Theoretical Rationale for Design of Tasks in a Virtual Reality-Based Exergame for Rehabilitation Purposes

Abstract

Virtual reality games are playing a greater role in rehabilitation settings. Previously, commercial games have dominated, but increasingly, bespoke games for specific rehabilitation contexts are emerging. Choice and design of tasks for VR-games are still not always clear, however; some games are designed to motivate and engage players, not necessarily with the facilitation of specific movements as a goal. Other games are designed specifically for the facilitation of specific movements. A theoretical background for the choice of tasks seems warranted. As an example, we use a game that was designed in our lab: VR Walk. Here, the player walks on a treadmill while wearing a head-mounted display showing a custom-made virtual environment. Tasks include walking on a glass bridge across a drop, obstacle avoidance, narrowing path, walking in virtual footsteps, memory, and selection tasks, and throwing and catching objects. Each task is designed according to research and theory from movement science, exercise science, and cognitive science. In this article, we discuss how for example walking across a glass bridge gives perceptual challenges that may be suitable for certain medical conditions, such as hearing loss, when perceptual abilities are strained to compensate for the hearing loss. In another example, walking in virtual footsteps may be seen as a motor and biomechanical constraint, where the double support phase and base of support can be manipulated, making the task beneficial for falls prevention. In a third example, memory and selection tasks may challenge individuals that have cognitive impairments. We posit that these theoretical considerations may be helpful for the choice of tasks and for the design of virtual reality games.

UndoPort: Exploring the Influence of Undo-Actions for Locomotion in Virtual Reality on the Efficiency, Spatial Understanding and User Experience

“…paths to get to previous waypoints, such as junctions or a central starting point. Similar to the real world, this backtracking of known routes with the goal of reaching a previously visited waypoint is particularly common in Virtual Reality (VR), where exploration tasks such as finding [26] or collecting [62] items or information are essential mechanics in gaming [8] and learning environments [41,50,57]. In familiar environments, this repetitive traversal of known locations reduces exploration efficiency.…”

Born to Run, Programmed to Play: Mapping the Extended Reality Exergames Landscape

“…Others offer strength training for their users to improve muscular power (𝑛=7). The remaining types of physical training targeted by XR exergames are balance (𝑛=8, [21,168]), skill (𝑛=8, [32,282]), flexibility (𝑛=4, [31,238]), and coordination/reaction training (𝑛=7, [7,139]).…”

“…We note that we do not consider calibration of the players' body proportions (e.g., height) if it is not framed as critical to the game's task since calibration should be done for every VR game to ensure that players can interact and that the avatar matches the players. Additionally, some games had adaptations that were controlled by clinicians or therapists (e.g., [21,112]).…”