Background The novel genre of pervasive games, which aim to create more fun and engaging experiences by promoting deeper immersion, could be a powerful strategy to stimulate physical activity among older adults. To use these games more effectively, it is necessary to understand how different design elements affect player behavior. Objective The aim was to vary a specific design element of pervasive games for older adults, namely social interaction, to test the effect on levels of physical activity. Methods Over 4 weeks, two variations of the same pervasive game were compared: social interaction for the test group and no social interaction for the control group. In both versions, players had to walk to physical locations and collect virtual cards, but the social interaction version allowed people to collaborate to obtain more cards. Weekly step counts were used to evaluate the effect on each group, and the number of places visited was used as an indicator of play activity. Results A total of 32 participants were recruited (no social interaction=15, social interaction=17); 18 remained until the end of the study (no social interaction=7, social interaction=11). Step counts during the first week were used as the baseline (no social interaction: mean 17,099.4, SE 3906.5; social interaction: mean 17,981.9, SE 2171.1). For the following weeks, changes to individual baseline were as follows for no social interaction (absolute/proportional): 383.8 (SE 563.8)/1.1% (SE 4.3%), 435.9 (SE 574.5)/2.2% (SE 4.6%), and −106.1 (SE 979.9)/−2.6% (SE 8.1%) for weeks 2, 3, and 4, respectively. For social interaction they were 3841.9 (SE 1425.4)/21.7% (SE 5.1%), 2270.6 (SE 947.1)/16.5% (SE 4.4%), and 2443.4 (SE 982.6)/17.9% (SE 4.7%) for weeks 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Analysis of group effect was significant (absolute change: η 2 =.19, P =.01; proportional change: η 2 =.27, P =.009). Correlation between the proportional change and the play activity was significant ( r =.34, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.56), whereas for absolute change it was not. Conclusions Social interaction design elements of the pervasive game may have some positive effects on the promotion of physical activity, although other factors might also have influenced this effect. Trial Registration Japan Medical Association Clinical Trial Registration Number JMA-IIA00314; https://dbcentre3.jmacct.med.or.jp/JMACTR/App/JMACTRS06/JMACTRS06.aspx?seqno=7274 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/761a6MVAy)
Abstract-Ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) relies on the computation distributed over the environment to simplify the tasks performed by its users. A smart space is an instance of a ubiquitous environment, composed of a dynamic and heterogeneous set of devices that interact to support the execution of distributed smart applications. In this context, mobile devices provide new resources when they join the environment, which disappear when they leave it. This introduces the challenge of self-adaptation, in which smart applications may either include new resources as they become available or replace them when they become unavailable. Ubiquitous games combine ubicomp and computer game technologies to enrich user's experience and fun. Such games may benefit from different input and output resources offered by mobile devices. To support the development and deployment of ubiquitous games, this work presents the uOS middleware. Using a DSOA (Device Service Oriented Architecture) based architecture and lightweight service discovery protocols, uOS ensures compatibility among resources, providing resource rerouting between heterogeneous and limited software and hardware platforms. The uMoleHunt game is presented to illustrate the practical application of uOS.
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