GrabApple: The Design of a Casual Exergame

Abstract

Abstract. Many people do not get the recommended 30 minutes of exercise per day, which can result in health problems such as obesity, muscle atrophy and chronic disease. Based on the principles of casual games and exergames, we propose and define casual exergames for motivating people to exercise in multiple small chunks of time throughout the day. We designed, implemented, and tested a casual exergame called GrabApple. Our preliminary results show that users enjoyed playing the casual exergame and that in just 10 minutes of play, their heart rate was elevated to an average of 72% of maximum heart rate, and that they burned an average of 91.8 Calories. If played three times per day, our casual exergame produced sufficient physical activity to meet current fitness guidelines. We discuss the potential health benefits of casual exergames.

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“…These perks have been associated with vigorous physical activity (Mueller et al, 2003) and the "casual" aspect of these games that, according to Gao and Mandryk (2011, p. 36), motivate players "to exercise at a moderate intensity for short periods of play" and provide benefits associated with frequent bursts of moderate-intensity activity (Gao & Mandryk, 2011. However, many of these positive outcomes do not come exclusively as a result of arduous physical activity.…”

Decreasing sedentary behaviours in pre-adolescents using casual exergames at school

“…To help people add these small chunks of physical activity throughout the day, casual exergames [10] apply the principles of casual game design to the design of exergames: most importantly, they allow players to engage in physical activity in short bouts. Specifically, casual exergames are defined as computer games that players can learn easily and access quickly, using simple rules and game mechanics, to motivate them to exercise at a moderate intensity for short periods of play [10].…”

“…To help people add these small chunks of physical activity throughout the day, casual exergames [10] apply the principles of casual game design to the design of exergames: most importantly, they allow players to engage in physical activity in short bouts. Specifically, casual exergames are defined as computer games that players can learn easily and access quickly, using simple rules and game mechanics, to motivate them to exercise at a moderate intensity for short periods of play [10]. Research on casual exergames has shown that as little as ten minutes of casual exergame play can produce moderate-intensity exertion levels, improving players' affective states and providing significant levels of acute cognitive benefits compared to sedentary casual games [9] (i.e., can improve post-play ability of players to focus attention).…”

“…Moreover, casual exergames -computer games that players can learn easily and access quickly, using simple rules and special game mechanics, to motivate them to exercise at a moderate intensity for short periods of play [10] -are specifically designed to encourage small 'exerbreaks' throughout the day. Casual exergames could be used to decrease sedentary time amongst students by providing exercise experiences that are more compelling than traditional body breaks in a form that is socially acceptable to a tween audience, who have significant experience with computer games.…”

“…We then conducted a study of their students' responses to playing an existing and validated casual exergame, called GrabApple [10]. We compared physical activity levels and affective responses after students played GrabApple, a sedentary version of the game, and participated in a traditional body break led by a physical education instructor.…”