Exploring Haptic Feedback in Exergames

Abstract

Abstract. Exergames combine entertainment and exercise in an effort to encourage people to be more physically active. Although exergames require active input, interactions are less physical than those experienced in real-world exercise. Interactions can feel artificial, limiting the captivating experience exergames aim to provide. To address this problem, haptics have been proposed as a means of providing additional feedback to players through the sense of touch. However, there is very little empirical evidence supporting the benefits of haptics in exergames. To address this, we have identified and evaluated three ways in which haptic feedback can enhance exergames: by helping to balance group exercise among people of different fitness levels, by guiding players toward safe and healthy interaction, and by increasing peoples' sense of virtual presence in exergames. We present three novel exergames incorporating haptic feedback, and report on experiments investigating their success. We find that haptics which are consistent with actions displayed on-screen increase immersion and improve enjoyment. However, we discover pitfalls when using haptics to represent phenomena that do not have a physical basis. These results allow us to present a set of design issues for haptic feedback in exergames.

Disentangling Fun and Enjoyment in Exergames Using an Expanded Design, Play, Experience Framework: A Narrative Review

“…8 Well-implemented task-control movements could affect multiple aspects of videogame experience by increasing realism and interactivity. 64 Spontaneous task-facilitating movements may influence game play and experience by improving performance or perceptions of performance. These movements are not required by the game but may improve players' precision or timing (e.g., tapping one's foot to the beat).…”

Timelines: simplifying the programming of lag compensation for the next generation of networked games

“…The games include the Balloon Burst, Truck Pull and Pedal Race exergames [35], the Eliminate 3-D first-person shooter, the Speed Demons racing game, the Growl Patrol ubiquitous game [23], and the Liberi persistent world building game [18]. The toolkit has also been used to implement the OrMiS tabletop military simulation tool [29].…”

ChromaGlove

“…Pradana et al [4] used haptic feedback to enhance text messaging and add extra emotional context to messages. Stach and Graham [5] demonstrated that haptic feedback can be effective in games that promote an active lifestyle. These examples show that haptic feedback can be potentially integrated into many everyday actions, thus inspiring our work.…”