. C. Nicholas
Proceedings of the ACM CHI'16 Conference on Human Factors in Computing
Systems
2016-05-07
v.1
p.2681-2692
© Copyright 2016 ACM
Summary: Exergames are a fun and engaging way to participate in physical activity.
Exergame users consistently require new content to maintain interest in the
activity. One way to provide users with high quality content with minimal
development work is to convert existing off-the-shelf digital games into
exergames by using the game's "modding" interface. To explore the potential of
converted exergames for inspiring high exertion levels we performed a
conversion on two popular games: Half-Life 2 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
The conversions were performed in two stages. The first stage mimics existing
conversion techniques and a second stage provides added incentive for players
to reach higher exertion levels. A study of 18 participants found that the
resulting games support anti-sedentary levels of exertion while falling
slightly below national recommendations for cardiovascular exercise. Adding
exercise to the games did not affect players' enjoyment.