Exergaming

Exergaming (a portmanteau of "exercise" and "gaming") is a term used for video games that also provide exercise. Exergames have one element of exercise and one element of gaming. The "gaming" aspect is a short form for video gaming. "Exergames" sub divide into two main implementations, those with a game specifically designed to use an exercise input device and those implementations using a genre of, or a generic game.

History

Exergaming contains elements that were developed in the virtual reality community during the 1980s. The pioneer in this area was Autodesk, which developed two systems, the HighCycle and Virtual Racquetball. The HighCycle was an exercise bike that a user would pedal through a virtual landscape. If the user pedaled fast enough, the virtual bike would take off and fly over the landscape. Virtual Racquetball tracked the position and orientation of an actual racquet that was used to hit a virtual ball in a virtual environment. This environment was shared with another user equipped with another tracked racquet, allowing the two users to play each other over phone lines. In both systems, the users could wear the VPL eyephones, an early Head-mounted display (HMD), that would provide more immersion for the user. ^[1]

The first true attempt at what would later be called Exertainment was the Atari Puffer project (1982). This was an exercise bike that would hook up to an Atari 400/800 or 5200 system. Forward speed was controlled by pedaling while steering and additional gameplay was handled by a handlebar-mounted gamepad. The machine was nearly ready for production with several games (Tumbleweeds and Jungle River Cruise) when Atari declared bankruptcy and the Puffer project was abandoned. Nintendo also dabbled in this space with the Power Pad in the late 1980's.

The first exergaming system released to the market was the 1986 Computrainer. Designed as a training aid and motivational tool, the Computrainer allowed users to ride through a virtual landscape generated on a Nintendo NES, while monitoring data such as power output and pedaling cadence. The product had a price that was far too high to be considered as an entertainment product, but was affordable by dedicated athletes. The product continues to this day, where it now runs using Microsoft Windows compatible software with extensive graphic and physiological capabilities.

Also released for the NES in 1986 was the Family Trainer, which focused on entertainment rather than exercise.^{[citation needed]}

About the same time as the Computrainer, Concept II introduced a computer attachment for their rowing machine. This has become their eRow product and is used for both individual motivation as well as competition in "indoor rowing leagues"

During the 1990s, there was a surge of interest in the application of "virtual reality" technologies to high-end gym equipment. Life Fitness and Nintendo partnered to produce the Exertainment System; Precor had an LCD-based bike product, and Universal had several CRT-based systems. The Netpulse system provided users with the ability to browse the web while exercising. Fitlinxx introduced a system that used sensors attached to weight machines in order to provide automated feedback to users.

The most sophisticated of these entries was the Tectrix VR Bike. Developed originally by CyberGear Inc., The VR Bike allowed users to pedal through a number of virtual environments as well as engage in single and multiplayer games. It was joined later by the VR Climber.

Three issues combined to ensure the failure of these systems in the marketplace. First, they were significantly more expensive than the equivalent models that did not have all the additional electronics. Second, they were harder to maintain, and were often left broken. Lastly the additional expertise required to operate the software was often intimidating to the users, who shied away from the machines out of fear that they would look foolish while trying to master the machine.

Until 1998, nothing significant happened in the field of videogame exercise. Hardware was still too expensive for the average home consumer, and the health clubs were gun-shy about adopting any new technology. As high-performance game console capabilities improved and prices fell, manufacturers once more started to explore the fitness market, but this time with the home as the focus of development.

In 1998, Konami's Dance Dance Revolution was released. It was highly effective - exercise-wise - and very cost effective and so brought exergaming into the mainstream. The 2005 release of the EyeToy: Kinetic, brought the first - multi-function - exergame hardware into the market. Making the players physical movements into the game's controller. 2006 Saw the launch of Gamercize, combining traditional fitness equipment with games consoles. The minimalist approach allows game play to continue only when exercising, turning all game titles into potential exergames. Next on the exergaming revolution was Nintendo's 2006 Wii, bringing acceleration detection into this emerging trend with the Wii Remote. In late 2007, Nintendo released the exergame Wii Fit, which utilized a new peripheral, the Wii Balance Board. All four of these approaches to exergames have been documented and compared by VideoJug in an information film (http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-use-video-games-to-keep-fit).

The PCGamerBike, showed up at CES in 2007 where it received an Honoree Award. It differs from other exergaming devices in that its pedal motion can be mapped to any key on the keyboard. It also has a precision optical encoder which enables it to detect the slightest forward and reverse pedal motion. Another move in this field was made by the Fisher-Price Smart Cycle.