Balancing exertion experiences

Abstract

Exercising with others, such as jogging in pairs, can be socially engaging. However, if exercise partners have different fitness levels then the activity can be too strenuous for one and not challenging enough for the other, compromising engagement and health benefits. Our system, Jogging over a Distance, uses heart rate data and spatialized sound to create an equitable, balanced experience between joggers of different fitness levels who are geographically distributed. We extend this prior work by analyzing the experience of 32 joggers to detail how specific design features facilitated, and hindered, an engaging and balanced exertion experience. With this knowledge, we derive four dimensions that describe a design space for balancing exertion experiences: Measurement, Adjustment, Presentation and Control. We also present six design tactics for creating balanced exertion experiences described by these dimensions. By aiding designers in supporting participants of different physical abilities, we hope to increase participation and engagement with physical activity and facilitate the many benefits it brings about.

Designing Brutal Multiplayer Video Games

“…One of the biggest challenges in this domain is in designing mechanics that don't consistently give advantage to bigger and stronger players. Video game designers often create balance in multiplayer games through penalizing strong players and boosting weak players [4], and in non-contact exertion games by modulating effort required based on player fitness [20]. That strategy seems less feasible in brutal games, where there is no obvious way to handicap players.…”

Effects of balancing for physical abilities on player performance, experience and self-esteem in exergames

“…Different approaches for balancing exertion games have emerged in literature: The game Life is a Village [23] implements asymmetric player roles (cycling on a recumbent bike and using the Nintendo Wii Remote for gestural input), whereas Heart Burn [21] uses difference from target heart rates to balance for people with difference fitness levels. Likewise, Mueller et al [15] demonstrated that heart rate balancing contributes to player experience in a remote jogging application, because it allows players to focus on their own fitness levels while still engaging with another person.…”

(Steering) Interactive Play Behavior

“…Smart solutions that balance based on the players' effort seem to be promising for allowing people with different physical skills play together [169,240]. Properly functioning adaptive (balancing) systems are often an ideological and unrealistic dream of the starting game designer [226].…”