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Turning training into play: Embodied gaming, seniors, physical training and motivation

2011; International Society for Gerontechnology; Volume: 10; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4017/gt.2011.10.2.005.00

1569-111X

Rikke Aarhus, Erik Grönvall, S. B. Larsen, S. Wollsen,

Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts

The gaming industry and affiliated research have in the recent years explored new ways of controlling videogames in respect to the traditional keyboard and mouse/joystick paradigms.This includes full-body interaction games, or embodied gaming, where the player controls and manipulates the game and its elements via the body and its movements.This is exemplified by research projects such as PingPongPlus 1 and Kick Ass Kung-Fu 2 and commercial products such as Nintendo Wii 3 or Microsoft Kinect 4 .Relying on different technological solutions, they all explore how we can change the game-space and game experience by allowing the body to provide game instructions rather than only some fingers on the keyboard.Kick Ass Kung-fu for example uses a camera to 'capture' the players and animate them in the graphical game environment.Sticks, swords or other 'tools' or weapons can be used, as they are captured by the camera and inserted into the game environment.Furthermore, the voice becomes a control element as shouts activate features in the game.Video games are traditionally (and usually) played for entertainment purposes.However, recent developments have led to special-purpose games designed to train and rehabilitate the player, rather than only entertain.Systems such as MITII 5 , Silverfit 6 , and CAREN 7 are examples of this.While MITII represents a 'lowtech' solution running within a browser of a web-cam-enabled computer, CAREN is an advanced 3D virtual reality system situated in its own room.Silverfit positions itself between these two products, requiring a setup of designated cameras and sensors, but can otherwise run on a standard computer system.These systems remain rather expensive, and in some instances are difficult to acquire.